Summary "451º Fahrenheit", Ray Bradbury. History of creation, the main character

We offer you a brief summary of "451 Fahrenheit" - a well-known novel, on which there were several adaptations. In the preface to his work author R. Bradbury tells the story of his creation. After reading this article, you will learn how the author came up with the idea of writing a novel, what is his main character. We will also present a brief summary of "451 Fahrenheit".

History of creation of the work

In the 1930s, the author of the novel lived in Los Angeles, where he often watched films. Before each of them, newsreels were traditionally shown, in which fascists blasphemously burned books at the stake. These frames hurt Bradbury so much that they caused tears, and then poured into a whole novel. It should be noted that Ray Bradbury often visited the public library during the Great Depression. In this difficult time, the books were the writer's best friends.

In the foreword, the author reports that he is the main character, Guy Montag. The writer suggests that we go along with him a small path through the pages of the work. It is very interesting to get acquainted with the novel "451 Fahrenheit". Reviews about the product the most positive, many people reread it again and again, revealing new facets of the character's character, comprehending the plot. Therefore, it's safe to start reading.

Main character

Bradbury writes that people living in the near future, it is difficult to call people. All of them live in the television world, and their "relatives" are the heroes of the series. These people think stereotypes. The protagonist, however, manages to go beyond this framework. In this he helped Clarissa from "451 Fahrenheit."

Analysis of the work shows that the protagonist used to be a simple fireman, who lived an ordinary, unremarkable life. He did not think about the meaning of his existence. The fireman burned the books, as this was his work. But then Ray Bradbury writes that one day everything changed. He met and became friends with a girl named Clarissa. She loved to think about life, to walk, to enjoy the beauties of nature. In addition, the heroine of the novel "451 Fahrenheit" was able to think independently.

Quotes that this woman leads, her vision of the world - all this gradually changes the inner world of the protagonist. He was surprised, for example, when she said: "Do you know what smell the fallen leaves with? Cinnamon!" Montag secretly begins to bring books home instead of burning them. He thinks about life, about his work. The death of Clarissa, as well as a meeting with a woman who died due to refusal to leave the house, intensify the inner discord of the protagonist.

In the course of how the plot of the novel develops, life loses meaning for Guy. The society surrounding him, including his wife, begins to inspire disgust. All ends with the hero leaving the city. Whom he meets and what he finds - you will learn about this by reading the summary of the work.

Summary "451 Fahrenheit"

The events of this novel take place in the near future (it can be said that already in the present, since R. Bradbury finished his novel 60 years ago). The work says that the atomic war has recently ended, but patrol bombers still fly over the American city. The government decided to curb people: they are forbidden to think much, you can only work and have fun.

Life of people after the atomic war

Gradually, the inhabitants of this fictional world are turned into zombies. They cease to communicate, walk around the streets, begin to hate their own children. Watching TV becomes fashionable. There are so-called living rooms, in which all the walls are huge TVs. Also, residents of the city are amused by the fact that they drive on jet cars at great speed. Any books in the country are prohibited. Their reading is considered free-thinking. Former firefighters turn into a special detachment, whose main concern is to come home to the offender and burn books with his house.

Communicating with Clarissa

Once the main character returns home from work. On the street, he meets Clarissa, an eccentric neighbor. This woman says strange things about the rustle of leaves, the beauty of the stars, etc. Despite this, she likes Montagu. Gradually he begins to listen to what Clarissa says, to look at things differently.

Clarissa asks the hero one simple question: "Are you happy?" This question takes him by surprise. The hero begins to look at his life in a new way. He is not the only one who leads such an existence, but millions of Americans. Soon Gai realizes that this thoughtless existence can not be called happy. He feels emptiness, lack of humanity, warmth.

The case of Mildred, the marriage of Montague

Once there is an accident with his wife Montague. Returning home, the main character finds his wife unconscious. The woman poisoned with sleeping pills, but not as a result of the desire to part with life, but simply mechanically swallowing the pills. Everything soon is resolved safely. The ambulance quickly comes on call of the protagonist. Doctors perform a blood transfusion using the latest equipment. After receiving their 50 dollars, they are sent to the next call.

The marriage of Montag and Mildred has been going on for a long time. Marriage them has long been turned into a fiction. Mildred is against children, so they do not. Each of the spouses exists by itself. Mildred is fascinated by the television series that replace her real life.

Death of a woman who refused to leave the house

After some time, the main character learns that his neighbor killed his car to death, after which her family left. A detachment of firefighters, including Montag, is summoned to burn books in a house whose mistress refused to leave him. As a result, it was burnt together with the house. Before death, this woman quoted books. Secretly takes one of them the main character of the novel "451 Fahrenheit". This book is now kept at his house.

Visit Beatty

After all these events, Montag began to think about his work. He told his wife that she called to work and reported that he was sick. But unexpectedly on a visit to them was Beattie, the head of Montag. He suspected the main character in the storage of books. Beatty began to tell that there was nothing interesting in them, that this was only harm.

Montag leaves home

Montag after the departure of the chief showed his wife his books, which he managed to collect. Mildred began to panic and ask her husband to get rid of them. Then the main character took the Bible with him and left the house. Guy went to Faber - the old man, who once found himself reading in the park, but did not give out to the firemen. Then Faber left the main character his address. Montag decided to come to him, because he did not know who to talk to and where to go. Faber listened to Guy and persuaded him to take the side of the rebels - to save the books. He also gave the main character a small receiver. Guy put it in his ear, and the old man could thus hear everything that happens around Montag and talk with him.

How Montag betrayed himself

The protagonist of Bradbury's work "451 Fahrenheit" returned home. At this time his girlfriend came to his wife. They watched TV, but Guy offered to talk. The main character began to lose his temper from the stupidity of his wife's friends. As a result, he took out a book with poems from the hiding place, and began to read it. Faber asked Gai not to do this, but he could not stop. Mildred tried to imagine this situation as a joke of firefighters, but the girlfriends went to their homes, called the police.

Riot of Guy

Further Ray Bradbury writes that, not suspecting anything, Montag went to work. He brought Beatty one of the books and said that he stole it, which he regrets very much. The chief praised the protagonist, telling him that they all did so once. There was a call, after which all sat in the car. It turned out that the firefighters arrived at the Montague house. Lowering her eyes, Mildred took a taxi. The chief gave the main character a flamethrower and invited him to burn his own books. Gai burnt Beatty, struck two colleagues. Then he burned a mechanical dog, tuned to the smell of the protagonist.

Meeting with book protectors

Already comes to the end of the work, whose author is Bradbury ("451 Fahrenheit"). Montag decides to run away from this city. During the flight, it almost hits the car. Chasing the main character is shown on TV. Despite all the difficulties, Montag still breaks out of the city, and then rushes into the river. Guy swims for a long time. In the end, he gets to the shore, sees a fire. The tramps sitting near this fire, call the main character, include a small TV. It shows how the pursuit of Guy ends. Deciding that the offender was looking for a long time in the water, the police chose a guy walking along the street. She betrayed him for Gaius and destroyed her. The tramps admit that they are insurgents who decided to protect books. Each of these old men in his head is kept by a well-known book or several chapters from it. In the future, they hope to recreate these works. Montag learns that the war has started again.

Final of the novel

The pilgrims travel with Guy in the morning. They want to get away from the city, but they can not get far enough - bombers flew into the city, destroyed it. The vagabonds manage to survive. All in blood and dust, they are again moving. Each of them carries a book in his head, as well as a desire to change this world.

This is a summary of "451 Fahrenheit". This work was included in the gold fund of world literature, and its author (pictured above) is considered one of the best writers of the 20th century.