ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FAHRENEIT 451

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FAHRENEIT 451

Bloom, Harold, ed. Fahrenheit 451. Infobase Publishing, 2007.

The Character Guy Montag in the fiction novel Fahrenheit 451 is a fireman who is burning books in a futuristic city situated in United States. In this setting the fireman lights fire instead of putting off lighting fire. The individuals that exist in this society are not concerned with reading of books, enjoying of nature. They usually prefer spending their spare time by themselves and are also independent thinkers. The members of this community cannot have meaningful and constructive dialogues.

The individuals that exist in this futuristic city are very fast drivers and spend most of their time watching television and listening to music on their radios. They eyes are always glued on wall size television sets and ears plugged on “seashell radio”. In the literature, Guy Montag meets a 17 year old young girl who is called Clarisse McClellan. Miss McClellan is able to make the fireman come to realization of emptiness existing in his life through innocent deep questions. This innocent young lady has unique love for other human beings and nature.

Montag’s wife attempted suicide by swallowing excess sleeping pills and few days after the incident Clarisse was murdered by a speeding motor vehicle. These events turned to be tragic and disturbing to the fireman thus increased the level of unhappiness in his life. Therefore he resorted to searching for answers in a bunch of books he stole from his burning process. Whenever he was burning books, he was able to steal some books and keep inside air conditioning ventilation space.

Annotated Bibliography of Fahrenheit 451 Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon & Shuster Paperbacks, 1995. Electronic

Montag recalls one day that he bumped into an English professor called Faber who was already retired and at the moment was sitting at the park. He made a conclusion that the professor would assist him understand the literature he was reading. Upon visiting Faber he told him that meaning of books exist in detailed understanding of what the books express about life. Faber tells him that he needs more than books but has to develop pleasure in reading and acquire freewill to act according the acquired ideas. Guy Montag proceeds to fire station where he gave out one of his literature to Beatty. The lady was able to confuse Montag through barraging him with quotations which were contradictory but from great books. Beatty utilized the contradictions to illustrate that literature is consider morbidity and is critically complex thus requires incineration.

When alarm sounds Beatty and Montag rushes to respond to the call, it turned that it was his house on fire. Mildred, Montag’s wife, boarded a taxi with her suitcase and he realizes that his wife has betrayed him. Eventually, Beatty forced him to burn his house and when through the lady apprehends him.  As Beatty continues to rebuke Montag, he pointed the flamethrower towards his boss and burns him to death. Towards the end of the story the characters hope there is some sort of help to assist humanity overcome the aftermath of war which has been initiated. Montag is mandated to cram the Book of Ecclesiastes when the enemy’s aircraft surfaces on the sky and it bombards the city with bombs. Eventually Montag and his team of pals take a move to search for survivors and reconstruction of civilization

Peter Sisarios: Fahrenheit 451, Bloom’s Guides: A Study of the Allusions in Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451

The novel Fahrenheit 451 provides analysis of challenges the society can be exposed to if they allow totalitarism plus censorship dominate the humanity. The book illustrates what can happen if the society suppresses foreigners since they dominate because of difference in norms. The fiction book was written during a time that governments existing were adopting totalitarianism and communism. Clara, Montag’s wife and government’s book burning incidence is used to illustrate what the society would evolve into incase they are narrow minded and become totalitarian communist.

Considering the  literary allusions and biblical allusions they communicate deep messages more than just warning about interllectual stagnation the society will face. The  literally allusions are utilized to depict the derailing emptiness of 24^th century whiloe the biblical ones sheds light towards possible solutions that will assist the society out of interllectual black out. The other illustrates that life’s nature is cyclical and the society is at the bottom of interllectuality cycle. Therefore it is paramount for people to develop faith and hope inorder to move upward from the bottom of the cycle. This concept of natural cycle is distinctively illustrated through the character existing in Granger, the author says “And when the war’s over, some day, some year, the books can be written again, the people will be called in, one by one, to recite what they know, and we’ll set it up in type until another Dark Age, when we might have to do the whole thing over again”.

The main metaphors existing in the book cement the ideology of natural cycle through allusion to phoenix which is a mythical bird from ancient Egypt which in intervals burned to ashes and resurrected back to life to restore its youngness. Through the character Granger tha writer demonstrates his hope of humanity using his interllectuality and knowledge about physical destruction to break viscious cycle of disintergration plus rebirth.

The phoenix image is utilized in the book in relation to Beatty who is Montag’s boss. As a Captain Beatty possed knowledge about civilization setting before contemporary society existing in the fiction book. Montag in his quest to satisfy his curiosity and put an end to unsolved puzzles interacts with Beatty who potrays how 20^th century started to erode interllectually gradually to reach a state where in future there is ban of books, educational institutions decline to teach students to critically think. The most positive virtue turned to be psychological hedonism where all thinkers and critical anaysers were rejected. It is significant that Beatty has a hat with phoenix symbol and drives in “phoenix automobile”. He is well informed about the past but ironincally is not equipped with ways of harnessing his knowledge apart from historical curiosity.His interest pertains to maintaining a status quo of happiness and to be free of worries. He only imparts knowledge to fellow fire workers who undergoes unavoidable circumstance of questioning them to empathize their calamities. Beattey tells Montag that fiction illustrates imaginary dimensions of the world and great concepts are full of contraversasies and booksare indefinite. The death of Beatty through fire symbolizes the rebirth which is related to the phoenix sign. When Montag run off after killing Beatty to join Granger demonstates his rebirth to new life which has interllectual orient.

There are four allusions in the book, and their analysis illustrate that they concur with the aspects of natural cycle. They contribute to author’s solution of assisting in understanding philosophical outcomes fabricated upon believers of natural cycle and are in dark age. Therefore one must gradually develop faith before things get better gradually. Two of allusions associated with the bible support the ideology of philosophical fact that exist in renewal of cycles illustrated by Mathew 6:28 and book of job in old testament. The parable of lilies in book of Mathew demonstrates that God is in control of everything and we should not worry at all.