Delving Deeper

Jill D.
AP Literature
Thesis Paper
Mr. Kramer-P.3
Delving Deeper
“Write only what you love, and love what you write. The key word is love. You have to get up in the morning and write something you love, something to live for.” After following his own advice it is no wonder that Ray Bradbury is considered to be one of the most famous and beloved science fiction writers. With exactly one hundred books to his name he knows what he is speaking about when he says that you have to write something you love. One of the reasons that Bradbury is such an acclaimed author is because of his ability to make readers delve deeper into their minds and think about his works of literature. The characters that Bradbury develops are original, and very metaphorical. This paper will examine the characters of one of his novels most adored by readers, Fahrenheit 451. This novel contains the formula that every aspiring science fiction writer should follow. It draws the reader in with an interesting spin on a fairly mundane topic, and then it holds the reader captivated with its mesmerizing characters. The man behind these amazing characters is Ray Bradbury who began his life in Waukegan, Illinois.
Ray Douglas Bradbury, started out with humble beginnings. Bradbury was born in Waukegan, Illinois, on August 22, 1920. Dr. Charles Pierce delivered Bradbury at Maternity Hospital, only a few blocks away from the Bradbury’s small but

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cozy home. Ray had stayed in his mother’s womb for an extra month, and his parents were overjoyed when he finally decided to enter the world (Weller 11). He was born to Leonard Spaulding Bradbury and Esther Marie Moberg Bradbury of 11 South St. James Street. He was named after a cousin on his father’s side and even though the spelling on his birth certificate was Ray, his parents spelled it Rae until the first grade. A teacher recommended changing the spelling to Ray, so that Ray would not be teased for having a feminine name. Douglas, his middle name, came from his mother’s love of the “swashbuckling screen star”, Douglas Fairbanks (Weller 12). Although Ray was a welcome addition to the family, his parents had began their relationship together in 1912.
Leonard Bradbury began courting Esther Moberg in 1912. Both were Midwestern, polite and quiet people who married on Saturday, August 8, 1914, at St. Elisabeth’s Church in the city of Glencoe, Illinois. On July 17, 1916, Ray’s older twin brothers were born, Leonard Jr. and Samuel. Sadly, a few months after the twin’s second birthday, Samuel died from the Spanish influenza epidemic. They buried their son on September 30, 1918 (Weller 23, 24). Four years later, Ray Bradbury was born to a very overprotective mother. After her first child died, she vowed to keep Leonard Jr. and Ray as safe as possible. For example, the summer that Ray turned one year old, his mother tied him with a rope to an apple tree so that he would not crawl away while she did the laundry. He was also bottle-fed until he was six years old and then spoon-fed right up until the time he entered his teenage years (Weller 25). One thing that Esther Bradbury did instill in her youngest son was a love for the cinema. February 1924 found Mrs. Bradbury and Ray walking the short distance from their home to the Elite Theatre
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downtown. It was Ray’s first trip to the theatre and they were going to see Lon Chaney in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The cost of admission was fifty-five cents for the two-hour-and-thirteen-minute film, but it was really a priceless moment because it would influence young Bradbury to do great things in life (Weller 27).
The first traveling experience that Ray Bradbury ever had was when his family packed up and headed for Tucson, Arizona. There, Mr. Bradbury was unable to find work, but young Ray began an infatuation with the University of Arizona. He spent most of his time roaming the halls of the Natural Sciences building and staring slack-jawed at the many exhibits of skeletons, snakes, scorpions, tarantulas, and dinosaur bones. Unfortunately, Ray’s father’s lack of work eventually sent the family back home to Waukegan, Illinois (Weller 36).
During his high school years Ray excelled in English and art, but struggled with the concepts in mathematics (Weller 73). Ray Bradbury graduated Los Angeles High School in June 1938. He stayed out of school until January 1939 and then, because many of his friends were doing it, decided to attend college. He went to Los Angeles City College, took the entrance exam, passed, and then decided not to attend due to the fact that he would only be going to school for the girls, and that was not a good enough reason. Instead he made a deal with himself: once every week he would go the Central Library and “lose himself in the tall, dark corridors of bookshelves” (Weller 91).
In addition to the library he also liked to go to Fowler Brothers Bookstore. The manager of the bookstore had asked his employee, Marguerite McClure, to keep her eyes open for thieves. Thinking Ray looked like a thief, Marguerite
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walked over to him, more accusatory than friendly, and asked, “May I help you?” Ray asked if the store carried the collection Who Knocks? He told Marguerite that one of his stories was included in the collection. McClure was impressed to be in the company of a published author and immediately forgot all about the thievery. Next, he told her that one of his stories was in the new Best American Short Stories collection. This man piqued Marguerite’s attention and Bradbury was also very love-struck with Marguerite. Because Ray was so shy he did not ask her out at their first meeting. However, after a few days Ray returned to the store and asked Marguerite out for coffee. After a whirlwind courtship, the two became engaged in June 1946 (Weller 137, 140). On September 27, 1947, Ray and Marguerite (Maggie as she was most often known) were married at Mount Calvary Church in Los Angeles. Their first home was a one-bedroom apartment on 33 South Venice Blvd. Two years after they were married the couple welcomed their first child. Susan Marguerite Bradbury was born on November 5, 1949. The couple had three more daughters: Ramona, Bettina, and Alexandra (Weller 159, 160).
During the 1930’s Ray Bradbury was influenced heavily by the images of the Nazi soldiers burning books in Germany. In 1966 Bradbury wrote, “When Hitler burned a book, I felt it as keenly, please forgive me, as his killing a human, for in the long sum of history they are one and the same flesh.” The images of the 1930’s stuck with Bradbury and were brought to life in the 1940’s when he wrote the short stories known as the “five ladyfinger firecrackers”, which ultimately led to Fahrenheit 451. The five books that led to Fahrenheit 451 were The Bonfire, Bright Phoenix, The Exiles, Usher II, and The Pedestrian. In some way all of these books had to do with censorship, banned books,
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book burning, the power of the individual, or the salvation of art from the clutches of those who might destroy it. Ray Bradbury spoke about his novel to Sam Weller. This is what he had to say regarding Fahrenheit 451:
“The Pedestrian- even though it’s not dealing with censorship- resulted in Fahrenheit. Because later, I took the pedestrian out for a walk on night again, and when he turned a corner, he bumped into this young girl named Clarisse McClellan and she took a sniff and she said, ‘I smell kerosene, I know who you are,’ and the man she bumped into said, ‘Who am I?’ and she said, ‘You’re the fireman who lives up the block who burns books’” (Weller 200).
“ I cannot possibly tell you what an exciting adventure it was,” recalled Bradbury in reference to writing Fahrenheit 451 (Weller 201).
Later in life Ray Bradbury suffered minor strokes, all of which he survived. Sadly, however, Maggie Bradbury died on November 24, 2003 at 3:15 in the afternoon. The couple had been married for fifty-seven years (Weller 328). Very recently Ray Bradbury was honored by the National Endowment for the Arts. He was escorted to the White House where he was awarded the Medal of Arts. Ray Bradbury has led a very fruitful life and continues to amaze those with his “gift for language, his insights into the human condition, and his commitment to the freedom of the individual” (Weller 332). His life has indeed been full of love and great writing.
One of Ray Bradbury’s most celebrated works of literature is Fahrenheit 451.
The characters of this amazing piece of literature seem to jump from the pages and though at first glance they seem to be mere individuals mixed up in a dystopian world,
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they are far more complex. The book focuses on the protagonist of the story, Guy Montag. He is a typical fireman, according to this novel, with his “black hair, black brows…fiery face, and …blue-steel shaved but unshaved look” (Bradbury33). However, the firefighting that Montag partakes in is much different than the firefighting that goes on in the 20th century. Montag starts fires. More precisely, Montag burns books. Instead of rejoicing in putting out fires, Montag finds himself enjoying his job of burning books at the required temperature: 451 degrees Fahrenheit. There is not a prejudice against just one type of book, but all books. The opening scene of Fahrenheit 451 describes the satisfaction that Montag receives for burning pieces of literature. “It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed” (Bradbury 3). Although Montag has been practicing this profession for eight years, the last two years have begun to make him question if what he is doing is right or wrong. He cannot quite put his finger on the problem, but his friend, Faber, goes on to describe Montag’s feelings as “ a fireman turned sour” (Bradbury 85). Part of his new feelings of discontent came from his friendship with Clarisse McClellan. This young girl is responsible for introducing Montag to ideas and thoughts that he had never had before. When Montag and Clarisse first meet, Clarisse introduces him to the idea that firemen were responsible for putting out the flames of fires at one time. “ “ I heard once that a long time ago houses used to burn by accident and they needed firemen to stop the flames,” said Clarisse. He laughed. “ No houses have always been fireproof, take my word for it.” ” (Bradbury 8). Now with new thoughts placed in Montag's head, his job becomes increasingly more difficult. For instance, on one of his rides to burn books, he
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finds himself face to face with a woman who decides to die before she will give up her books. After this particularly hard assignment, Montag becomes ill. Unfortunately, Montag’s boss, Captain Beatty, discovers Montag’s illness right away. With the threat of Beatty looming closer, Montag becomes increasingly more interested in books and begins to read the books he has stored in his ventilator for so long. At the same time as his new act of reading, Montag seeks out a man from his past, Dr. Faber, who is the only educated man that Montag can trust. Even with the help of Dr. Faber, Montag is not able to escape Captain Beatty, and soon the two must confront each other. The time arrives outside of Montag’s house, where Montag learns that Beatty has suspected him of housing books. In a rush of fury, Montag hurls a flamethrower at Beatty and ignites him. After this, Montag is a hunted man. That is, until he meets Granger and his traveling friends. These men embrace Montag as their own and rejoice when the current world is destroyed and a new time where books are accepted can flourish.
Captain Beatty is the “ bad guy” of this novel. In a way, Montag is like Jesus, the bearer of good news, and Beatty is much like the devil of the story, satanic and determined to keep people from learning the truth. His choice of automobile is a “yellow-flame-colored beetle with…black-char-colored tires” (Bradbury 63). He is an intensely smart, manipulative man who has read many books and often engages in verbal duels with Montag. He is the leader of his fire station and controls his firemen with an iron fist. However, he misjudges how far he can go with Montag, and it results in causing his death. When Beatty is burned alive, he becomes a pile of black ash, which

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symbolizes “ opening the way for Montag to spring into his own incarnation as the succeeding phoenix and bringer of light” (CliffsNotes 17).
Bradbury reveals two things about Montag’s job as a fireman. First, it is blackening, not enlightening. Second, it poses a threat to nature. Clarisse McClellan is able to provide a contrast to both of these aspects. Clarisse stands for a kind, humane light and her love for nature is illuminated in that she secretly brings Montag bits and pieces of things from nature and sets them on his front porch. These include: autumn leaves, flowers, and chestnuts. Bradbury also does a very good job at balancing Montag’s burned, blackened presence with Clarisse’s whiteness. Bradbury describes her face as “slender and milk-white” and “bright as snow in the moonlight” (Bradbury 5, 7). The white of Clarisse-the presence of all color- confronts the darkness of Montag- the absence of all color when they meet that one fateful night on their way home (Olander
198, 199, 211). Clarisse opens the door for Montag’s salvation. She loves life, dandelions, rain, and autumn; she is the exception to the robotic society that Montag finds himself living in. Clarisse is only alive for a short time during this novel, but in the small amount of time that she has with Montag she teaches him much about happiness and love. “ “The rain was thinning away and the girl was walking in the center of the sidewalk with her head up and the few drops falling on her face. She smiled when she saw Montag. “What are you up to?” he asked. “I love to walk in it [the rain],” she said, “Rain even tastes good. You might like it if you tried it.” “I never have. What do you do, go around trying everything once?” he asked. “Sometimes twice,” she answered” ” (Bradbury 21). After this encounter, Clarisse runs to her appointment with her
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psychiatrist, who Clarisse likes to “keep busy peeling away the layers” (Bradbury 22). After she leaves, Montag, “very slowly, as he walked, tilted his head back in the rain, for just a few moments, and opened his mouth…” (Bradbury 24). Clarisse is really a pivotal character in Fahrenheit 451 because she brings about the change in Montag.
“Using figurative language Bradbury is able to foreshadow for the reader that
Clarisse will remain with Montag even after she disappears, to illuminate his way
through the dark night of his ordeal and bring him to a realization of the
possibility of a new dawn for mankind with Granger’s dissident group” (Olander
198, 199).
From the very beginning Mildred Montag, Guy’s wife, is portrayed as a cold, shallow woman. When Montag walks through the door of his house he feels the coldness and darkness that penetrates the walls. When he walks through his bedroom door he describes the feeling: “Complete darkness, not a hint of the silver world outside, the windows tightly shut, the chamber a tomb-world where no sound from the great city could penetrate” (Bradbury 11). Bradbury does a fantastic job of creating Mildred to seem like the complete opposite of Clarisse. Where Clarisse is lovely, and full of youth, Mildred has taken on the coldness of a corpse (Olander 200). After his conversation with Clarisse, Montag is genuinely trying to decide whether he is a happy person or not. Bradbury sets a fabulous scene in which the imagery portrays exactly what Montag is feeling.
“He felt his smile slide away, melt, fold over and down on itself like a tallow skin,
like the stuff of a fantastic candle burning too long and now collapsing and now
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blown out. Darkness. He was not happy. He was not happy. He recognized this
as the true state of affairs” (Bradbury 12).
It becomes even clearer that this is not the way life is supposed to be when Bradbury presents the Montag’s sleeping arrangements. “So, with the feeling of a man who will die in the next hour for lack of air, he felt his way toward his open, separate, and therefore cold bed” (Bradbury 12). As Montag continues his walk into the claustrophobic room, his foot kicks an empty tablet bottle. Looking down, Montag recognizes this as the crystal medicine bottle that holds his wife’s sleeping pills. He realizes that the bottle is empty even though this morning it had contained thirty sleeping pills. With this new revelation he looks over at Mildred and sees that her breathing is barely audible. Montag immediately calls the mechanics from the emergency hospital. As these men pump Mildred’s stomach, their conversation is impersonal. This leads to an understanding that
these cases are very common these days. What these mechanics are implying is that Mildred is no one special.
“The poisonous darkness within her has become endemic to their way of life, The darkness suggests all the unimagined psychic bile that builds up in people, to embitter them, alienate them from one another, snuff out any inner light on their mode of existing” (Olander 201).
Bradbury’s use of imagery does an excellent job of allowing his readers to feel more connected with the book.
Professor Faber is an important character in Fahrenheit 451. He acts as Montag’s conscience. Part One of Bradbury’s novel focused on Montag’s developing ideas of how
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society is mistaken about books. During Part One, the voice inside Montag’s head is Clarisse telling him what is right and wrong. Moving effortlessly from Part One to Part Two, Bradbury introduces Montag and the readers to Montag’s new source of right versus wrong. The links between Clarisse and Professor Faber are anything but superficial. However, Bradbury provides a way in which the audience is able to tell right away that the conscience of Montag has switched from Clarisse to Faber. It is the dominant whiteness of both characters that sets them apart (Olander 203).
“The old man looked as if he had not been out of the house in years. He and the white plaster walls inside were much the same. There was white in the flesh of his mouth and his cheeks and his hair was white and his eyes had faded, with white in the vague blueness there” (Bradbury 80).
Also, just like the way that Montag associated Clarisse with nature, Montag begins to do the same with Faber (Olander 203). “Do you know that books smell like nutmeg or some spice from a foreign land” (Bradbury 81)? Faber’s idea of how to turn the society around, into what it used to be, is through a remolding of the entire society (Olander 204). “The whole culture’s shot through. The skeleton needs melting and reshaping” (Bradbury 87). Although Faber is ecstatic about the plans that Montag has to destroy this society that despises books, he also warns Montag to allow “a little of my cowardice to be distilled in you tonight” (Bradbury 93). Even though Bradbury uses the word cowardice, what he is really referring to is Faber’s prudence cultivated over a lifetime (Olander 205). Faber begins to make a great impact on Montag and Montag begins to see

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his “own fiery youth being matured- fermented- by the life experiences of Faber” (Olander 206).
The end of the book finds Montag in the company of a group of “self-exiled-book-lovers” who have memorized the great works of literature in order to preserve them without the anxiety and fear that they will be burned by firemen. When Montag stumbles upon the group the leader is a man named Granger. The scene in which Montag enters the camp of Granger and his friends is pivotal in this book. Montag sees the group sitting around a campfire. This immediately strikes him as odd because he has different feelings toward this campfire than he does for the fires that he used to start. Montag recognizes the differences in his feelings. “It was not burning. It was warming” (Bradbury 145). The men sitting around the fire did not shrink back with fear, but held their hands up to the flames for warmth (Olander 210). When Montag introduces himself to the group he
learns of their purpose, which is “to preserve man’s cultural heritage through the current dark age of his history. They are the keeper’s of man’s wisdom and creativity” (Olander 210). Although Montag is pleased with what he hears from these men, he is slightly disappointed that “their faces do not burn and glitter with the knowledge they carried, to glow as lanterns glow, with the light in them” (Bradbury 154). Editor Joseph D. Olander hypothesizes that the reason these men’s faces do not glow with their knowledge is because “they know that nuclear war is imminent, that the joyride of Beatty’s society is over, that the future of man is unsure” (Olander 210). This becomes more of a concrete hypothesis when the city is destroyed to “a heap of baking powder” (Bradbury 162). The group of book-lovers begins to rise up out of the ashes, which is a very symbolic moment
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in Bradbury’s novel. Granger compares this with the Phoenix, the mythical bird that lives for hundreds of years in the desert, consumes itself in fire, and then rises reborn from its own ashes (Olander 211). As the group struggles to their feet they fall in line behind Montag, who they have agreed to make their leader. “Montag, which means Monday in German, will conceivably light their way to a fresh beginning for man (Olander 211). In essence Granger is really “a twenty-fourth-century Moses, guiding his fellow rescuers of books toward an undisclosed promise land” (Cliffs 21).
While not human, the last important character of Fahrenheit 451 is essential to this symbolic dystopia. The Mechanical Hound is a “slick electronic hit man formed of copper wire and storage batteries and smelling of blue electricity” (Cliffs 22). He is what the firemen use to sniff out those who are not loyal to the society. The hound is controlled by a central command. This allows for his “near perfect accuracy” and “rapid
deployment” (Cliffs 22). The irony of this use for the Mechanical Hound is that in a previous society dogs had been used as rescuers for firemen. Instead of hunting the betrayers, dogs had been critical in the hunt for those who were buried under debris or injured in the fires. Montag is able to escape the “four-inch hollow steel needle” of the Mechanical Hound and reaches freedom.
The conclusion of Ray Bradbury’s novel is bittersweet. The reader understands that the story must come to an end, but because of Bradbury’s ability to create such tantalizing characters, the reader is reluctant to put the novel down. With writers such as Bradbury, a reader is able to find a different kind of reading that is not readily accessible in today’s society. Writers now are trying to appeal to readers who just want a “quick
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read” and are not interested in gleaning anymore than a nice moral ending from their books. In order to be a Bradbury reader, one must be willing to take the time to look deeper into the books and their characters and find the treasure that is Ray Bradbury’s writing. After all, he loved what he wrote, so the readers should love it too.