HistoricalAnalysisofFahrenheit451

Allbooksdrawfromsomething,andlikemanybeforeit
Fahrenheit451
was
fundamentallyshapedbywar.RayBradburywrote
Fahrenheit451
intheyearof1953.Thetime
periodthatthisbookwaswritteninwasamaincontributortomanyoftheprimaryunderlying
themesandideasbehind
Fahrenheit451
.Atthistimeinhistorytherewereseveralsignificant
eventsandfearspresentinthemindsoftheAmericanpeoplethatwerecenteredaroundtheCold
WarandWorldWarTwo.Thesefearsshapedboththeamericanpeopleandthebook
Fahrenheit
451
.
Politicalregimeswerehostiletofreethinkingintellectualsburnedbooksthatopposedor
questionedtheirideals.ThemostrelevantofthesewastheNaziregimewhichbeganburning
booksin1933,lessthanayearafterHitlercametopowerinGermany.Bradburycreditsthis
eventformuchofhisinspirationbehindtheburningofbooksin
Fahrenheit451
.Accordingto
theHolocaustEncyclopediahelptosuppressopposingcultures,Usuallycarriedoutinapublic
context,theburningofbooksrepresentsanelementofcensorshipandusuallyproceedsfroma
cultural,religious,orpoliticaloppositiontothematerialsinquestion.Thisbookburningcarried
outbytheNazishelpedcreatemanyofthethemespresentin
Fahrenheit451
.Primarily,themes
ofcensorshipandthebarringofideas.RayBradburys
Fahrenheit451
hascreatedasocietythat
valuesuniformity.Thefiremeninthe
Fahrenheit451
burnbooksbecausebooksintheirvery
naturearediverseandconveymanypointsofview.Asaresulttheyopposedthedominant
culturein
Fahrenheit451
.
TheUnitedStateofAmericaofficiallyjoinedWorldWarTwointheDecemberof1941.
AtthetimeRayBradburywasinhisearlytwentieswhenhewitnessedthemachineofwar.
Betweentheyearsof1939and1945theU.S.produced10battleships,27aircraftcarriers,110
escortcarriers,211submarines,907destroyers,41,000artilleryguns,82,000landingcrafts,
124,000shipsofalltypes,310,000aircrafts,2,400,000vehiclesofalltypes,12,500,000rifles
and41,000,000,000roundsofammunition.Bradburyexperiencedfirsthandamilitarizednation.

Thisleadhimtocreateasocietyin
Fahrenheit451
thatwascenteredaroundmilitaryand
governmentalcontrol.Inthebook,thefictionalnationisengagedinextremelyshortbut
extremelyfrequentwarswithanunknownadversaryandmanysymbolsofwararepresent
throughoutthebookandplayakeyroleinthecharacterdevelopmentofoftheprotagonistGuy
Montag.AprimeexampleofthisisafterMontagswifeMildredoverdosesonpills:The
jetbombsgoingover,goingover,goingover,onetwo,onetwo,onetwo,sixofthem,nineof
them,twelveofthem,oneandoneandoneandanotherandanotherandanother,didallthe
screamingforhim.Heopenedhisownmouthandlettheirshriekcomedownandoutbetween
hisbaredteeth.Montagistryingtoscreamoutofgriefforhiswifebutisdrownedoutbythe
machineofwar.Thisexcerptestablishesthesuppressiverelationshipbetweenthesociety's
militaryhaswithitspeople.
ShortlyaftertheAllieshadclaimedvictoryinWorldWarTwotheSovietsandtheU.S.
engagedinanarmsracethatresultedthelargestbombtoevertobedetonatedinhistory.Thisera
wasknownasthearmsraceandwasakeypartofthecoldwar.Inthe1950stherewasaconstant
threatofofnuclearwar,thisfearofnucleardevastationisveryapparentin
Fahrenheit451
.Itis
mostclearlydemonstratedbythehistoryofthefictionalsocietyin
Fahrenheit451
,which
includestwonuclearwars.In
Fahrenheit451
thefearofnuclearwarwasreplacedwiththefear
ofinformationandintellect.Thesystemsinthissocietyareconstructedtoformideasof
exclusion,fearandahatredforintellectuality.Thisisexemplifiedbythispassagefromthebook:
Withschoolturningoutmorerunners,jumpers,racers,tinkerers,grabbers,snatchers,fliers,and
swimmersinsteadofexaminers,critics,knowers,andimaginativecreators,thewordintellectual,
ofcourse,becametheswearworditdeservedtobe.Althoughin
Fahrenheit451
thefearhas
shiftedfromnuclearwarinthenovel,therearestillremnantsofitsorigininthemultiplenuclear
warsinthestory.
TheColdWarwasunequivocallythemostinfluentialeventinthewritingof
Fahrenheit
451
.Themostessentialunderlyingthemesofthebookwerederivedfromthefearof
communismthatafflicted1950sAmerica.TheSovietUnionwasacommunistnation.Asaresult

thecharacteristicsofsamenessanduniformitywereendorsedbytheSovietUnion.Atthesame
timethesesameattributeswererejectedbytheAmericansocietyalongwiththeentireconceptof
communism.ThisrelationshipofoppositionthatthecapitalisticUSAsharedwithcommunist
SovietRussiaisconveyedin
Fahrenheit451
throughcrumblingsocietythathasideologies
extremelysimilartothatofacommunistgovernment.DuringthetimeoftheSovietUnionthe
peopleofRussiaandotherEuropeannationswereoppressedbytheircontrollinggovernment.
ThissuppressivegoverningiswhateventuallyledtothecollapseoftheSovietUnion.
Throughouthistorycommunistgovernmentshaveusedthepressandthemediatowithhold
informationaswellasspreadintentionalinaccuracies.Thiscontrolofinformationwithin
communistnationsmanifestsitselfin
Fahrenheit451
astheillegalizationofbooks.When
knowledgeandinsightbecometheminoritytoignoranceandcondescensionthesocietyin
questionwillcrumble.Theuseofmediabythegovernmenttocontrolitspeoplewas
predominantlyusedbytheUSSRthroughthe1900s.Theconceptofextremegovernmental
controlwastransfusedfromtheestablishedcommunistRussiaandintothepagesof
Fahrenheit
451
.Thesuppressionoffreethinkingpartiesledtoasocietythatcondonedthedestructionof
textsthatprovokedthoughtsandideasthatdidnotconspirewiththoseofgovernment.Inthe
bookthismethodwassoeffectivethattheaveragecitizenfirmlysupportedtheideathatbooks
causessuicideanddepression.Toanextenttheoppositewastrue,becausewithoutnewideas
andoriginalitylifebecomesmeaningless.Andwithwithoutmeaningpeoplelosethewilltolive.
ThisisfurtherdemonstratedbyMildred'snearsuicide.Thiscensorshipandsuppressionof
originalityiswhatcausedthesocietyof
Fahrenheit451
,andtheSovietUniontobe
unsustainableandeventuallycollapse.
Undoubtedlyallgreatpiecesofliteraturehavedrawninspirationfromhistory.
Fahrenheit
451
isnoexception.Whenlookatthecommonthreadsthatrunthrutheeventsthatdrovethe
creationof
Fahrenheit451
youwillfindasimple,yetimportantthread.Thiscommonthreadis
war.Justasitwaswhenbookwaswritten,warisstillaplaguetosocietyandwemustlearnwhat
wecanfromhistoryinordertonourishamorepeacefulglobalsociety.

sources
http://www.neabigread.org/books/fahrenheit451/readersguide/abouttheauthor/
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005852
http://www.history.com/thisdayinhistory/thefirstatomicbombtestissuccessfullyexploded
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_arms_race
http://www.biography.com/people/raybradbury9223240#earlylife
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_the_United_States_during_World_War_II
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_production_during_World_War_II
http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/forstudents/ww2history/ww2bythenum
bers/wartimeproduction.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/