Friday, July 6, 2012

What techniques does the author use to engage the reader of Fahrenheit 451?

Ray Bradbury uses a variety of literary techniques that makes Fahrenheit 451 an engaging novel. One of the elements that he uses is suspense. The author uses suspense to make the reader keep reading and sit on the edge of their seat to see what becomes Montag. The reader is kept in suspense over whether Montag and Faber will be caught to whether or not Captain Beatty will burn down Montag's house (Bradbury 113). As the book progresses to the climax, readers think that some of the suspense will be resolved. This does not happen and the book becomes even more suspenseful. After Montag escapes from his neighborhood, readers now have to wonder whether Montag will be able to escape the mechanical hound (Bradbury 121). This suspense enhanced this novel because it added a little more action to a book that had much more dialogue than exciting feats.
Not only does Bradbury use suspense to enhance his novel, but also symbolism. One of the most common symbols of this novel is fire. The beginning of the book starts, "It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed."(Bradbury 3). This shows that Montag thought of fire as something that was only used for destructive. Towards the end of the book, one of the nomads named Granger, talks of the phoenix that would burn up and be reborn (Bradbury 163). This can be applied to the city that is bombed near the end of the story (Bradbury 158). The fire of the bomb destroyed the city, but that destruction will give way for the city to be rebuilt and a chance to for its people to change their ways. Through this we see the changing perspective of fire in the novel. It had been seen as destructive but at the end of the book it is also seen as a way for creation to flourish. The symbol of fire and its evolution during the book helps readers understand the novel and the change in Montag. In a way, he has been burned by losing everything, but he is now able to rise from the ashes and make a new life for himself.

Bibliography: Bradbury, Ray. Farenheit 451. New York: Ballantine, 1953. Print

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