Essay Topics on Fahrenheit 451
Due: May 1, 23:55
Length: 1,000-1,500 words. (Word count includes quotations.)
Value: This is the Ministerial essay, worth 25% of term.
Evaluation: This essay should meet the general requirements for essays explained in the course pack. More specifically, your analysis in the essay should draw from the features of apocalypse we have discussed throughout the course. Also, deepen your analysis by drawing from our class discussions of the text. Anyone is free to use the ideas we generated in class.
Notes
Do not do Internet “research” on your essay topics.
If you have a topic idea of your own, you need to run it by me in advance. I will not accept essays on topics I have not approved.
You will have the option of revising this assignment.
Submit your essay as a Word document formatted according to the instructions in the document Formatting and Submitting Assignments on the Resources page in Moodle.
Make sure the citation in Works Cited is correct.
Topics
1- At the beginning of Fahrenheit 451, Montag is satanic, gung-ho fireman who revels in burning books, but at the end, he is a futuristic messiah figure, ready to restore civilization by spreading the wisdom of books.
2. Explain how and why Montag changes because of the influence of books and what they represent.
3. Explain how the symbolism of hands represents Montag’s transformation from a gung-ho fireman who revels in burning books to a futuristic messiah figure, ready to restore civilization by spreading the wisdom of books.
4. How does the symbolism of fire function in the apocalyptic vision of the novel? (Consider “fire” in the largest sense to include fire, flame, burning, light, and similar imagery wherever it suits your argument.)
5. It’s hard to imagine two more different characters than Clarisse and Mildred. How does their contrasting characterization enhance the apocalyptic vision of the novel?
5. By accepting the status quo of their totalitarian society, Mildred and her friends believe they are “happy,” yet their happiness is a sham. Explain how Mildred and her friends represent much that is wrong with their dumbed-down culture, and how those flaws have apocalyptic consequences.
6. The title Fahrenheit 451 refers to the ignition point of book paper, and books are a central preoccupation of the novel. Explain how the burning of books and the decline of reading constitute an apocalyptic catastrophe but the saving of books is the key to salvation.
7. The introductory essay to this course suggests that “these days, the end of the world is more likely to result not from the wrath of God but from man-made causes like nuclear war, . . . and the misuse of technology.” Discuss the misuse of technology in relation to the vision of apocalypse depicted in the novel.
8. Most apocalyptic stories include at least one martyr figure, and Fahrenheit 451 is no exception. The most obvious depiction of martyrdom in Fahrenheit 451 comes through the self-immolation of the old woman, but Clarisse also functions as a martyr, especially in her effect on Montag. How do the martyrs enhance the apocalyptic vision of the novel?
If you want to do a topic of your own devising, you must run it by me in advance. I will not accept essays on topics I have not approved.
