25+ Best Fahrenheit 451 Quotes With Meanings
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'Fahrenheit 451' is a novel by the American writer Ray Bradbury.
This novel was first published in 1953 and it was an instant hit. It is set in a future dystopian society where firemen burn books.
Ray Bradbury is an amazing writer and that fact shows in his work. 'Fahrenheit 451' is one of his best books and features some really powerful quotes.
'Fahrenheit 451' imagery will tell you about how talented Ray Bradbury actually is. There are a lot of things covered in this book, such as technology, books, censorship, oppressive states, and more. Ray Bradbury does justice to each of these themes.
Quotes from 'Fahrenheit 451' can come in real handy for students who are looking for a study guide on the book’s quotes. In this novel, the focus is on the destruction of books and knowledge by people in power.
Yet, the book puts the character of Montag into a complicated position when he becomes obsessed with books. The novel is particularly known for the "are you happy" quote exchange between Clarisse and Montag.
'Fahrenheit 451' hits close to home due to the heavy censorship that is imposed on books (the book itself has even been banned sometimes in the past, ironically). The politics of censorship are quite complex, yet, as an advanced society, we have to move away from censorship.
In order to be a free individual, one has to be free to consume whatever they want. This includes books, films, and so on. 'Fahrenheit 451' teaches us that censorship simply doesn’t have a place in modern human society.
In terms of the nature of quotes in 'Fahrenheit 451', you will find a wide variety of them. There are censorship quotes in 'Fahrenheit 451', quotes from 'Fahrenheit 451' about technology, and 'Fahrenheit 451' quotes about books.
Quotes on these topics are really important for students if they’re reading this book for academic purposes and they will be included in any study guide on 'Fahrenheit 451'. This article will include 'Fahrenheit 451' censorship quotes, 'Fahrenheit 451' technology quotes, 'Fahrenheit 451' book quotes, and more.
It will also contain quotes from important characters in the book.
For instance, it contains 'Fahrenheit 451' Mildred quotes, 'Fahrenheit 451' Clarisse quotes, and 'Fahrenheit 451' Montag quotes. 'Fahrenheit 451' quotes about technology in this article are especially important for students who are looking for study guides on important quotes.
Before jumping into this article, why not check out these '1984' Telescreen quotes and 'Lord Of The Flies' quotes too?
Important 'Fahrenheit 451' Quotes
Here are some quotes that are very important to the plot and character development.
1. “So it was the hand that started it all... His hands had been infected, and soon it would be his arms... His hands were ravenous.”
- Montag, 'The Hearth And The Salamander'.
Explained: The quote refers to Montag stealing books from the old lady and blaming it on an automatic, involuntary bodily reflex.
2. “The sun burnt every day. It burnt Time... Time was busy burning the years and the people anyway, without any help from him. So if he burnt things with the firemen and the sun burnt Time, that meant that everything burnt!”
- Montag, 'Burning Bright'.
Explained: Just as a new day is ushered by the burning of the sun, time also passes with each new day, and with the passage of time, everything in existence is burnt away.
3. “[Firemen] were given a new job, as custodians of our peace of mind, the focus of our understandable and rightful dread of being inferior; official censors, judges, and executors.”
- Captain Beatty, 'The Sieve And The Sand'.
Explained: Captain Beatty explains to Montag that the firefighters' role changed from saving houses to burning them down with books inside. In the absence of books, people can't outdo others when it comes to their intelligence and this offers peace of mind.
4. “It was a pleasure to burn.
It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed.
With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history.”
- Montag, 'The Hearth And The Salamander'.
Explained: These opening lines depict Guy Montag's work. He burns books instead of putting out fires and the language used is one that represents destruction, while giving details of just how he goes about his work.
5. “Bum the Book. Serenity, Montag. Peace, Montag. Take your fight outside. Better yet, into the incinerator.”
- Captain Beatty, 'The Hearth And The Salamander'.
Explained: According to Captain Beatty, no books means people will be less likely to take offense.
6. “I don't talk things. I talk the meaning of things. I sit here and know I'm alive.”
- Faber, 'The Sieve And The Sand'.
Explained: This depicts just how important critical thinking is instead of passively absorbing all that is going on in the world.
7. “Books aren't people. You read and I look around, but there isn't anybody!”
- Millie, 'The Sieve And The Sand'.
Explained: This ironic statement contradicts how connected Millie feels to other people through television, despite her assertion that books can't help you connect with people.
8. “It’s fine work. Monday bum Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner, burn ‘em to ashes, then bum the ashes. That’s our official slogan.”
- Montag, 'The Hearth And The Salamander'.
Explained: Expressing his joy while burning books, Guy Montag highlights a fireman's motto by making use of classical American book authors.
9. “She’s nothing to me; she shouldn’t have had Books. It was her responsibility, she should have thought of that. I hate her. She’s got you going and next thing you know we’ll be out, no house, no job, nothing.”
- Montag, 'The Hearth And The Salamander'.
Explained: This quote reveals how the old lady kept books despite knowing that it was illegal.
10. “Those who don’t build must burn. It’s as old as history and juvenile delinquents.”
- Faber, 'The Sieve And The Sand'.
Explained: Faber is of the opinion that if societies don't have a strong foundation, they will be destroyed, and that is an inevitable fate. He also says that those incapable of using knowledge will end up destroying it.
11. “Montag shut his eyes, shouted, shouted, and fought to get his hands at his ears to clamp and to cut away the sound. Beatty flopped over and over and over, and at last twisted in on himself like a charred wax doll and lay silent.”
- Ray Bradbury, 'Burning Bright'.
Explained: These lines reflect the killing of Beatty by Guy Montag for Faber's protection.
12. “Yes, thought Montag, that’s the one I’ll save for noon. For noon… When we reach the city.”
- Montag, 'Burning Bright'.
Explained: These lines reflect the lines from the Bible that Montag was trying to remember until they reached their new life in the city at noon, following the atomic war.
13. “And he was surprised to learn how certain he suddenly was of a single fact he could not prove. Once, long ago, Clarisse had walked here, where he was walking now.”
- Ray Bradbury, 'Burning Bright'.
Explained: This line reflects Montag's memory of Clarisse before her death and his following in her footsteps of maintaining books.
Interesting Quotes From 'Fahrenheit 451'
These important quotes in 'Fahrenheit 451' might strike readers as interesting, and they sure are! Take a look at some of these interesting quotes from 'Fahrenheit 451' with study guide explanations. Which 'Fahrenheit 451' quote interests you the most?
14. “Do you know why Books such as this are so important? Because they have quality. And what does the word quality mean? To me it means texture. This Book has pores.”
- Faber, 'The Sieve And The Sand'.
Explained: This is Faber's way of telling Montag that what he's really after is not the books in and of themselves but rather, the lessons held within them.
15. “It’s perpetual motion; the thing man wanted to invent but never did... It’s a mystery... Its real beauty is that it destroys responsibility and consequences... clean, quick, sure; nothing to rot later. Antibiotic, aesthetic, practical.”
- Captain Beatty, 'Burning Bright'.
Explained: Uttered by Beatty just before Montag burns him. Beatty comments on the nature of fire and how it can get rid of all responsibilities and consequences.
16. “Stuff your eyes with wonder, he said, live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.”
- Granger, 'Burning Bright'.
Explained: Granger comments that only real-world connections and experiences can be truly fulfilling. As opposed to televised entertainment and false fantasies, people should seek discovery through real-world experiences.
17. “We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?”
- Ray Bradbury, 'The Hearth And The Salamander'.
Explained: This quote captures a world where critical thought is stifled, books are burned, writing is censored, and speech is stifled. The ignorant public conveniently accepts being under the control of the government.
18. “The magic is only in what Books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us.”
- Ray Bradbury, 'The Hearth And The Salamander'.
Explained: This metaphor aptly depicts how authors put together a lot of information to ultimately create pieces that have a huge impact.
19. “Books bombarded his shoulders, his arms, his upturned face. A Book alighted, almost obediently, like a white pigeon, in his hands, wings fluttering.”
- Ray Bradbury, 'The Hearth And The Salamander'.
Explained: The job of the fireman is explained here. The book is personified to be a white pigeon, with life of its own and attempting to break free.
Profound 'Fahrenheit 451' Quotes
This novel has some of the most profound lines ever featured in a novel. Do take a look at them and see for yourself!
20. “We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the constitution says, but everyone made equal... A Book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon. Breach man’s mind.”
- Captain Beatty, 'The Hearth And The Salamander'.
Explained: Beatty explains the firemen's revisionist history through this quote. His lines have an ironic effect on the story.
21. “If you don’t want a house built, hide the nails and wood. If you don’t want a man unhappy politically, don’t give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none.”
- Captain Beatty, 'The Hearth And The Salamander'.
Explained: This is said in an attempt to explain how people can be happier without books. In the absence of multiple perspectives, they will be forced to listen to just one.
22. “So now do you see why Books are hated and feared? They show the pores in the face of life. The comfortable people want only wax moon faces, poreless, hairless, expressionless.”
- Faber, 'The Sieve and the Sand'.
Explained: This quote represents just how unwilling people are to confront reality. Books contain a truth that people aren't comfortable confronting. They want to continue living in their false worlds and hate books because they can increase their awareness of reality.
23. “If you hide your ignorance, no one will hit you and you'll never learn.”
- Ray Bradbury, 'The Sieve And The Sand'.
Explained: This highlights how important it is for us to make mistakes in order to learn from them. Without ever making mistakes, we can't possibly hope to learn anything new.
24. “We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindnesses there is at last one which makes the heart run over.”
- Ray Bradbury, 'The Sieve And The Sand'.
Explained: This quote is a representation of steady, strong friendship that only grows stronger with repeated acts of kindness.
25. “Maybe the books can get us half out of the cave. They just might stop us from making the same damn insane mistakes!”
- Montag, 'The Sieve And The Sand'.
Explained: On realizing that two atomic wars have taken place, Montag comments that knowledge is beneficial because it helps us avoid repeating mistakes of the past.
26. "When we reach the city."
- Montag, 'Burning Bright'.
Explained: This quote is the last line in the book. It has religious symbolism and aims to draw the novel to a close on a hopeful note, encouraged by what the world can learn from books.
At Kidadl, we have created lots of family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked these 'Fahrenheit 451' quotes with meanings, why not check out these ['Pride And Prejudice' quotes] or quotes from 'The Book Thief' for more great book quotes?
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Bachelor of Arts and Law specializing in Political Science and Intellectual Property Rights
Anusuya MukherjeeBachelor of Arts and Law specializing in Political Science and Intellectual Property Rights
With a wealth of international experience spanning Europe, Africa, North America, and the Middle East, Anusuya brings a unique perspective to her work as a Content Assistant and Content Updating Coordinator. She holds a law degree from India and has practiced law in India and Kuwait. Anusuya is a fan of rap music and enjoys a good cup of coffee in her free time. Currently, she is working on her novel, "Mr. Ivory Merchant".
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