Keshav Sharma Blog Post #5

I have chosen to write my research paper on the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. This novel follows the story of Guy Montag, a man who lives in a dystopian society where books and related sources of knowledge are banned from public or private access. In this society, the government makes use of the firefighting force to rid its society of any sources of knowledge. Rather than serving its real purpose, the firefighting force actually instigates destruction by incinerating the homes of anyone caught with possession of books. Guy Montag, one of the most distinguished firefighters in the force and one of the most loyal to the government's cause, begins to question the need for destruction of knowledge after witnessing a traumatizing event in which a women caught with possession of books decides to light herself and her property on fire rather than turn over her collection of books to the firefighters. Eventually, Montag is forced to decide his allegiances when he and his firefighting crew, led by Captain Beatty, are dispatched to Montag's own house to incinerate his secret collection of books. Though Montag complies with Beatty's orders to incinerate his own house, he quickly turns against his crew by incinerating Beatty and knocking the rest of his crew unconscious. Montag becomes a fugitive and is forced to escape from the same society he worked so hard to protect before.  

The story and setting of this novel can be considered dystopic due to the nature of the government's actions. Compared to our own society where knowledge is cherished and protected, the society in the novel shuns knowledge and believes that books cause people to feel inferior to the authors of these books. It is also ironic that the government's own institutions suppress the public and put them in danger rather than protect it.

I will most likely analyze this novel through a Marxist lens seeing as the plot lends itself greatly to Marxist ideology. Although I haven't done any definitive research yet, I can likely find some reliable scholarly sources through the library databases.