Fahrenheit 451: The Era of McCarthy

In Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury is presenting a very structured world. The novel is basically a science fiction which is focusing on the issue of censorship of books. The political officials in US, like Joseph McCarthy the US Senator, were busy in such abominable activities. This censorship was not imposed on some books rather the government was trying to censor all types of books either they were about science, arts, engineering, politics etc. A penalty was also imposed on the people if they were found with books and this penalty was not limited even to burning of the books rather a death penalty can also be imposed. Guy Montag, the central character or protagonist, was a fireman with conscience in the novel and he was continuously fighting with his conscience that either it is right to perish or destroy all the books and what would happen in a society where censorship is being posed on books. So Montag is entangled in the dilemma of right and wrong or entangled in quacks of conscience.

The censored fireman is not going to extinguish the fires rather the censored fireman is busy in burning books. The fiction is a representation of a terrible future that what will be the scenarios when political correctness will be prevailing everywhere in the world. In the beginning of "Fahrenheit 451" Ray Bradbury writes.

It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. (Ray Bradbury, p1)

These opening lines of the novel quickly induce a sense that what are the results of the advent of new technologies and how beautifully the modern man is not willing to accept these immediate consequences. The main idea of the novel is taken from "The Fireman" which is a story. Fahrenheit 451 is an attack on the era of McCarthy and Ray wrote the book when Joseph McCarthy was a US Senator and McCarthy was busy in eliminating the elements the intrigues or rebellions in US. de Koster writes about Fahrenheit 451 that

In Fahrenheit 451 Bradbury mourns no only the government's determination to tell people what to think and to destroy those who show any signs of independent thought, but the people's willingness to stop thinking and reading for themselves. (de Koster, p12)

So the above statement shows that when the book was written by Ray the government was busy to forcefully implement those policies which were not accepted by general public and the intellectual of that very time were busy in killing or perishing the innocent people when they try to utter something against the will of government or if they challenge the writ of government. People were unable "to think and read" and the government was busy in snatching their freedom of think and read.

The plot and description of the book is well integrated in a professional way. The writing procedures which are being adopted by the author are also excellent which make the novel a central point for its readers. Ray in his writing style has adopted the writing technique of description. In his description he is very careful and he used relevant similes, metaphors and personifications. The writing in the novel is also presented in such a way that there is a proper link among all the events and the pace of the story is maintained. The representation of characters and the relationships among them are also represented beautifully. Each character in the novel plays a vital role. An important role is of the teenage girl Clarrise. Clarrise plays a vital role in realizing Montag that a world without books is null and void so on that very statement of Clarrise Montag appreciates the little girl. Clarrise told Montag that

Didn't firemen prevent fires rather than stoke them up and get them going. (Bradbury, p33)

The novel Fahrenheit 451 is the focus of a diverse community. The topic of the novel is the cause of dystopia which is present in our society. The story in the novel is depicting a distinguished suspense instead of a common one. The prevailing problem is the cause of self discovery and then change according to the findings as in case of Montag. The novel is a beautiful representation of the era of McCarthy. Ray Bradbury did his best in delineating the ongoing anarchy prevailing at that very time.