NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Imagine this: The world no longer reads. Instead, they sit around for hours and watch giant screens at home, viewing mind-numbing programming with no real intellectual value. Then, they get in the car and drive 90 + mph, not even for a second thinking about the danger that they put themselves in. People no longer care about anything really. They no longer think for themselves. They have no ideas that make them unique individuals.
Sound familiar? It can be honestly said that today, the TV has replaced reading as the number one mode of acquiring information for the majority of people in our nation. They have their minds filled overflowing with ideas that the program presents. And this is how people shape their worldview today. After all, all "normal" women look like Cindy Crawford or Halle Berry, right? All kids have sex before marriage, right?
Everyone has to look like they do on TV, and be like the "normal" families portrayed on TV... right? In the year 2004, the vast majority of what is seen on TV is absolute garbage. No? Well, OK. To each his own.
If you think that watching a fashion model having needles pierced up and down her arm in order to win a challenge is perfectly fine to watch, then OK. If you think gay men running around an island butt naked is considered normal during the "family" hour, or having kids in a game show soaked with green slime, or someone having plastic surgery and cosmetic dentistry in order to win a beauty contest, or... Thankfully, we don't have to worry about losing our First Amendment rights; there are enough watchdog groups around to ensure that our rights don't disappear. May God help us all if we ever did. The Bill of Rights ensures that in the corner of the world in which we live, we have the freedom to ignore the "idiot box" and read a good book, or newspaper, or magazine, or whatever we want to read without fear of arrest or intimidation. In the "Fahrenheit 451 " world, books are illegal.
Since everyone got their dose of enlightenment from the big screen and didn't care about reading anymore, the government said, "Since no one reads anymore, why do we need books?" and promptly banned all of them. Those fortunate ones who manage to hang on to a few tomes for their enjoyment are paid a visit by the fire department. The "firemen" in this story, unlike their real-world counterparts, start fires, instead of extinguish them. Kerosene shoots out of their hoses instead of water.
The FD (with the number " 451 " on their uniforms, indicating the temperature in which paper burns) is dispatched to the "criminal's" home, and not only sets the books ablaze, but also the home in which they are hidden. After all, they have to set an example to the rest of the community that books are bad and if you are caught with them, your books and your home are toast... literally. The central character in the book, named Montag, is one of these firemen. For years, he has done his job setting fires, and he does it well. But after a run-in with a girl who's a free thinker, and a professor who remembers the days when books were taken for granted, he begins to question why the firemen have to burn the books at all.
Though written over half a century ago, "Fahrenheit 451 " is no longer considered science fiction. It is a glimpse of the future to come, and a warning of what the future could hold for us.
Free research essays on topics related to: fires, reads, firemen, 451, fahrenheit 451
Research essay sample on Order To Win Fahrenheit 451 Books
