7-In Which Paper Burns-Jacob Penrose

                       In Which Paper Burns

Literary Analysis - choose any book you’ve read.  What is the author’s point/message and how do you know this?

A book that I have read was Ray Bradbury’s, Fahrenheit 451. This is a dystopian book that takes place in a fictional setting where the U.S. government has banned many pieces of literature and marked them for incineration through the use of “firemen” in an attempt to maintain the happiness and conformity of society. 

The constant message that Ray Bradbury tries to convey throughout the book is that knowledge and understanding who you actually are can easily be toppled by technological  tools designed to distract everyone from our world’s realities.

 This message is evident when the main character, Montag, is forced to examine who he is in reality and if the laws on books are not actually justified, despite his current line of work as a fireman acts in contrast to what he is beginning to believe. 

In order to further convey his message, the author also uses Beatty, Montag’s boss as well as the book’s antagonist, as a counterweight to Montag’s beliefs. 

This is because Beatty is meant to force the main character into questioning if they are certain that the restrictions on books  are unjustifiable and if Montag is fully willing to go against the laws that the U.S. government has instilled. 

This is meant to create a dilemma for Montag because it presents two options for him, either he continues his life as a fireman and acts as a law-abiding citizen or he can rebel against a system in which he is beginning to see as a power that is trying to make society more compliant.

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