“Fiction gives us empathy: it puts us inside the minds of other people, gives us the gift of seeing through their eyes. Fiction is a lie that tells us true things, over and over,” Neil Gaiman described in his introduction to the 60th anniversary addition to Ray Bradbury’s, “Fahrenheit 451.” Bradbury’s science fiction novel is about a futuristic society that believes that knowledge and insight are unnecessary and bring danger into the world. Therefore, books are burnt to “protect” people, and to create “peace and serenity”. Ray Bradbury elicits empathy from his readers in, “Fahrenheit 451,” by filling his work with in-depth irony and conflict. Although Ray Bradbury’s story is filled with irony, the most prominent is the difference between
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Firefighters in Montag’s society are meant to be the authority holders, the, “...custodians of our(their) peace of mind...official censors, judges, and executors,” according to Beatty, the fire chief. However, Montag doesn’t quite understand firemen, or the reason behind books being banned, despite being a fireman for 10 years. Bradbury uses dramatic irony to elicit empathy from readers when Montag started becoming curious about books and secretly had a hidden stash of around 20 of them. Not even his wife, Mildred, knew he had books hidden for over a year, “Mildred backed away as if she were suddenly confronted by a pack of mice...hear her breathing rapidly and her face was paled out and her eyes were fastened wide.” The fact that Montag, a fireman, someone who is supposed to eliminate all books from society, was keeping them against the law, after being lectured by his boss about why books are illegal, surprises us just as much as it surprised Mildred. The way that Ray Bradbury built the strict form of society’s firemen and then had a fireman do exactly what the firemen are there to stop from happening is how he draws empathy from readers. We share the same feeling as Mildred- shocked from the dramatic irony of Montag housing books when his occupation is about burning the …show more content…
When Montag realizes that he doesn’t understand why books are banned, he develops a curiosity for them and can’t control the way he feels about his life. “‘No, Millie, no! Wait! Stop it, will you…’ He slapped her face, he grabbed her again and shook her… ‘We’ve got to start somewhere her, figuring out why we’re in such a mess, you and I, you and the medicine nights, and the car, and me and my work...suddenly I realized I didn’t like them at all, and I didn’t like myself at all any more. And I thought maybe it would be best if the firemen themselves were burnt.’” Montag is going through both a person vs self and person vs society conflict because he doesn’t know what he is going to do with himself, and he doesn’t know how to fix his unhappy and anxious life. He also still doesn’t understand the ways of society, causing him to think negatively and irrationally. This is how conflict is used to elicit empathy in readers; Bradbury makes Montag have characteristics that many people have felt themselves, so that they can really connect with how the character is
Firefighters in Montag’s society are meant to be the authority holders, the, “...custodians of our(their) peace of mind...official censors, judges, and executors,” according to Beatty, the fire chief. However, Montag doesn’t quite understand firemen, or the reason behind books being banned, despite being a fireman for 10 years. Bradbury uses dramatic irony to elicit empathy from readers when Montag started becoming curious about books and secretly had a hidden stash of around 20 of them. Not even his wife, Mildred, knew he had books hidden for over a year, “Mildred backed away as if she were suddenly confronted by a pack of mice...hear her breathing rapidly and her face was paled out and her eyes were fastened wide.” The fact that Montag, a fireman, someone who is supposed to eliminate all books from society, was keeping them against the law, after being lectured by his boss about why books are illegal, surprises us just as much as it surprised Mildred. The way that Ray Bradbury built the strict form of society’s firemen and then had a fireman do exactly what the firemen are there to stop from happening is how he draws empathy from readers. We share the same feeling as Mildred- shocked from the dramatic irony of Montag housing books when his occupation is about burning the …show more content…
When Montag realizes that he doesn’t understand why books are banned, he develops a curiosity for them and can’t control the way he feels about his life. “‘No, Millie, no! Wait! Stop it, will you…’ He slapped her face, he grabbed her again and shook her… ‘We’ve got to start somewhere her, figuring out why we’re in such a mess, you and I, you and the medicine nights, and the car, and me and my work...suddenly I realized I didn’t like them at all, and I didn’t like myself at all any more. And I thought maybe it would be best if the firemen themselves were burnt.’” Montag is going through both a person vs self and person vs society conflict because he doesn’t know what he is going to do with himself, and he doesn’t know how to fix his unhappy and anxious life. He also still doesn’t understand the ways of society, causing him to think negatively and irrationally. This is how conflict is used to elicit empathy in readers; Bradbury makes Montag have characteristics that many people have felt themselves, so that they can really connect with how the character is