Books and book-burning in ‘Fahrenheit 451’
WARNING: MAJOR SPOILER ALERTS THROUGHOUT. I recently rewatched the 1966 film Fahrenheit 451, directed by French New Wave director Francois Truffaut, about a fireman who falls in love with books, the very thing he’s charged with burning.
The origins of Fahrenheit 451:
Bradbury wrote the first draft of Fahrenheit 451 on a cheap typewriter at UCLA’s Powell Library, in a dystopian future where books are forbidden and burned when found.
The hidden library scene:
In Fahrenheit 451, fireman Montag (Ray Bradbury) discovers a hidden library, and Captain Beatty (Cyril Cusack) can’t wait to burn all those books. The reasons for society’s book-burning come across as a quest for Utopian happiness.
Modern martyrs:
In the final act of the film, Montag is forced to burn his own collection of books, which Truffaut lingers over with several close-ups. The older woman refuses to leave her books; she lights them herself, to die as she lived.
The book people:
“The Book People” is one of the film Montag’s final scenes, in which the book people have memorized a single work of literature and recite it for others to hear, as well as burn books for their own personal reasons.
Classification and connections:
In “Fahrenheit 451,” the “Book People” consume the past because they are the only hope for the future, while “Soylent Green’s” “Books” are ex-librarians who become personal researchers in a dystopian future.
Books in Fahrenheit 451:
The following is a list of all the books mentioned in the final scenes, in the order in which the main character and their captors mention them.
Book-burning in Fahrenheit 451:
“We ignored that and went right ahead,” says ‘Fahrenheit 451’ producer Lewis M. Allen of censorship. Allen also shared an amusing anecdote about how they compiled and played with all those books for the book-burning scenes.
Homme livre/libre:
The Reader’s script was originally written in French, and many of the puns were lost in translation. One of the best puns was about “homme livre” versus “Homme libre,” which translates to “book man” and “free man.”
Homage to the written word
The ultimate message of Fahrenheit 451 is discussed by several people in the DVD extras, with producer Lewis M. Allen praising Truffaut for downplaying some of the more overt sci-fi elements. According to Steven C. Smith, the act of reading becomesu2026 the most romantic thing in Fahrenheit 451.
Final words from the author himself:
Ray Bradbury, who died in 2012 at the age of 91, wrote the book in a library basement. He was a lifelong and vocal supporter of libraries, and as he put it, “Libraries raised me.”
Sources used:
Natasha Richardson, Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall, Aidan Quinn, and Elizabeth McGovern star in The Handmaid’s Tale, which also stars Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, Edward G. Robinson, Brock Peters, and Joseph Cotten.
What are the three books in Fahrenheit 451?
Table of Contents
- 1.1 “The Salamander’s Hearth”
- 1.2 “The Sieve’s Sand”
- 1.3 “Burning Bright”
What things are banned in Fahrenheit 451?
Books are illegal in Bradbury’s dystopian society, and firemen burn personal libraries and literature; the government considers any intellectual endeavor illegal, and scholars, authors, and artists are labeled as state enemies.
Why are books forbidden in Fahrenheit 451?
Books were forbidden in Fahrenheit 451, as a means for the government to control the public’s thoughts. Excuses such as offensive language and resentment over different levels of intelligence, which reportedly made people feel bad, were given as to why books were banned.
Do books really burn at 451 Fahrenheit?
Fahrenheit 451 is u201cthe temperature at which book-paper catches fire, and burns,u201d according to author Ray Bradbury, but this is incorrect.
How old is Montag?
In Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag is thirty years old. He started working as a fireman at the age of twenty and has been there for ten years.
Is Fahrenheit 451 a must read?
This story is not only philosophical genius, but it also has the ability to turn a mirror on the reader like so few modern books can. If you haven’t read it, you absolutely must.
Is Fahrenheit 451 banned in America?
Ray Bradbury’s classic novel Fahrenheit 451 has been censored and banned in several schools in the United States since its publication in 1953, despite the fact that censorship and book banning is a prominent theme throughout Bradbury’s celebrated novel.
What is the most important quote in Fahrenheit 451?
19 of the most memorable quotes from Fahrenheit 451
- U201cIt was a pleasure to burn.u201d
- U201c’Bet I know something else you don’t.
- U201cHe wasn’t happy.
- U201c’Why do I feel like I’ve known you for so many years?’
- U201c’We don’t need to be left alone.’
At what temp does paper catch fire?
The temperature at the center of a paper fire is 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit, give or take a couple hundred degrees, and the tips of the flames themselves are usually between 600 and 800 degrees. Although paper ignites at around 480 degrees Fahrenheit, it gets much hotter once it’s burning.
What does Fahrenheit 451 teach us?
The conflict between freedom of thought and censorship is the central theme of Fahrenheit 451; the society Bradbury depicts has voluntarily given up books and reading, and the people do not feel oppressed or censored in general.
Why did Captain Beatty believe books?
Beatty’s stated reason for destroying books is to maintain social order; he claims that society has become so overcrowded, sensitive to insult, and preoccupied with pleasure that things that cause divisions have become so unwelcome as to be dangerous to social order itself.
Will 110 degree water burn you?
Even though 110u00b0 F is considered “relatively safe,” exposure can be painful; the human pain threshold is around 106-108u00b0 F. A child can get a third-degree burn in 124u00b0F water in less than three minutes, and children and adults can get burned this badly in 149u00b0F water in two seconds or less.
At what temp does cardboard catch fire?
To be safe, keep your heat at the recommended setting of 170 degrees Fahrenheit; if you want to crank it up a bit more, that’s fine. Cardboard doesn’t catch fire until temperatures reach over 400 degrees Fahrenheit.