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The burning of books is a powerful image that is at the heart of the themes and message of Fahrenheit 451. It is even the inspiration behind the novel’s name as 451 degrees Fahrenheit is the temperature at which books begin to burn.
But the burning of books to many can seem like a pointless process and a huge waste. So – why are books burned in Fahrenheit 451?
Burning Books: The Crux Of Fahrenheit 451
Fahrenheit 451 is a novel written by Ray Bradbury and published in 1953. Set in a dystopian America, one of the defining features of this future is that books are outlawed and burned by ‘firemen’.
The narrative of the novel follows a fireman, Guy Montag, as he becomes disillusioned with his role as a fireman and instead switches to preserving books instead of following society’s rules and burning them.
The burning of books is such an important plot device in this novel. It provides the conflict of the story, the motivations of our protagonist, and the whole narrative basically revolves around the motive behind the burning of books and why they should be preserved.
In Fahrenheit 451, the reasons the dystopian American society gives for burning books is because they have become ‘useless’ and have lost their value while other forms of entertainment rose.
In a scene where the protagonist Montag is in conversation with his fire chief, Captain Beatty, it is explained that people embraced other forms of media such as sports, movies, and television.
As a result, books became obsolete and firemen switched from putting out fires to igniting them to completely obliterate all books.
To the reader, however, this seems extreme.
We know that in our modern day, while movies and television shows have grown in popularity, books are still beloved and preserved.
The reason given by society in Fahrenheit 451 that all books are hunted down and burned because they are no longer relevant or useful is clearly not the true reason. It comes across as a lie – so why are books really burned in Fahrenheit 451?
The Real World Burning Of Books
To understand why books are burned in Fahrenheit 451, it’s important to understand why books are burned in our reality.
The author Ray Bradbury claimed that the inspiration for Fahrenheit 451 came to him when witnessed footage of the Nazi book burnings in the 1930s and ideological repression that took place in the Soviet Union.
Then, when the Second Red Scare happened in the US during the 1940s, Bradbury became concerned that book burnings would begin in the US.
So, why would groups like Nazis want to ever burn books en masse?
The answer is control.
Books are sources of information that we can use to argue against statements given as facts.
They provide multiple points of view, can be used to express human emotion and experiences, and pass down historical accounts.
Back before the internet was a thing, people would visit libraries and read books to learn more about the world, our history, and in turn themselves.
By limiting society’s access to this information, it places those in power in a higher place of control.
Nazis burned books because doing so would destroy sources of information that could be proved to disprove the statements they published as ‘facts’ – especially when it came to their anti-Semitic ideologies.
As a result, groups that ban or burn books are aiming to limit the sources of information readers can access.
This means that they cannot argue or challenge the ideas and statements they put across as ‘fact’.
So, in Fahrenheit 451, books are burned and outlawed because they are sources of important pieces of information that society can use to challenge those in power.
Although the official reason is given as ‘books are useless’, the reality is that those in power in Fahrenheit 451 want to limit the freedom of thought and expression in their society.
This allows them to stay in power through fear and control – mimicking the methods used by the Nazis, Soviets, and other facists groups we have witness in power throughout history.
The Importance Of Books
There is a saying that states that every good library will always have a copy of Mein Kampf, the hateful book written by Adolf Hitler himself.
It is filled with misinformation, hate, and facist beliefs – and yet you can find it in most libraries.
You might think that removing this book and making it unavailable around the world would help prevent the spread of Nazi beliefs when in actually, the opposite is true.
The reason why Mein Kampf is available in most libraries is so those who want more information about Adolf Hitler and his ideology can access the book themselves and interpret his words themselves.
It can be used as evidence of his hateful speech and beliefs – but without access to this book as evidence, we would be forced to believe the words of others. This means that banning Mein Kampf from libraries would only serve those who want to spread support for Nazism.
After all, if someone tells you that Adolf Hitler was a good man, you won’t be able to access the sources you need (like Mein Kampf) to prove them wrong – and will be forced to take that person’s word.
This message is at the heart of Fahrenheit 451.
It is repeated by characters including Montag and Granger that books contain information and lessons that society can use to prevent past mistakes from happening.
This is then proven by the final climax of the book – when atomic bombs are dropped on a city, mirroring the events of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
A society without free information and knowledge, passed down through books and other sources (like our modern-day Internet), is doomed to repeat the same mistakes.
This is why the practice of burning or banning books is often associated with extremism and control – and why when a school board in Tennessee voted to ban the graphic novel Maus from their libraries, there was public outcry.
Maus tells the first-hand accounts of a Jewish victim of the Holocaust and by banning it from their library, the school deprived their students of a source of information of the Holocaust from the point of view of one of its victims.
This means that when a child from that school hears someone deny the Holocaust, they are less likely to have the sources they need to disprove that argument – and this can only benefit Nazis.
This is the reality of ‘book burning’ seen in our modern society and what Bradbury warned of through his novel Fahrenheit 451.
Final Thoughts
The reason why books are burned in Fahrenheit 451 is so the rulers of the dystopian society can control the masses by denying them access to the sources of information that can be used to disprove or argue against their choices and actions.
Bradbury then shows us the consequences of this and how when books are burned, history is lost to us and we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes.
Books are not ‘useless’ – they contain memories and warnings that we need to pass down to future generations so they can learn from the past themselves.
Hi, my name is Athena Sula and I am a certified bookworm. Any free time I have is spent reading – at home, the park, on the bus. Anywhere I can sit down for a few minutes and get my book out, I’ll jump at the chance.
I first had the idea for Seeking A Good Book when I was in college and everyone would come to me for book recommendations. More often than not, everyone I recommended a book to would always come back with a glowing review of it.
