In Fahrenheit 451, the reader gets a very vivid description of the deplorable dystopian society by reading only the first few pages. Fahrenheit 451 was written by Ray Bradbury in 1953. A dystopia is a fictional place where everything is as miserable and horrible as it could be for the citizens. Guy Montag is the central character and a firefighter, under the command of his superior firefighter, Captain Beatty. Montag returns home with seventeen-year-old Clarisse, who asks him many unusual questions, which make him think about his work. The “firemen” of Fahrenheit 451 do not put out fires. They actually start fires, burning everyone's books, to stop all knowledge in this society. Therefore, Montag is involved in the conflict between the all-powerful firefighters and the indifferent citizens, which shapes the entire novel. Now that Montag and Clarisse are friends, Clarisse asks Guy many poignant questions, including some unfamiliar ones. She asks him “How long have you been a firefighter?”(8) and “Do you read any of the books you burn?” (8), but his only statement, which leaves Montag thinking deeply, is: "I once heard that the firemen used to put out fires in houses that had been accidentally set on fire." (9) Clarisse is obviously very interested in everything Montag thinks and expresses to her. At first he simply responds by laughing, but later his mind begins to transform. Clarisse also asks Guy if he likes doing his job or not, and Montagre replies that he loves his job. But, after Clarisse tells Guy what the firefighters did, he thinks about it more. The reader can assume that Montag will soon slowly begin to dislike his job. As ris...... middle of paper ......out society in 2011. The number "451" refers to the temperature at which books burn, according to the Fahrenheit scale. The books contain facts, knowledge, ideas, and philosophies from history. If there is no truth and knowledge of the past, society can easily turn into a dystopia. Under a dystopian government, a single group of people controls masses of citizens by keeping them ignorant. The author helps the reader think about what citizens need to do today to prevent this from happening. When Bradbury wrote this book, his forms of communication were limited to radio, telephone, television, newspapers, and books in libraries and on bookshelves. The constitutional freedoms of religion, press, assembly, and speech must be protected and safeguarded by informed citizens of Fahrenheit 451, unlike those of the Captain Beatty of this world today..