Fahrenheit 451 Essay

Table of Contents Paragraph 2 ..........................................................................................................................4 Paragraph 3 ..........................................................................................................................5 Paragraph 4 ..........................................................................................................................5 Paragraph 5 ..........................................................................................................................6

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Outline I. Introduction II. Paragraph 2 A. Mildred B. Choice C. Consequence III. Paragraph 3

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Michael Yoon Mrs. Panks English D 13 May 2011 Fahrenheit 451 Essay We authorize the fireman hang on to the book for twenty-four hours. If he hasnt burned it by then we simply come burn it for him. Announces Captain Beatty, an antagonist in the book Fahrenheit 451; he is giving Guy Montag the choice to go back to his job of burning books, or being hunted by the government. In Fahrenheit 451, a novel by Ray Bradbury, the government has firemen hunt down, and burn books. One such fireman, Guy Montag, eventually rejects this task and is subsequently hunted down. Guy Montag escapes the city just before it gets blown up in a war. Montag is not the only character to make a choice; a theme in Fahrenheit 451 is choice and its consequence. Joining Montag are Mildred, Montags wife, and Faber, an old professor. Choices are made by, Mildred, Faber and Montag, and all have far reaching consequences that lead to the future of their lives and beyond Paragraph 2 The first fateful decision is Mildreds. In the book, Mildred is a woman oblivious to the world around her; Montag comments in her ears the little seashells, the thimble radios tamped tight. Mildred is definitely not the type to commit active rebellion. Yet Montag has hope for her and he offers her redemption by reading to her. Mildred refuses and instead elects not to change, and she stays in the city. By doing so, Mildred seals her own fate. Had she chosen to side with Montage she would have gotten out of the city. Instead, Mildred is in the city when the
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bombs fall. It is for that reason that Mildred dies. Fahrenheit 451 clearly shows that making a decision has consequence. Once on chooses a course, one will experience the consequences. This is true whether it be small or large, and it stays true even if one regrets the choice. A few moments before the bombs explode, Mildred has an epiphany, but, as is the nature of consequence, this sudden revelation does not stop the bombs. Once a decision is made, the consequence follow after, and the choice can never be taken back. Paragraph 3 Faber is a character that is all to familiar with this concept. Faber faces society changing, but, as he says, I saw the way things were going, a long time back. I said nothing. Faber, unlike Mildred, lives with his decision for a long time. He wants to change what he did but he can not. One action not taken haunts Faber the rest of his life, to the point where he tells Montag You are looking at a coward. The consequences of his actions effect Faber every waking moment of his life. Some choices, like Fabers, start off small, but with time their ripples grow larger and larger, and spread farther and farther. Faber lives in fear of the government. If he had spoken up, the government may not have become what it is. It is impossible to know what could have been. Fahrenheit 451 demonstrates, through Faber, that a minuscule decision can affect lives decades later. Paragraph 4 Montag makes many decisions throughout the course of Fahrenheit 451, but the full effects are never depicted, but all of these decisions radically change Montag. At the onset of the book, Montag thinks, It was a pleasure to burn [books]. Yet, in a short while, Montag becomes a wanted man. Montage transforms from a government agent into a rebel. Montag, during Fahrenheit 451, makes a large amount of choices, from saving a book from a fire, to killing

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Captain Beatty. It is not through one action that Montag changes, but rather through a plethora of actions, some rash others though out. Each of these decisions builds on previous actions, and lead to new choices. Montag decides not to go to work and instead stay home and read. This causes Captain Beatty to come over to Montags house and offer him the choice of coming back to work and burn the book or to stay home and defy the government. Montag would never be in that position if he had not elected to stay home. Fahrenheit 451clearly shows that choices are built on top of the foundations of previous actions. Paragraph 5 Throughout the course of Fahrenheit 451 Mildred, Faber and Montag all make life changing decisions. These decisions, once made, are permanent, and all have consequences, both immediate and delayed. Those consequences all grow with time, and effect the world in ways unthought-of at the time the decision is made. These outcomes are not a result of one singe choice, but, rather, they are the eventual result of numerous decisions, each one leading to the next. Captain Beatty offers Montag a choice; a choice that leads Montag down a path, a path that ends with Captain Beatty dead.

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Works Cited Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: SssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssSimon and Schuster, 1967. Print.