Bradbury's Use of Language

[Mrs. W]

This is Assignment Choice #2. Do not post here until you receive instructions (and Assignment Choice #1) in class. Thanks!

Bradbury is a master at using language in creative and interesting ways to give hints about the characters, setting and plot of his stories. Choose several examples in Fahrenheit 451 of the way that Bradbury creates a sense of a dysfunctional society and explain how these examples give the story a sense of uneasiness or foreboding. You might identify instances of repetition, similes and metaphors, imagery, alliteration, personification, symbolism, or irony. Be sure to explain specifically the effect the sentence(s) has on the reader.

Do not write an introduction or conclusion, just three interesting body paragraphs. Use MLA format.

Post your paragraphs below. Hint: Use Word first, then paste it into the Ning, due to the 15-minute editing window.

[jack r]

Jack Roach
Mrs. Wantz
Period 2
4 May 2009
Mind Tricks
“What?” she cried. “Keep it down to fifty-five, the minimum!” he shouted. “The what? She shrieked. “Speed!” he shouted. And she pushed it up to one hundred and five miles an hour and tore the breath from his mouth.” This alliteration that Ray Bradbury used shows how uneasy the society is, Montag’s wife, Mildred is going for a drive at one hundred and five miles an hour. Montag just wants his wife to stay safe and not kill herself in the process. Not only is she ignoring him but she is also not listening to his wish for her safety. Lastly, the minimum, is fifty-five miles an hour, what kind of world is that when people have to at least, go that amount of speed? In today’s world, most of the time, that is the maximum most people can go, and people here in this time, are always breaking the rules and going faster than they should. Just by reading this short passage, the reader should realize that this society is way out of hand, with allowing their citizen to do dangerous and deadly stunts such as this one, just to let off some steam, or have a thrill ride, that could potentially end their blinding lives.
One day, after a horrific burn, Guy decides to stay home from work to get over what happened the night before, and his Captain, Beatty, comes over to give a lecture, “So! A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon. Breach man’s mind. Who knows who might be the target of the well-read man? Me? I won’t stomach them for a minute.” (62). Ray Bradbury uses a metaphor to explain how the Captain sees a book and man together is like a crazed lunatic with a gun. Captain’s malignity for books, is disturbing. He said that taking the book away from the man, is like taking the bullet away from a gun. What he is trying to say is that a man with a book, has a unfair advantage on everyone, and that his job is too get rid of that advantage so that everyone everywhere is playing on the same field.
Ray Bradbury used a simile to capture the evilness of the “Hound”. “It was like a great bee come home from some fields where the honey is full of poison wildness, of insanity and nightmare, its body crammed with that over rich nectar, and now it was sleeping the evil out of itself” (28). In this society the residents of this degraded city, have built special mechanical “Hounds” that chase after cats, rats and sometimes chickens, and always get their target. In this instance, the “Hound” wakes up from its slumber and for some reason targets Montag. Montag, immediately jumps back and tells the “Hound” it is okay, but it pursues in growling at him. When he escapes back up stairs, he quickly tells everyone that it does not like him, and that anyone could have set calculator to his special requirements. However, after talking with the Captain and his colleagues, he discovers that no one has entered in anything.

[Skylar l.]

Skylar Leaf
Mrs. Wantz
Period 2
May 3 2009

In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, uses all types of figurative language to give the reader a sense of melancholy insanity. One writing style that Bradbury uses in the novel is repetition. “One, Clarisse. Two, Mildred. Three, Uncle. Four, fire” (Bradbury 18), this statement, repeats it over and over again throughout two pages. Bradbury uses this repetition to basically annoy the reader, but as the reader reads the repeated statements over and over again its starts to almost irritate them so bad it could drive them crazy. They imagine that it will never end and they will get stuck reading this pointless list over and over and over again! This is a unique use of language that Bradbury uses. He gives his novel an sense of insanity and unstableness. He portrays Guy Montags life as a cruel tormenting world, and he shows this by repeating the same list several times. This use of language is not used in many stories; Bradbury uses it very well to show the future world as an instable society.


Another way that Ray Bradbury uses a unique writing style is in his similes. In the story Bradbury describes the heat of a day as “ A day like the furnace of summer” (28). Using a simile in a story is a great way to describe something. A simile takes a familiar thing and uses it to describe something else vividly. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury successfully uses plenty of similes and puts them to good use. If Bradbury described a warm day in his story just as a plain hot day, it would not have as much effect on the reader as if he used a furnace to describe the day. Saying the day is like a furnace gives the reader an image of a burning flame throughout the day. A simile gives more life to a sentence, and really creates great imagery for the reader.


Lastly, Bradbury uses personification as a form of imagery in his story. Personification is where an inanimate object is given life by the writer. It often gives characteristics to an object that are never normally there. For instance, in Fahrenheit 451 Bradbury writes, “ Montag felt his heart jump, and jump again!” (54). Everyone knows a heart can really jump inside someone’s body, but the thought of it gives an image that describes the characters emotion much better. As children people see cartoons of peoples hearts pounding out of their chest when they see someone they like, and this is exactly what personification is. Bradbury uses the imagery of a heart jumping in and out of a person’s chest, to give the strong emotions of being in awe or nervous. People can relate to this because they know they strong feeling. Ray Bradbury uses a unique style of personification and uses it very well.

[Sydney A.]

Sydney Alston
Period 1
4/3/09
In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the author uses many different types of figurative languages to make the story sound dysfunctional and have an uneasy edge to it. The first type I noticed was how he made the world seem so scary and not that peaceful. “It was a pleasure to burn.” (7) He referring to burning books. Bradbury also says “It was a special pleasure to see things blackened…,” (7) and, “As he stood there, the sky over the house screamed.” (17) Bradbury could have said that the sky was filled with noise from the planes, but instead he says that the sky screamed. This scary tactic gets into more detail of how uncomfortable the world is during that time. I would not like to live in a world where the sky screamed and people found pleasure burning books.
Bradbury also uses figurative language to make the emotion in the story somewhat sad and uneasy. For example, “Montag was cut in half.” (17) I really like that line because it’s so simple, yet it explains a lot about how the character is feeling. No, he is not literally cut in half, he found his wife had overdosed and was torn on the inside. Bradbury also says “There are billions of us and that’s too many. Nobody knows anyone.” (20) How sad. We almost live in that type of world today, where “Strangers come and violate you.” (20) But we have not gotten to the point where nobody knows anybody. Mostly everyone is friendly to one another on the street when you walk by. When people make eye contact they usually say hello or ask how they are doing. When Clarisse asks Montage if he wanted kids then why doesn’t he have any and he replies with, “It’s been a long time since anyone cared enough to ask.” To me that is sad that no one cares enough to ask why a man who loves children does not have any of his own.
Bradbury’s last type of figurative language that I found was that he makes it uneasy by repeating himself and it reminds me of schizophrenic people talking to themselves. He says, “The jet bombers go over, go over, go over, one two, one two, one two, six of them nine of them, twelve of them…” (17) and he continues to repeat himself over something as little as planes flying over Montag. He repeats days, counting objects for example the planes, and he somewhat repeats the procedure of making a fire. He writes how to make a fire and stand alert for other calls incase someone is found with a book. His directions are very choppy and have a tone to them that is not that pleasant. Those are the ways Bradbury makes his story uneasy and forboding.

[Deanna O]

Deanna Okada
English Period 2
3 May 2009

More Than Being Just Words

Many books that are known being a classic and amazing create really good imagery when written well. Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 with just the right amount of description without over doing it. Towards the beginning of the novel he describes the setting before Guy Montag first met Clarisse McClellan. He creates an eerie creepy setting saying, “His inner mind, reaching out to turn the corner for him, had heard the faintest whisper. Breathing? Or was the atmosphere compressed merely by someone standing very quietly there, waiting?” (9). When walking alone at night, if one chooses to act upon that, and if they ever get that feeling that someone is there with them but can not see them, they would be kind of scared. While reading, the reader may be asking many questions, ‘Is the person a bad person? A good person?’ making the reader think. When a reader thinks while reading it makes them more interested in the book and makes the book interesting to read. Another imagery setting Bradbury creates is the relationship between Guy and his wife, Mildred. “He felt he was one of the creatures electronically inserted between the slots of the phono-color walls, speaking, but the speech not piercing the crystal barrier” (50). Mildred has this tiny musical instrument in her ear, from the very beginning Mildred seems like the average person that uses technology to escape from socializing with real people. It shows the separation of people and creates the image of a society that is not balanced and is much separated.

Ray Bradbury used metaphors to bring actions alive and compare them to objects that readers would not have expected. In the beginning he wrote, “…while the flapping pigeon-winged books died on the porch and lawn of the house” (7). Books are not exactly pigeon-winged and but Bradbury uses this comparison to put an image of books falling from the house scattered into the readers mind. This metaphor shows how this society treats books, how much they do not care about these books that authors took the time to think, to perfect.

Clarisse asked Guy if he was happy, he replied “Happy! Of all the nonsense” (14). Later he thought about really being happy and it turned out he was not truly happy. The society creates a cloudy layer where everyone is happy because nobody reads to use their imaginations. It blinds from letting them stop and relax from the fast paced lives. Clarisse opened that door for Guy, to think outside of the box instead of just being given a fact and living by what that person has said. It shows how it was kind of ironic that it was such a silly question to ask and yet, it made him truly think about his life.

[ErikaS]

Erika Stutts

Mrs. Wantz

Period 1 English 106

May 3, 2009

Bradbury's Use of Language

From the very beginning of Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury uses personification to emphasize certain areas of the dysfunctional society created in Fahrenheit 451. On one of the first lines for the book, Bradbury writes, "It was a special pleasure to see things eaten." (Bradbury 7) Fire is personified by the word 'eaten'. By applying eaten to fire, the fascination with fire and destruction is general is emphasized. Bradbury continues the subtle personification a few lines later by using the word "gorging" to describe fire as well (7). Another example of Bradbury using personification is when the mechanical snake is described. Another instance of Bradbury using personification is when the planes scream overhead as Montag screams (18). The planes are practically ignored. By having the planes 'scream' Bradbury uses a mix of personification and comparison to show that society is dysfunctional: the planes or normal, a part of life, something to overlook. Thus, Montag's screams are normal, part of life, and something to overlook.


In addition to personification, Bradbury used many metaphors to show that the society is dysfunctional. Bradbury compares a medical instrument to a snake, and extends to metaphor to describe it "drinking" poison out of a person. Montag, while this is going on, broods in silence about how it "fed in silence with an occasional sound of inner suffocation and blind searching" (18). By comparing the machine to a snake, Bradbury paints a picture of a society run by inhuman, insidious, and indifferent technology. Also, this creates a contrast between the machine the and machines operators, showing that the people in the world of Fahrenheit 451 are not that different than the machines: impersonal, nearly inhuman, uncaring, and indifferent. Later on, books are compared to slain pigeons and bodies right before they are burned (41). By created images of such destruction of life and by showing the nearly fanatical hatred people felt toward the books Bradbury implies with the metaphor that the society is harboring a violence not unlike a holocaust. A third example of Bradbury using metaphor to convey the dysfunction of society is when Mildred is listening to the Seashell (a subtle example of the metaphor) and compares to noise coming out of it to an ocean of sound and later Montag feels that, though physically he and Mildred are close that they are separated as if he is on "winter island separated by an empty sea." (45). To talk about a spouse that way is a clear sign that something is wrong. For many, a marriage implies that the person one is married to is their 'significant other,' or, the person they feel the closest to. By emphasizing the distance between Mildred and Guy with metaphors Bradbury shows how horrible a state society is in.


Lastly, Bradbury uses repetition to prove that the Fahrenheit 451 society is dysfunctional. The first example is when Montag is hearing the rain and putting a term to each and every drop until it becomes overwhelming. The use of repetition is the only clear sign of how Montag feels. That life is this overwhelming (especially when a disaster had just been averted) is a clear indicated that something is wrong with the lifestyle, and thus society, that Montag lives in. Next, when Beatty comes to the Montag household to talk to Guy the sound of the doorbell is repeated many times (56). By repeating the sequence Bradbury shows that the technology is inescapable, invasive, and that the correct response was nearly unavoidable. The repetition made it seem that Mildred's opening of the door was demanded. This event would only take place in a dysfunctional society. Lastly, when Beatty is asking Montag about sports Montag uses the same word to describe almost all of them: fine (60). By repeating the word 'fine' Bradbury emphasizes the degeneration of conversion and a lack of opinion in Montag. This lack of preference is due to Montag not having to think for himself, of having society think for him. Only a dysfunctional society does this.

[Kelsey M]

Kelsey Martin
Mrs. Wantz
Period 1
May 3 09

“It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed.
With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous
kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the
hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning
to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history. With his symbolic helmet
numbered 451 on his stolid head, and his eyes all orange flame with the thought of
what came next, he flicked the igniter and the house jumped up in a gorging fire that
burned the evening sky red and yellow and black. He strode in a swarm of fireflies. (7)” Ray Bradbury, like many other great authors, makes brilliant use of imagery. Not only is this introduction paragraph an example of imagery, it is also a great metaphor, as it is found to symbolize as well. As the first passage to the novel, it makes quite and impact on the reader. It properly compares a tool of burning destruction to a venomous creature with an evil connotation, the python; But at the same time, the one operating this terrible tool, is compared to being a music conductor, and artist, a creator of wonderful things. Fireflies are compared to the fire while creating an awe-inspiring, beautiful setting out of a tragic event. The whole passage is completely contradictory, which make the reader taken-aback, but very interested. It also introduces how The terrible world of Fahrenheit 451, is seen as a wonderful blissful place by the characters in it.

"Speed up the film, Montag, quick. Click? Pic? Look, Eye, Now, Flick, Here, There,
Swift, Pace, Up, Down, In, Out, Why, How, Who, What, Where, Eh? Uh! Bang!
Smack! Wallop, Bing, Bong, Boom! Digest-digests, digest-digest-digests. Politics?
One column, two sentences, a headline! Then, in mid-air, all vanishes! Whirl man's
mind around about so fast under the pumping hands of publishers, exploiters, broadcasters, that the centrifuge flings off all unnecessary, time-wasting thought!(59)" Bradbury’s flow and repetition in dialogue is very important. It makes the dialogue much more realistic than plain talking. It is conversation, but with emphasis. The repetition, speed, and flow of the words make it sound like a real person would actually say something like that, in that same way. It makes the reader believe in the story much more. It also reflects on how strongly the character feels about the ways of the world he lives in, such as Beatty’s explanation of their working society. It all gives him real character, showing how the people are in the Fahrenheit 451 world.

Ray Bradbury’s greatest use of language is situational. Some things are just so ironically opposite, that it is mind blowing to the reader, especially when that horrible and warped situation isn’t too far off from our real life version. One such example is when Montag and the rest of the Firefighting crew are about to burn up an old woman’s library of books and home: ”How inconvenient! Always before it had been like snuffing a candle. The police went first and adhesive taped the victim’s mouth and bandaged him off into their glittering beetle cars, so when you arrived you found an empty house. You weren’t hurting anyone, you were hurting only things! And since things really couldn’t be hurt, since things only felt nothing, and things don’t scream or whimper, as this woman might begin to scream and cry out, there was nothing to tease our conscience later. You were simply cleaning up. Janitorial work, essentially. Everything to its proper place. Quick with the kerosene! Who’s got a match! (40)” There are several things that are quite appalling about this passage. First is the major situation: The burning of the books. Considering that computers weren’t in the “Fahrenheit 451 World” books were partially The Peoples’ main source of history, information, and overall fact. And they were legally subject to eradication. This created the ultimate manipulative able society, which in our eyes is a nightmare. What is also terrible is that the character is fretting that the Police hadn’t criminal-style bandage and kidnapped this old book owning lady, like it was something that was accepted as “right” in that society. Bradbury makes good use of taking extremely appalling things, and passing them off casually in the story, creating an incredible contrast between the 452 world, and ours. This could also be considered as ironic in a way.

[Conlee P]

Conlee Pollard

Mrs. Wantz

Period 3

May 4, 2009



First, Ray Bradbury creates a sense of a dysfunctional society by the pleasure that Guy

Montag gets from setting fires. "It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see

things eaten, to see things blackened and changed"(Bradbury 1). This sentence gives the

reader a sense of discomfort. The uneasiness that comes from this single sentence alone is

enough to set the tone for the entire novel. The dysfunction of society is captured in this one

sentence. And while Ray Bradbury gives the character Guy Montag the pleasure of burning, he

also gives the possibility of change.


Second, the society is characterized by aggression. "Do you notice how people hurt each other

nowadays?"(34) Aggression gives the people an outlet. It is quite obvious that something is

wrong when the people turn to violence to let out their anger. "Darkness. He was not happy"(12).

They hurt each other and have a place to smash things. This gives the reader the feeling that the society

is not only completely at the hands of the government, but also that they are a danger to themselves

and other people of the community. The confusion that the society is in adds to the effect of the novel.


Third, numbness is accepted as a common character trait. Guy Montag zones in and out of his

mental state many times through out the novel. "One drop of rain. Clarisse. Another drop.

Mildred. A third. The uncle. A fourth. The fire tonight. One, Clarisse. Two, Mildred. Three,

Uncle. Four, fire. One, Mildred, two, Clarisse..."(21) Repetition adds to the novel by showing

some sort of mental instability. Guy Montag, after having a couple conversations with a stranger,

realizes that this world he lives in is not what it used to be. He knows that this world is not right.

His mind goes numb from all the thinking. The way that Ray Bradbury uses repetition gives the reader a sense

of urgency and confusion. Through out the scene, the reader wants the character Guy Montag to make a self

discovery.

[David w.]

David white

Mrs. Wantz

Period 2

5/4/09

“How inconvenient! Always before it had been like snuffing a candle. The police went first and adhesive-taped the victim’s mouth and bandaged him off into their glittering Beatle cars, so when you arrived you found an empty house. You were hurting only things!” (Bradbury 40), In these few sentences Bradbury used a simile to compare snuffing out a candle to burning books, at the same time he used irony, because snuffing a candle is putting it out and what Guy is doing is starting a fire. In these few lines he also shows the reader that Guy has compassion for people, because guy says, “you were only hurting things!” He doesn’t want to hurt people. In this dysfunctional society fire man starting fires instead of putting them out is normal, when the reader reads that he/she must be aware that something is amiss in this society.


“And he remembered thinking then that if she died, he was certain he wouldn’t cry. For it would be the dying of an unknown, a street face, a newspaper image, and it was suddenly so very wrong that he had begun to cry, not at death but at the thought of not crying at death, a silly empty man near a silly empty woman, while the hungry snake made her still more empty.”(Bradbury 47) In these sentences we once again see Bradbury’s amazing use of language with the metaphor of the snake. I believe there are to possible meanings to this metaphor the first I believe he is referencing earlier in the story when Millie was being drained or it is possible he is just talking about how the snake that is technology is devouring her and her life. The fact that guy will not cry when his wife dies is something that would affect even the most cold hearted person, think about it your wife is supposed to be a person who is your best friend, someone who you would gladly give your life for, your wife is supposed to be the person that makes you a complete person, (otherwise known as your better half) and he isn’t going to cry. If you knew nothing else about the rest of this book besides the fact that he wouldn’t cry when his wife died you would know that there is something terribly wrong with the society in which guy lives. Guy knows nothing about his wife he even compares her to a, “street face, a newspaper image” two people who know little to nothing about each other are married, the society in which Guy lives is truly a dysfunctional and sad one.


“They walked the rest of the way in silence, hers thoughtful, his a kind of clenching and uncomfortable silence in which he shot her accusing glances. When they reached her house all the lights were blazing. “What’s going on?” Montag had rarely seen that many house lights. “Oh, that’s just my mother and father and uncle sitting around, talking. It’s like being a pedestrian, only rarer. My uncle was arrested another time-did I tell you?-for being a pedestrian. Oh, we’re most peculiar.” “But what do you talk about?”(Bradbury 13-14) In this excerpt Bradbury uses imagery to illustrate Montag’s feeling of being uncomfortable. Guy is surprised when he learns Clarisse’s parents and uncle are talking, which is a hint that Bradbury gives that the art of conversation is almost extinct. In this society in which Guy lives people live their lives dependent on their joy coming from technology. We can see it happening in our own society as well obviously not to the extreme that is shown in FARENHEIT 451 where we see people with three walls of television, but we can see people are slowly slipping away into computers, IPODS, TVs, and cell phones. I believe Bradbury is trying to warn us what could happen if we don’t get a hold of ourselves. In Guy’s society it is odd for people to talk just for the joy of talking to one another there is truly something disturbing about that.

[Trenton P.]

Ray Bradbury often takes advantage of personification to paint his world in Fahrenheit 451 as a degrading dystopia. For example, when the emergency hospital men with machines visit Montag's house in concern for his unconscious and overdosed wife Mildred, Bradbury explains what those machines did with chilling detail. He likens one of the devices to a black cobra, which "slid down your stomach... drank up all the green matter" (18), to give the reader the impression that this snake-like contraption is a disgusting yet efficient aspect of life in this dystopia. The same machine is referenced throughout the book as Montag's perspective radically changes in front of Mildred, who is still entranced by the world Bradbury created. By giving emphasis on this lifeless yet moving automaton, Montag is portayed through his anxiety and fear of things that everyone else dismisses as too uninteresting or frivolous to think about. Personification is later given attention when even Montag's limbs seem to betray his mind when he involuntarily hides a book for his own keeping. "Montag had done nothing. His hand had done it all... with a brain of its own" (41). While owning a book was undoubtly illegal in Bradbury's dystopia, Montag's hand had taken the book through automatic instinct even though days ago he reviled at the thought of it. Bradbury saw Montag's hand as a separate scheming individual, wanting the mind to realize the importance of reading. By having this struggle of body and mind over a simple book, the tone of uneasiness and anxiety flows naturally through the novel.

The tone of uneasiness is also shown through the use of repetition in key parts of the novel. Once Montag first meets with Clarisse McClellan, his world becomes distorted in thoughts he never even considered before. The frequent bomber planes, which would have crossed his mind with ease earlier, became seared into his head as they were "going over, going over, going over, one two, one two, one two, six of them, nine of them, twelve of them... did all the screaming for him" (17). Then, in another episode of scattered thought, Montag's comprehension of everything that happened that day become distorted in sync with the rain, until saying "I don't know anything anymore" (22). Repetition supports the tone of dishevelment when Montag tries to read a book while in a society that was made to prevent that. As he tries to put the lilies mentioned in the book into his heart, a seemingly perpetual blaring of "Denham's Dentrifice" forcefully replaces Montag's thoughts with an empty pleasure with the repeated noise of "Denham's Dentrifice, Denham's Dandy Dental Detergent, Denham's Dentrifice Dentrifice Dentrifice" (81). By using repetition, Montag's thought pattern throughout the novel becomes understandable yet disturbing at the same time.

Bradbury makes the confusing and foreboding tone strong with the dialogue. Many of the things that the characters say are thought provoking, philisophical, and morally disputable. One example is Clarisse McClellan, one of the few individuals who are not affected by Bradbury's dystopia. Being the root of Montag's transformation, she speaks of the little things that many would miss in a world of pleasure, like the grass on the lawn and the stretched out advertisements beside the road. She alone realizes that no one has time anymore for anyone else (27), and, rather than conform to a dysfuntional society, would rather flaunt her knowledge to those willing to listen. As the novel goes on, the only ones who also share her feelings are shown as outlaws and fugitives of the society that Montag lives in. Another example of Bradbury's use of dialogue is through Fire Captain Beatty, who is unusually fluent in literary passages for someone who burns books. Beatty represented the opposite side of the moral spectrum; though being empathetic for those like Clarisse, he saw books as a waste of time. He knew the truth about Bradbury's dystopia too, but he agreed to what that society had to offer, choosing visual entertainment rather than the words of books. It would be then that he assumed the role of burning the dangerous weapons known as books as a fireman. Since Beatty represented the morals of Bradbury's dystopia, his parts in the contribute to the uneasy tone that Fahrenheit 451 is full of.

[Alison E]

Alison English
Mrs.Wantz
Period 1
4 May 2009

In Fahrenheit 451, the author, Ray Bradbury uses his creative and interesting language to create a sense of uneasiness in a dysfunctional society. In the first passage, Bradbury writes, “It was a pleasure to see things eaten” (Bradbury 7). In this, a fire is personified by the word eaten. By using the word “eaten”, Bradbury stresses the intensity of a fire, of burning the books. Late one night, Guy Montag compares the sound of jets flying over his house to a scream (17). Bradbury is personifying the sound of the jet bombers as they fly through the sky late in the night. He accented the torturous, perturbed sound that he would hear, as the jets would fly to emphasize the uneasiness of living in this society. Bradbury’s use of personification in the novel gives the story a sense of foreboding.

The use of metaphors in the novel has an overwhelming effect on society and on the reader. While the frequent bomber planes flew above, “Montag was cut in half” (17). The feeling of fear that Montag was experiencing was enough to make him feel that he was split apart into two separate parts. He was torn from the devastation in which the dysfunctional lifestyle faced him with. Bradbury’s use of metaphors has tremendous impact on the reader as they help illustrate this frightening futuristic society.

Bradbury’s crafty use of repetition also seen adds to the sense of uneasiness to the story. While the frequent bombers planes flew over, the feeling that they were, “going over, going over, going over, one two, one two, one two, six of them ,nine of them, twelve of them, one and one and one...id all the screaming for him” (17). Bradbury does an excellent job using repetition of the jet bomber planes to create anxiety within the character. This feeling of panic gives the reader a sense of uneasiness, as the character no longer needs to scream for himself, the planes do it all. While trying to memorize lines of a book the scattered thoughts of “Denham’s Dentifrice, Dentifrice, Dentifrice, one two, one two three, one two, one two three…” escapes him (81). The repetition displays the flustered thoughts of Guy Montag. The sense of uneasiness is detectable as Montag’s thoughts become more wild and unnerving. The use of repetition in Fahrenheit 451, constructs a dysfunctional society as clearly seen through the thoughts of Guy Montag.

[Jessica E.]

A book known well for its dysfunctional society descriptions; Ray Bradbury uses
To emphasize certain areas of the dysfunctional society created in Fahrenheit 451. For example, Montag felt his heart jump, and jump again!” (54 Bradbury) This line can have such a deep meaning yet with barely any words to complete the sentence. The characterization of the sentence just makes you imagine your heart jumping so hard to where it is about to jump out upon you. Even comparing the feeling to my everyday, such as when I am swimming my hardest and at the end, I swear my heart is beating so hard it is going to burst right threw the skin. However, Bradbury’s personification with just this one sentence can open such a broad horizon of thoughts. In addition, "It was a special pleasure to see things eaten." (Bradbury 7) I can only imagine this, though in a very terrifying disbursement of technique. This line also adding so much life to the storyline, putting repetitive illustrations into process. The way Bradbury embodiments the story with his techniques makes it all a very bold statement line after line.


My favorite technique used by Bradbury is his use of repetition to prove that Fahrenheit 451 has a dysfunctional society. If I were to pick one section from the whole book, I would choose when he is describing the raindrops one right after another, each with their own description it just makes me go to my happy place. Which is dancing in the rain for no reason, but to stop time in life and remember every single detail in the moment? Just as Bradbury describer’s Montag with his overwhelmed feeling for each raindrop. Another good repetition was when Beatty kept asking Montag about sports when all he could seem to reply with was a “fine.” (60) Bradbury has a way with his words, especially with his repetition that is hard to forget, it really puts you in perspective.


The last way that Bradbury creates a sense of dysfunctional society is with his brilliant metaphors. When Bradbury states, “Montag was cut in half” (17) you can just see him splitting in so many ways. Either due to confusion, stress, or even girls. As an older man, he could be shocked of the young women then at his age with the way, they act towards him. Alternatively, just the fact of how we ourselves are cut in half. Usually due to stress, whether it is between taking sides physically or mentally. Another interesting metaphor used was comparing books to slain pigeons and bodies right before they are burned (41). In my opinion, I see the books trying to make an escape before they are forced to seize their painful death. Bradbury’s use of metaphor has definitely been thought upon and can take different leads in ones mind.



Jessica Entrekin
Period 2

(used late pass on this assignment)

[Bryan H]

Bryan Hickman
Mrs. Wantz
English 10, Period 4
8 May 2009
Use of Figurative Language in Fahrenheit 451
Ray Bradbury uses irony throughout the novel to display the violent and reckless behavior of the members in this dystopian society. “In musty blackness swinging silver hatchets at doors that were, after all, unlocked.” (Bradbury 36). The characters in the novel are destructive and cruel. “’If you see that dog outside,’ said Mildred, “give him a kick for me.” (76). The author uses irony to show the aggressive tendencies of both males and females in the novel.
The main character’s emotions symbolize how dethatched people feel from society. “My wife, I can’t remember anything about her.” (156). People in the novel feel no connections to one another. Montag cannot remember anything about his wife because of his inability to connect with the people in his society. “What did you give the city, Montag? Ashes. What did the others give to each other? Nothingness.” (156).
The author uses repetition to symbolize the internal struggle of Guy Montag. “He picked at the shape of the individual letters, not blinking, ‘Denham’s. Spelled: D-E-N-’ They toil not, neither do they… ‘Denham’s does it! Denham’s dental detergent’ ‘Shut up, shut up, shut up! It was a plea, a cry so terrible.” (79). This passage describes the constant struggle between the mind, and the advertisements created by the corporations. If the world is too loud to think, the people in the society become thoughtless. The main character’s internal struggle with maintaining a thought over a short period of time due to the constant repetition of advertisements symbolizes the way in which the dysfunctional society runs.