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Analysis Of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451

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Just as the skeleton supports the body, the structure of a book supports the plot. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is split into three distinct parts. Each of the three parts progresses the story farther and is named to reflect what is happening with the main character, Guy Montag. Each section reveals Montag’s inner thoughts and character developments, and explains his mental state. The title of section one is “The Hearth and the Salamander”. The first section is focused on showing one the current state of society, and how Montag fits into it. It introduces the reader to Montag, a seemingly happy man who burns books for a living. He seems happy. “Later, going to sleep, he would feel; that fiery smile still gripped by his face muscles, in the dark. It never went away, that smile, it never ever went away, as long as he remembered.” (page 2) Montag loved his job. He happily burned books, and didn’t even think about reading them. In fact, he didn’t think at all. However, that soon changes when Montag meets Clarisse. Suddenly he is confronted by this girl who only thinks, and he doesn’t know what to do. Clarisse asks him if he is happy, and he instinctively responds yes. Yet, when he is home, alone, he starts to think, and he knows that he isn’t happy. “He was not happy. He said the words to himself. He recognized this as the true state of affairs. He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going…and asking for it back.” (Page 9) Montag reveals the heart of his problem. What does this problem have to do with the title of the section? A hearth can be used as a symbol of one’s home. The reader sees into the home life of Montag. His job, his marriage, and his internal conflict are all exposed for the reader to see. Giving one a clear feeling of who Montag is and how he fits into the game of life. The Sieve and the Sand ____________. Section two covers Montag’s struggle to try to change. In the Hearth and the Salamander Montag realizes that he has a problem, but he doesn’t do anything to change it. He just internally struggles. In the Sieve and the Sand that changes. Suddenly Montag’s actions start to reflect this internal battle. He starts to

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