In a democracy like ours the role of government is to serve the people it governs ... all of the people, not just some of them. When government instead focuses on serving just the interests of a select few, like the rich, comfortable, and powerful, it has to find ways to keep its people uninformed so they think, believe, and do what the government wants. This is what happens in Ray Bradbury's novel, Fahrenheit 451. This novel is Bradbury's way of warning us to pay close attention to what government is doing and collectively take steps to reverse its direction as soon as government begins acting in ways that are unacceptable or destructive or inhumane. Otherwise, if the majority of people are complacent and don't act soon enough, government will become increasingly abusive and society can collapse. To help convey his message Bradbury uses many literary devices including: personification, dialogue, allusion, imagery, and alliteration.
Early in this novel we learn that the government in Fahrenheit 451 has been trying to eliminate all books so people can't have access to information or history that contradicts what their government wants them to believe. This is so people will see everything the way their government wants it to be seen ... that all is well and normal and nothing needs to change. Most people are going along with what their government wants. A few, however, are becoming uncomfortable. Retired professor Faber is one of those few. Guy Montag, the main character who is a fireman, is also beginning to have some doubts. In one of their conversations Faber uses personification in explaining to Montag "So now do you see why books are hated and feared? They show the pores in the face of life. The comfortable people want only wax moon faces, poreless, hairless, expressionless." (85). He goes on to say that books provide "Quality, texture of information." (86) and that information from books needs to be combined with the "leisure to digest it" (87) and "the right to carry out actions based on what we learn from the interaction of the first two".
As the novel progresses we learn that government is using firemen to start fires instead of putting them out. Most people are accepting this as being normal. But, something about these fires seems puzzling to Clarisse McClellan, Guy Montag's neighbor. In a dialogue between her and Montag, Clarisse asks "Is it true that long ago firemen put fires out instead of going to start them?" (12). She goes on to explain that "I heard once that a long time ago houses used to burn by accident and they needed firemen to stop the flames.". She also asks, "Didn't firemen prevent fires rather than stoke them up and get them going?" (38). We then learn that the firemen in Fahrenheit 451 burn down houses if, when the government suspects there might be books hidden inside and sends firemen to check things out, the firemen actually find some books. The government has invented a false version of history to justify burning houses in these instances. According to the government's propaganda, the "Firemen of America" (38) were "Established, 1790, to burn English-influenced books in the Colonies. First Fireman: Benjamin Franklin.".
We gradually learn more details about how the government in Fahrenheit 451 is abusing its people. But, because government has been relentlessly trying to deprive people of any way to find out how things once were and should still be, most people continue to accept the things the government is doing. However, our concerns increase when we learn that the government also involves the police when firemen are sent to houses where books may be hidden. What typically happens, according to Guy Montag, is "The police went first and adhesive-taped the victim's mouth and bandaged him off into their glittering beetle cars, so when you [the firemen] arrived you found an empty house." (40). If firemen find books in the house "They pumped the cold fluid [kerosene] from the numeraled 451 tanks strapped to their shoulders. They coated each book, they pumped rooms full of it." (42). Then the firemen go outside, leaving a trail of kerosene leading back to the building, and ignite the kerosene trail. It is noteworthy that Bradbury uses the literary device of allusion in this and other instances ... the number 451 on the firemen's tanks (and also on their helmets) alludes to the temperature at which books burn.
It is even more unsettling when we learn that firemen torching houses has been going on for a long time. A great many of these arson fires have already occurred. And, every one of them has been planned in a way to make it as spectacular as possible ... always at night, "Never by Day" (43). The intent is to attract the maximum amount of attention to clearly convey to as many people as possible what will happen if they hide books in their houses. Captain Beatty, the head of the fire station where Guy Montag works, has participated in setting these fires for more than 10 years. Bradbury uses imagery to help convey the extent of Beatty's involvement. He depicts him as a man with a "pink face burnt and shiny from a thousand fires and night excitements." (43).
Throughout this novel a warlike feeling has also been growing. But, most of the people have been complacent about this too. Military jets have been flying low over the city almost daily. In describing how Montag was affected by one of these many instances Bradbury uses the technique of alliteration. He says Montag felt as though his chest was "chopped down and split apart. The jet bombers going over, going over, going over, one two, one two, one two, six of them, nine of them, twelve of them, one and one and one and another and another and another" (17-18). "The house shook." (18).
After countless instances of directing firemen to torch houses where books are hidden the government apparently decides this approach isn't working. The next time the military jets fly over the city the jets drop bombs. Bradbury uses personification to describe this horrific attack by saying "the city rolled over and fell down dead." (162). This is when society totally collapses. As Bradbury warned from the beginning of this novel, if people choose not to stand up to their government as soon as it starts to become abusive the abuse will likely escalate and the people will ultimately pay a very heavy price.
