Fahrenheit 451
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Fahrenheit 451
A theme is a thought or idea the author presents to the reader that may be deep, difficult to understand, or even moralistic. In Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury uses the theme of knowledge versus ignorance throughout the book. With the use of characters such as Montag, Beatty, and Faber, Bradbury shows us how individuality or conformity will be victorious in the battle of knowledge versus ignorance.
Guy Montag is a fireman whose job it is to start fires, rather than put them out, because in the future books are illegal. This is a time when no one cares about anything, Atomic wars are fought in a matter of days, neighbors are assumed dead, suicide attempts are common and shrugged off like it happens every day, because it does. In the beginning of the novel, Montag is very much like others, close-minded, selfish, calloused and identical to everyone else. He even admits it when he asks himself the question, "Had he ever seen a fireman that didn't have black hair, black brows, a fiery face, and a blue-steel shaved but unshaved look?" He is an example of conformity because he lacks thought. He doesn't realize it because of the normal society for that time period. This is because people have given the government the match that started the fire which consumed whatever freedom of thought and individuality they had...