Fahrenheit 451 Literary Analysis

Fahrenheit 451 is a story set in a dystopian society. The government forbids people to read books. If you’re caught reading then you’re put under arrest, and firemen are sent over to burn the books along with your house. Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which books burn. The main character, Guy Montag, is a fireman who enjoys burning books. One of his calls brings him and his crew to the house of an old lady who has stashed books in her home. She refuses to leave, knowing she’ll die if she stays. She lights the match that set the house ablaze, burning her books and herself. Montag’s curiosity gets the best of him and he steals a book from the house before it burns. From that point on Montag is faced with obstacles. He meets people who help him, but only he can choose between doing what he’s always done, and doing what he feels is right.

The books Fahrenheit 451 and The Giver have similar plots. In Fahrenheit 451 Guy Montag is a rebellious character. He goes against the government and reads anyways. Montag had read to gain knowledge of past events in history so that he could try to help mankind. He ends up having to run away because of the crimes he had committed. When he runs away a bomb blows up his city and all is lost. It’s up to him and his new acquired friends to start over. In The Giver the main character, Jonas, is also a rebellious figure. Jonas was given memories of past events by The Giver. He had to keep these memories safe so that the people he lived with wouldn’t have to suffer from them. Jonas has to run away from the government to help mankind, just as Montag did. By running away Jonas releases all of the memories back to man, causing pain and suffering, just like the bomb did in Fahrenheit 451. Both characters realize that the past was a much better place than the present, so they leave to change things and to make their world a better place.

The Hunger Games and Fahrenheit 451 both use symbolism in a similar way. In Fahrenheit 451 fire is a symbol used, not only to show destruction, but also warmth and good. In the beginning of the book fire was used to burn books and destroy the homes of the people who read books. Toward the end of the novel, fire was used to warm Montag when he was cold after he had run away. Fire was also used as light when it was dark and he was hiding in the woods. In The Hunger Games fire is also a symbol used to show destruction and good.

Fire and bombs were used to destroy District 13. District 13 was a rebellious district. Because they didn’t go by the government’s laws they were burnt to the ground. They were supposed to be made into an example for the other colonies. But when the main character, Katniss, a rebellious teenage girl, was picked to take part in the games, her stylist used fire to show how strong she was. Instead of using fire to show havoc and downfall, he used it to show the good that could come out of fire. She was portrayed as the light for other districts. Both symbols showed how fire could be used to express chaos and devastation as well as restoration and good.