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Evan Button

Mrs. Cramer

College Composition I

23 November 2021

Fahrenheit 451 and Ray Bradbury’s Infinite Genius

Ray Bradbury’s astonishing, wonderfully written breakthrough novel Fahrenheit 451 is a

wonderful collection of dystopian hypotheticals in the grand scheme of political commentaries.

Amid political turmoil, many American citizens were in fear of American politics devolving into

a fascist dictatorship. Initially written in 1953, Fahrenheit uses brilliant characters and envisions

a future in hyper-authoritarianist America. Characters such as Clarisse McClellan, Guy Montag,

and Captain Beatty are used to expose the constant fear and expected obedience of the American

people to their fascist government found within Fahrenheit 451. These factors are telling of

Bradbury’s personal beliefs and fears of the time, as in 1953, Bradbury as an author felt that the

walls were closing in on him as a writer.

The first example of Bradbury using political happenstances of prospective American

politics is the outward ban of literary works in general. Though apparent and obviously stated,

this piece of the future state of American rights to indulge media depicts where Bradbury thought

the decline would start. Initially, it is revealed that literature in general was not for the

consumption of the common American, and any literary works were to be destroyed; this idea is

radicalised when it is revealed that history’s telling and general knowledge of history to

American people is purposefully skewed to the public. Benjamin Franklin is said to have been

the first fireman (note that firemen in this novel are not to exterminate fires, to start fires for
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destroying literature) and was given the task to destroy English influenced writings in 1790
(Bradbury, 37)
; however, it is known that Franklin is what one could consider a fireman in modern

terms, establishing the first Union Fire Company in America (Chaplin, 81). This information being

knowingly obscured and altered by the government to create no such questions about the history

is what some may consider to be, brainwashing. These political examples exhibit exemplary

temporal removal of human rights to the American people, the right to knowledge and access to

knowledge (accurate, at that) being altered shows the dystopian deterioration brought on by the

government withholding these basic rights. America had pushed the civilians of the sovereignty

into believing they are happy and all living normal polished lives. “Of course, I’m happy,” says

Montag to Clarisse, but then questions his own happiness and sanity. This is the first time

Montag questions his emotions at all (Bradbury, 10).

These examples simultaneously ask the question, “How do the American people [in the

future dystopia of Fahrenheit 451] learn to read?” It is known that everyone can read and can

effectively collocate, but how? Schooling, signs, newspapers? This room for thought expansion

in Bradbury’s writing is brilliant, and further asks, “How mediated and biased are these

collections of works?” Montag comes to reveal that he knows little to nothing about his world

outside of his country (Bradbury, 74) and suggests that he never really bothered to think of the (what

must be) alien world outside of America; no free thinking by citizens is ever evident when

Clarisse, “suddenly,” dies (Bradbury, 22). Clarisse had been challenging the sheep-herded mentality

instructed by the government, and this made her a target for the government. These events and

developments in character expose the period of accelerated authoritarian ideals in American

politics in the 1950’s.

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Contrarily, a vessel of the dictatorship in the dystopian America in Fahrenheit 451 is

Captain Beatty. He enforces the policy of destroying books, hires firemen for the book burning

industry, and committed several atrocities against any opposition. When Montag kindles his love

of literature, Beatty states that the people that authored those books never lived and that Montag

is locking himself up, driving himself crazy with literature (Bradbury, 28). He inspects the opposition

and manipulates his ideals with force. These fascist ideals exemplify the government’s goal of

censorship. This polarity in character developments exhibits the reality of what not being in

control really is, someone cannot oppose the commands of the government even if they do not

agree with the values. These polarities also exploit the pondering fear of not being able to control

a situation. Had books have been banned, Bradbury would have had to abandon his craft,

something he made a passion and living off. Fahrenheit is a subtle nod that anyone in opposition

to this fascist system of government would have susceptible to being forced into a life they

potentially did not want to live. Guy Montag was good at his job as a fireman but did he ever

reveal if that’s what he wanted his life to be? Maybe Montag, especially his passion for literature

and an ability to recall books even after only a small portion of reading, could have been a great

author, poet, or a great mind. These hypotheticals create exponential room for expansion in the

millions of hypotheticals that can exist. This is Bradbury’s genius at play. He didn’t want to be

Guy Montag.

Conclusively, it can be stated that the characters of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury are

exemplary of the fears many Americans had of the time; these characters are also exemplary of

anticipations of the American people heading into a more authoritarian dictatorship mindset.

Certain citizens saw the future of America in the hands of ideas where they could not live as they

wanted to. Characters Guy Montag, Clarisse McLellan, and Captain Beatty exemplify the
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expectations of America in the future dystopia by creating narratives of politically charged

beliefs of each character. Montag is an average citizen who does as he’s told, Clarisse is a

wandering mind who is punished by her government for being as such, and Captain Beatty is an

iron fist who expects flawlessness out of his workers and consistency.
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Works Cited

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine Books, 1982. Print.

Chaplin, Joyce. The First Scientific American: Benjamin Franklin and the Pursuit of Genius.

Basic Books, 2006. Google Books. Digital.