Literary Analysis: Ignorance is Bliss - Based on Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

In the book Fahrenheit 451, the antagonist Beatty claims that "If you don't want a house built, hide the nails and wood" (61).* What Beatty means here, is that if people don't want society to have knowledge, then all knowledge-bearing materials must be destroyed, which in this instance, are books. Books give people knowledge and more complications, which he claims can make people less happy. Ignorance is bliss because every character in Fahrenheit 451 who discovers the truth is in immediate trouble, and completely loses their control on life.

Clarisse is a character who finds herself in trouble because of awareness of the truth. For example, Clarisse says "Oh, they don't miss me, I'm antisocial. I don't mix. It's so strange. I'm very social indeed" (29). She cannot fit in with her peers because of her education, and has a hard time "socializing" at all. A child who is incapable of making friends due to higher education is a very troubling experience for anyone. Beatty also says "Clarisse McClellan? We've a record on her family. We've watched them carefully. Heredity and environment are funny things. You can't rid yourself of all the odd ducks in just a few years" (60). Because of Clarisse's family background, and their history, Beatty and the rest of the firemen keep a very close eye on her family. Her entire family is looked upon as social outcasts because of their lack of ignorance. Clarisse later disappears from society. Clarisse is separated and discriminated against, and for this, she was not even able to function in society due to her education.

Even more troubling, are the events that occur at Mrs. Blake's house. Mrs. Blake held in her possession an entire library of books, and the fire department is called to have them destroyed (36-38). By the time the fire department got there, and pumped kerosene all over the entire house, she refuses to leave the house. She said "You can stop counting" as the firemen continued to count and give her time to evacuate the house before burning it (39). She wants them to stop wasting their breath and allow her to remain in the house while it was burned. "The woman on the porch reached out with contempt to them all and struck the kitchen match against the railing" (40). The entire house is burned, with her in it. The woman committed suicide, due to her education and presence of the books. She is so befuddled by the content in the books, that when educated, she refused to even live any longer once her source of knowledge was burned. Being burned to death is about the most cruel way to die, and Mrs. Blake did all this only because she had been educated.

Also, Faber found himself getting into several problematic situations involving his lack of ignorance. Faber was once an English teacher, meaning that he was very highly educated, because he had the permission to educate students (74). Faber is one who was around during the time where books were starting to be deleted from existence. He had the knowledge, and the ability to stand up for what was right, but never did. Faber has had to live with his guilt for several years now, just wishing he would have done something different, all because he was educated and enjoyed reading. If Faber would have never been educated, he wouldn't waste his time worrying about the past! During a huge fight between Beatty and Montag, Beatty says "Well-So there's more here than I thought. I saw you tilt your head, listening. First I thought you had a Seashell. But when you turned clever later, I wondered. We'll trace this and drop it on your friend" (118). Beatty is threatening to bring harm to Faber, for being associated with Montag. He plans on taking both of them to jail, at this point. Faber was about to get serious jail time or more serious punishment, just for being associated with someone who was trying to become smarter! It's very troubling to have the want to be educated, but be punished for the thirst for more education, which is exactly what happened to Faber.

However, the best example of someone whose life is destroyed by the absence of ignorance and the presence of books, is Montag. Montag, the protagonist has a life of order in the beginning of the book, he says "It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed" (3). Montag enjoys his life of destruction at first, and nobody is directly harmed by it. After discovering books, this all changed. Montag eventually loses it, kills Beatty (119), and runs from the law (137-179). Montag lost everything: his wife, his house, his job, his friends, his entire life! Montag's life was most affected by the presence of books, and the deletion of all previous ignorance, because with the addition of education, Montag's life became a complete misery he wished to get out of.

Now, if the nails and the wood from the house being built are taken away, or take away the books from the society, life becomes much easier. Clarisse finds herself in trouble because of awareness of the truth and her educated family. Faber is troubled because of his interest in helping Montag and wanting to read. Montag finds himself in the most trouble due to a very curious mind, and the presence of books. Ignorance is bliss because every character in Fahrenheit 451 who discovers the truth is in immediate trouble, and completely loses their control on life. A society without options or any complications is a content society.

*All numbers shown in parenthesis are page number citations from the book Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury.