Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Fahrenheit 451 is a fictional dystopian novel by American author and dramatist Ray Bradbury published in 1953. The story depicts a future American society where free thoughts, expression, and books are outlawed. Bradbury wrote the book during the Second Red Scare period also known as the McCarthy Era when people in America suffered the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a campaign spreading fear of alleged communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage in the United States.

Bradbury was also inspired by the incidences of book burning in Nazi Germany. Bradbury claimed he wrote the book because he was concerned about the threat of Thought Control and restriction over Freedom of Speech in the United States. The novel stands against censorship and defends literature as necessary to the humanity of individuals and civilization.

In 1948, Bradbury’s short story Bright Phoenix was published that tells the story of a librarian who confronts a "Chief Censor", who burns books. In 1951, he published another short story ‘The Pedestrian’ which talked about a society in which citizens are expected to watch television as a leisurely activity. A common man, ‘The Pedestrian’ decides to go for a nighttime walk in his neighborhood and is harassed and detained by the police. Bradbury combined the elements of both short stories to write another short novel The Fireman published in 1951. He continued exploring the dystopian theme of his stories to produce his magnum opus Fahrenheit 451 published in 1953.

Characters of Fahrenheit 451:

Guy Montag is the protagonist of the novel. He is a 30-year-old married guy who works for the government as a fireman. His job is to burn books and the houses where they are illegally kept. Initially, he is a loyal fireman committed to his work. However, some instances instigate him to question the nature of his job. He begins feeling a conflict regarding his job. This inner conflict makes him feel apathy for his wife, job, and the society in which he lives. Mildred Montag (or Millie) is the wife of Guy Montag. She is addicted to sleeping pills, absorbed in the shallow dramas played on her television and seashell radio, and indifferent to the oppressive society around her. She epitomizes the shallowness and complacentness of society that Montag comes to despise. Clarisse McClellan is a teenage girl just one month short of her seventeenth birthday. Guy Montag is attracted to her because of her inquisitive nature. She is outgoing, naturally cheerful, unorthodox, and intuitive. Her classmates and teachers do not like her because she is too curious and asks ‘why’ instead of ‘how.’ She disappears without a trace and when Montag questions about her, Millie tells him that she was hit by a speeding car and her family left the place immediately after the accident. Montag doubts that Clarisse might have been assassinated. Captain Beatty is the antagonist of the novel. He is the manager of the firehouse where Montag works. He is loyal to the authorities and often lectures Montag, trying to prevent him from succumbing to the appeal of books. Professor Faber is an aging retired intellectual in a world with no place for such people, Faber greatly disapproves of the dehumanized, oppressive society in which he lives. He prefers living discretely rather than protesting or attempting to change the world. He helps Montag in clarifying his conflict regarding his job. Later on, he also helps in avoiding being caught by the Mechanical Hound. Faber escapes the atomic bomb, as he had planned to catch an early bus out of the city. Granger is the leader of a group of intellectuals living discretely who help Montag. The Old Woman is one of the victims of the firemen’s job. When Montag goes to burn her books and the house, she decides to stay within the house and burn herself to death among her treasured books. Black and Stoneman are colleaues of Guy Montag. They are devoted firemen who mindlessly follow authority. Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowels are housewives and friends of Millie, sharing her interest in the television and her simplistic outlook on life.

Summary of Farenheit 451:

The novel is set in a futuristic American society in the 24^th century. Technological advancement has reached such an extent that nearly all buildings were made with fireproof materials, and firemen preventing fires were no longer necessary. The government then turned the firemen into officers of society's peace of mind: instead of putting out fires, they were charged with starting them, specifically to burn books, which were condemned as sources of confusing and depressing thoughts that complicated people's lives. The story is divided into three parts. The first part is titled ‘The Hearth and the Salamander.’ ‘Hearth’ is a place in homes where people have open fire to produce heat and prepare food. Salamander, on the other hand, is an attractive amphibian.

The novel begins as Guy Montag returns from his duty of burning a hidden collection of books. In the future, books are totally banned and firemen are those who put fire to the books and other possessions of those who keep illegal books. Montag is happy after completing his work as he feels it is a ‘pleasure to burn.’ After his duty hours, he returns home when he meets a young girl who lives in his neighborhood. She introduces herself as Clarisse McClellan and says that everybody thinks she is crazy. Montag finds her very energetic and inquisitive. He is astonished by her questions which prompts him to think and question himself. She discusses abstract issues such as happiness, satisfaction, purpose, love, and much more.

Montag tries to ignore her questions but he finds himself prompted to ponder more on these subjects. After reaching home, he finds that his wife Millie has taken an overdose of the prescribed sleeping pills. He wonders if Millie attempted suicide. He calls for emergency and health workers to visit his home to save his wife. As he tries to sleep, he begins thinking about the questions raised by Clarisse about life. He feels a certain discontent within himself. He feels disturbed by the fact that his wife who appears normal, conventional, and happy, tried to kill herself.

The next morning, he tries to ask why Mildred attempted suicide but she is not interested in any discussion. She completely declines that she took an overdose of sleeping pills. Rather she claims that she went to a wild party and woke up hungover. She ignores Montag and begins preparing for a new script she was given for a television interview. Her disenchantment frustrates Montag as he leaves for the Firehouse. On his way to work, he again meets Clarisse who begins a discussion. She further raises innocent questions that he never thought about such as, what is the taste of rain droplets and what dandelions represent. Her enthusiasm offers relief to Montag. He continues to meet Clarisse almost every day. Clarisse tells him that she is sent to therapy because she does not enjoy the normal activities of life and prefers to be outside and have conversations.

After reaching the Firehouse, he receives an alarm that an old woman has a stash of hidden literature. Montag and his two colleagues Black and Stoneman visit the old woman’s house. The woman refuses to give up her library, and the firemen break in and begin to tear the house apart. Montag warns the lady that she should move outside as they are going to burn her library. The old woman refuses to go out and opts to get burned with her loved books. Montag is startled by her adamance. He wonders why are these books so important for the lady. In the chaos, Montag steals a copy of the Bible on impulse while the old woman sets herself and her books on fire. Montag feels that perhaps the happiness he lacks can be found in books. The sight of the old woman burning to her death disturbs him deeply. After reaching home, he hides the Bible and thinks about the old woman. He asks Millie if she remembers where they met for the first time. None of them could remember their first meeting. Millie informs him about Clarisse’s death in an automobile accident.

Disturbed by the death of the old woman and by the news of Clarisse’s death, Montag decides to take a sick leave the next day and doesn’t go to work. He tells Millie that he is not willing to work as a fireman anymore. Mildred panics over the thought of not being able to afford their home and the large wall-sized televisions if he leaves the job. She then sees Montag having a book.

His senior officer Captain Beaty visits him at his home. Montag feels that Captain Beaty somehow knows about the book he took and hid from the old woman’s library as Beaty delivers a long lecture on the history of censorship, the development of mass media, the dumbing down of culture, the rise of instant gratification, and the role of firemen as society's "official censors, judges, and executors." Millie tries to point out that Montag has a book by lifting the pillow under which he had hidden the book but Montag stops him. Millie then asks Captain Beaty what will happen if a fireman himself has kept some book. Beatty says it's okay for a fireman to keep a book for 24 hours out of natural curiosity, so long as he turns it in the next day. When Beatty leaves, Montag shows Mildred twenty books, including a Bible, that he's been hiding in the house. He feels that their lives are falling apart and that the world doesn't make sense, and hopes some answers might be found in the books. Montag and Mildred try to read the books.

The second part is titled “The Sieve and the Sand.’

Millie tries to read the Bible but finds it difficult and soon gives up as she never read any book. She asks Montag to destroy the books immediately to ensure their safety. Montag then decides to take the help of an old, retired English professor, Faber, whom he had met in a park. Montag decides to visit Faber to gain more understanding about books and his recurrent thoughts. When Faber notices Montag in front of his house, he gets frightened that Montag came to burn his books at home. However, Montag shows him the Bible he stole. Montag asks him to help him in reading the book. Faber says that these are difficult times as the threat of an atomic war is impending. Faber agrees to teach him how to read and he gives Montag a seashell radio so they can communicate with one another.

When Montag returns home, he finds that two of Millie’s friends, Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowels are at home and the three women are watching television. Montag is disgusted by his wife and her friends. He wonders why are they not worried about the impending atomic war that may destroy the whole human civilization. Montag abruptly puts the television off and tries to entertain the women by reading a poem titled Dover Beach. However, this frightens the women and Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowels leave Millie’s house immediately. Millie too gets annoyed by Montag. Montag fears he may face consequences and decides to hide all the books he stole in his backyard. When Montag visits Firehouse for his work, he submits a book to Captain Beaty to dissuade Captain Beaty’s suspicion about him stealing the books. Captain Beaty tells him that once he too was an enthusiastic reader but soon learned how harmful books can be. He then lectures more anti-book, anti-intellectual rhetoric. The firemen are called to an alarm, and Montag is dismayed to discover that it is his own house that is to be burned. His wife Millie reported him.

The third part is titled “Burning Bright.”

This time, Captain Beaty accompanies, Montag, Black, and Stoneman. Captain Beaty orders Montag to burn his hidden books and all other possessions in each room of his house. Montag tries to use ‘The Salamander,’ the fire-throwing machine that can immediately burn his house but Captain Beaty insists that Montag must use ‘the flamethrower,’ a less powerful machine that burns slowly. This further pains Montag. After burning all his books and possessions, he confronts Captain Beaty who chides him for hiding and reading books and thus disobeying the authority. The two men get into a scuffle and Montag decides to use the flamethrower against Captain Beaty. Montag noticed that Beaty didn't oppose or try to save himself and got burned alive. Montag realized that Captain Beaty wasn’t happy with his life and wished to die and purposefully incited Montag to kill him. He decides to run away.

He takes some books and hides them at Black’s house to incriminate him and then reaches Faber’s house to get his help. Faber says that he cannot help him much because soon a Mechanical Hound will be set loose to catch Montag. He then tells him the way to escape and says that he must escape down the river where he will get some help. Montag helps Faber in getting rid of all the traces of him and then runs away to the river. A Mechanical Hound pursues him but he loses his trail as he dives and swims down the river. Meanwhile, Faber decides to run away as the atomic war is looming. He goes to St. Louis to ask a former printer he knows to print some books.

After swimming for long, Montag leaves the river. In the wild, he meets a group of former writers, clergymen, and academics by the riverbank. These are ‘drifters’, the protestors against the authority who have been outcasted. They take Montag to their leader Granger. Montag learns that they failed to save books though each of them has memorized at least one book to carry its knowledge into the future. As Montag studies with them, bombers fly overhead and drop nuclear bombs on the city. The Drifters are far enough away to survive. The next day, Granger tells them about the legendary Phoenix that rose from the ashes and muses that humans can do the same, except with the knowledge of their own mistakes to guide them. The group then begins walking towards the city to help rebuild society with their memorized wisdom.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Inheritance of Loss is the second novel by Kiran Desai that was published in 2006. The novel won the Booker Prize in 2006. In 2007, the American Literary Society National Book Critics Circle also chose the book for the Best Fiction Award. The novel touches on the sensitive theme of Colonialism and its impact on postcolonial India. The novel explores the social and cultural conflicts that emerged due to the effect of Colonialism. The novel also stresses the social, cultural, economic, and psychological impacts on the migrants. It discusses the problems of illegal migrants in the U.S. Another major theme of the novel is the civil unrest in India during the mid-1980s and highlights the ethnic and cultural demands by Gorkhas in Northeast India for independence and a separate state government. The novel also raises the issue of Multiculturalism and Miscommunication.

Characters of Inheritance of Loss:

Biju is a nineteen-year-old boy whose father is a poor cook working in India. Biju leaves India for the US for a better future. He reaches New York City as an undocumented immigrant. Isolated and insecure, Biju struggles to make ends meet and dreams of returning home. Sai is a teen orphaned girl. Her parents died in an accident. She lives with her grandfather who is a retired Judge. Jemubhai Patel is the grandfather of Sai. He belonged to a poor farmer’s family but his father saved enough money for his good education. He went to Cambridge for higher education by using the money he got as a dowry in his marriage. At Cambridge University, he suffered excessive discrimination. He returned to India and cleared the Indian Civil Service examination to become a judge. Bose is one of Jemubhai Patel’s friends from his Cambridge days. He helped Jemubhai learn the English ways and customs. Gyan is a poor college graduate of Nepalese origin. He takes an active part in the Gorkha National Liberation Front activities. Meanwhile, he also begins tutoring physics to Sai who belongs to a rich family of Gujrati origin. Sai develops a romantic attachment with Gyan. While Gyan acknowledges her love, he cruelly betrays Sai, who he believes symbolizes the class of people who oppress him. Lola is an upper-class Bengali widowed woman who lives with her sister Noni. Lola’s daughter, Pixie, works for BBC London and Lola is very proud of her because she idolizes British culture. Lola is prejudiced against poor Nepali people and adheres to a strict interpretation of class division. Noni is a middle-aged unmarried woman living with her elder sister. She used to be the tutor of Sai during her younger age. Like Lola, Noni appreciates British culture. Bomanbhai Patel is Jemu’s father-in-law. He used to be a supplier during the British Raj and made a good fortune. He idolizes British culture and marries his daughter Nimi to Jemu because he is pursuing a Cambridge education. Nimi or Bela is the dauhter of Boman and wife of Jemu. She was married to Jemu when she was fourteen years old girl. She was a simple Indian teen girl. When Jemu returns from Cambridge, she tries to develop an emotional connection with him but finds him brutal. She resists his abuses but when she realizes that he hates her for being Indian, she becomes depressed because despite her trying, she fails to assimilate into British culture. Jemu rapes her, degrades her, and then leaves her at her father’s home. Harish-Harry is the owner of an Indian cafe in the U.S. where Biju works. He is a cruel and greedy employer who exploits the poor illegal immigrants. Father Booty is a Swiss missionary who lives in Kalimpong and runs a dairy farm. He has been illegally living in India for years. The police catch him during the insurgency of the Gorkha National Liberation Front and force him to leave India. Uncle Potty is a brat son of wealthy parents who studied at Oxford. He is the nearest neighbor of Jemu. Pradham is the leader of the Gorkha National Liberation Front.

Summary of The Inheritance of Loss:

The novel is set in 1986. The story begins at retired Judge Jemubhai Patel’s home called Cho Oyu who is sitting with his granddaughter in the verandah. It is a large, English-style Bungalow located outside of Kalimpong.

Armed insurgents of the Gorkha National Liberation Front attacked their home and demanded all the rifles and other valuables that Jemubhai had collected. After the robbery, Jemu sends his cook to the police station. After the initial investigation, the police accuse the poor cook of being an accomplice of the robbers. They search his hut for evidence but find nothing except some letters written by his son Biju who is working in the U.S. The cook suffers humiliation but the police get no evidence of his involvement.

Meanwhile, Biju is working at a restaurant in Manhattan. The owner of the restaurant is asked by the authorities to perform a green card check. Since Biju is an undocumented migrant, he is asked to leave the place and is forced to look for employment somewhere else. He continues getting jobs at various restaurants but nowhere he gets any job security. He continues to suffer from anxiety, ill-treatment, and discrimination.

At Kalimpong, Jemu has a flashback. He was the son of a poor farmer but was good at studies. He got a chance to go to Cambridge University for higher education but he didn’t have enough money. Jemu met Bomanbhai Patel, a businessman and supplier of goods to the British government, and asked for monetary help. Bomanbhai was impressed by Jemu’s future prospects so he suggested the marriage of Jemu with his fourteen-year-old daughter Nimi. Jemu agreed to the marriage and suggested that he would consummate the marriage after returning from England. He got enough dowry to go to England. He faces constant discrimination throughout his schooling in Cambridge and adapts himself to English speech and customs as a result. He decides to return to India and clears the Indian Civil Service examination to become a judge. He returns to India contemptuous of his native land and people. Bomanbhai sends Nimi to live with him but Jemu doesn’t like Nimi because of her Indianness. Nimi is a traditional girl with no idea of English culture. Jemu tries to teach her the English ways but he fails and then he begins to abuse her. Once she had taken the powder puff that he brought from England. As he looked for it, his family ridiculed him for using it. By the time he discovered that Nimi had taken it, he was furious, and he raped her. In the following days, he insisted that she speak English and follow English customs, which she refused to do. He took off her bangles, threw away her hair oil, and pushed her face into the Western-style toilet when he discovered her squatting on it. He then left her at their home while he went away on tour. After many years, he learned that Nimi had given birth to his son, and later on, she was probably murdered by her brother-in-law.

Bomanbhai took care of his son who went to Moscow for a job and got married there. Sai's parents were killed in a tragic bus accident in Moscow. As a result, Sai was withdrawn from a convent school and taken to live with her grandfather, Judge Patel. Judge isn’t too happy with the responsibility of Sai but he feels that God has given him a chance to correct the wrongs he did to Nimi. Sai finds a surrogate father in the cook who is very sympathetic towards her.

In the U.S. Biju begins working at the Queen of Tarts bakery where he meets a Pakistani young man Saeed. Saeed is cordial towards him and teaches him somehow to remain safe as an undocumented illegal immigrant in the U.S. Biju begins to question his prejudice against people from Pakistan and other ethnicities as they had never done anything harmful to him or to India, unlike white people. Saeed marries an American woman to get a green card and then he divorces her cordially.

Biju sends letters to his father in which he lies about his success in America. The cook sends letters to Biju, requesting him to help other young poor Nepalese to get a place in America which overwhelms Biju. Judge Jemu sends Sai to Nooni’s house for tuition. Nooni treats Sai very well and teaches her about Western culture. As Sai continues to grow, Nooni feels that she cannot teach her anymore. For her physics tutoring at age 16, the judge hires a young Nepali man named Gyan, with whom Sai becomes romantically involved.

The situation in Kalimpong continues to deteriorate due to the uprising of the Gorkha National Liberation Front. Police randomly torture civilians, GNLF members illegally take up residence on Noni and Lola's property, and shortages bring the entire community to the brink of starvation. Gyan and Sai's relationship turns sour as Gyan joins the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF). To Gyan, Sai represents the oppressive social and political systems that prevent him from advancing in life. Having tutored Sai in Cho Oyu, Gyan has intimate knowledge of the mansion. He informs the GNLF of the judge's cache of weapons.

After the robbery, Gyan feels guilty but doesn’t wish to reveal his involvement in the robbery. Thus, he begins to ignore Sai. One day, Sai decides to follow him and learns that he is living in very poor conditions. When Gyan sees her, they fight bitterly. Gyan slaps her in his anger and says that he supports GNLF and he hates Sai because she belongs to the upper class. Sai retorts that he used to enjoy cheesecakes with her at her house. Gyan’s sister listens to all this and she informs Gyan’s grandmother about his involvement with GNLF. Gyan’s mother is totally against any such insurgency. Being the matriarch of the family, he asks Gyan to immediately break all ties with Pradham, the leader of GNLF, and not to attend the upcoming Indo-Nepali Treaty burning, effectively ending his involvement with the GNLF. Relieved to no longer be politically aligned, Gyan considers making up with Sai.

Meanwhile, Pradham announces that he will require one man from every family in Kalimpong. The cook doesn’t wish to join GNLF so he tries to run away. On the day of protest against the Indo-Nepal treaty, the parade turns bloody, several police officers are beheaded, and many civilians are injured. The cook barely escapes; traumatized, he returns to Cho Oyu.
At the judge’s house, a poor woman arrives, requesting the release of her husband who was wrongfully jailed for robbing his house. The woman continues to beg the judge for mercy but he blatantly refuses. Saddened and desperate, the poor woman steals Judge Patel's beloved dog, Mutt, and sells her. Upon discovering the loss of his treasured pet, the judge frantically searches the village and then brutally beats the cook, blaming him for the dog's disappearance.

Meanwhile, Biju begins working at the Gandhi Cafe owned by Harish-Harry who is a mean man. Harish-Harry invites the staff to live in the basement below the kitchen, but then pays them a quarter of minimum wage. While working there and living in strenuous conditions, Biju falls ill. He asks for advance payment for his treatment but Harish declines to help him and says that if he cannot work he must return to India. Biju is too tired and brutalized by the continuous discrimination he faces in the U.S. and decides to come back to India. He brings all his savings and expensive American goods. In India, he finds that the roads to Kalimpong have been blocked because of curfew. Unable to find any way to go back to his home, he bribes GNLF members to drive him to the village. After days of driving, the insurgents rob Biju, taking even his clothes and shoes. His leg gets injured when he tries to oppose the GNLF members who leave him on the road. On his still injured leg, Biju walks to Cho Oyu wearing nothing but a woman's nightdress. The cook and Biju reunite, both overjoyed.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of Indian English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!