Flaming+Fahrenheit+451

I think that almost each line in the song, Runaway, by Linkin Park perfectly describes scenes and emotions felt in //Fahrenheit 451.//

Graffiti decorations Under a sky of dust [figurative: A place where there is no life or light] A constant wave of tension [no-one is actually happy, yet no one will admit it] On top of broken trust [there is not trust in this society] The lessons that you taught me [the lies of the Firemen past] I learn were never true [the government has lied about the past, history, and books] Now I find myself in question [Montag begins to question the true nature of books] (They point the finger at me again) [he begins to become like an outsider, Beatty begins to question and confuse him] Guilty by association [Guilty by association of books or people who read books (Clarisse)] (You point the finger at me again)

I wanna run away [Montag wants to find out the truth, and he begins to hate his society] Never say goodbye [he has no-one to say goodbye to anyway, except Faber] I wanna know the truth [he wants to know evidence and why things happen] Instead of wondering why Instead of knowing the sky is blue, Clarisse wants to know why] I wanna know the answers [Montag wants to know the answers to all the questions in his head] No more lies [No more books are bad, or that kids aren't supposed to love their parents, or that love really isn't a big deal.] I wanna shut the door [Montag wants to shut the door on Beatty, Mildred, and those trying to discourage him] And open up my mind [Montag opens his mind up to books and begins to question]

Paper bags and angry voices [Paper bags (could be holding books) The angry voice is Beatty] Under a sky of dust Another wave of tension __Has more than filled me up [Montag is almost exploding near the end, in his anger he even kills Beatty] __ __All my talk of taking action [Often I think Montag subconsciously was taking action such as taking the book] __ __ These words were never true __ __Now I find myself in question__ __(They point the finger at me again)__ __Guilty by association__ __(You point the finger at me again)_____

I wanna run away and open up my mind The last two lines describe the end perfectly. Montag runs away, meets up with the scholars, and is finally able to open his mind.

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It seems to me that every movie made after a famous book with a deep meaning, ends up being completely changed. I'm not sure if it's because America doesn't want to hear about controversial topics or that they love a good romance story. All I know is that this trailer does a horrible job depicting the book. First off, Clarisse is a twenty year old school teacher who apparently falls in love with Montag, while in the book she is just a sixteen year old. Also Mildred's name is completely changed to Linda and in the movie she is described as beautiful. This totally differs from the book where they never go into detail, but I imagine she was mousy and absorbed in her "family". It really annoys me that I'll never be able to see the truth essence of //Fahrenheit 451// in picture.

= ** VS ** = Ray Bradbury definitely used realistic events in his book. Although the book was fiction, some events that transpired were like some that had happened, and some of the technology would eventually be created. //Fahrenheit 451//'s society was almost like the Nazi's dictatorship. In Fahrenheit 451, the society acted like the people had choice, but they really didn't. If they acted out, they would "mysteriously" die by accident. The Nazis burned books to remove any ideas that they didn't believe in.

= = =Dover Beach=

Matthew Arnold
(http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/arnold/writings/doverbeach.html) The sea is calm to-night. The tide is full, the moon lies fair Upon the straits; on the French coast the light Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand; Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay. Come to the window, sweet is the night-air! Only, from the long line of spray Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land, Listen! you hear the grating roar Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling, At their return, up the high strand, Begin, and cease, and then again begin, With tremulous cadence slow, and bring The eternal note of sadness in. Sophocles long ago Heard it on the A gaean, and it brought Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow Of human misery; we Find also in the sound a thought, Hearing it by this distant northern sea. The Sea of Faith Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled. But now I only hear Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar, Retreating, to the breath Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear And naked shingles of the world.


 * Ah, love, let us be true **
 * To one another! for the world, which seems **
 * To lie before us like a land of dreams, **
 * So various, so beautiful, so new, **
 * Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light, **
 * Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain; **
 * And we are here as on a darkling plain **
 * Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, **
 * Where ignorant armies clash by night. **

I think that this poem is about a world that used to be beautiful and joyous, and now it still seems that way, but if you look close enough then you'll realize it's not. The last stanza is my favorite part, and it has the clearest meaning. When Montag read it to Mildred and her friends, it caused one to start crying. She realized that the world can be so beautiful and amazing, but now it's just a place of despair. Technology has taken over, and no-one's minds are free anymore. The people are left alone and helpless, unsure whether to try to change their world or run. Most either run, or shove the thoughts back down, but Montag didn't. He stood up to fight the lies, and uncover the truth.



A major idea in //Fahrenheit 451// is that technology, if used irresponsibly, can do more good than bad. Ray Bradbury mentioned TVs as big as walls, interactive shows, and little "bugs" that could fit inside ears and play the news and radio. It's almost scary to think that all of that is true. We have the technology in our hands, basically the power of the world. Do we use it the right way? Teenagers text while being with their friends, they listen to music during class, people talk on the phone while driving and text while walking. Now it's almost impossible to be without a laptop or phone. Instead of reading books, we can just download them. It makes me wonder where our society will be in a few years. As Ray Bradbury said,