Summary:
Although the deaths and destruction throughout Fahrenheit 451 can be seen very pessimistically, they can also be seen in quite a positive light; every act of destruction should be replaced by an act of creation. Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.
"Every act of creation, is first an act of destruction."
-Pablo Picasso
Since nothing can be created without first destroying what was previously there, the very ironic statement "Every act of creation, is first an act of destruction," makes more sense that would be expected of a quote by Pablo Picasso. So although the deaths and destruction of people and objects throughout Fahrenheit 451 can be seen very pessimistically, if we apply this idea, they can also be seen in quite a positive light; every act of destruction should be replaced by an act of creation.
The whole act of the firemen burning books relates perfectly to the quote; the firemen believe that in order to create a perfect society in which everyone is happy, it is their job to destroy the books. Books make people think, and when people think they start to realize that their lives are not as perfect as they wish they were. So to prevent this feeling from reaching people they have to stop them from thinking. Therefore they feel that the burning of books is vital to the creation of this new society. Although what is created from the destruction of books is not really positive, this is still an excellent example of how something new can be created through the destruction of something else.
Clarisse is a very important character in Fahrenheit 451; she is the person who really gets Montag thinking about his life and his feelings. He starts taking his surroundings into consideration, and realizes that maybe he isn't completely happy with his life. After his encounter with Clarisse, Montag's fake smile starts to diminish which really proves that Montag has realized that things could be better is he did something about them. This is really what makes him start to question the society he is living in and challenge the status quo. Clarisse dies because she is so different from society, she refuses to be dragged into a society where everyone is more or less indifferent, and where the only emotion that really exists is superficial happiness. So in the end it is not society that kills Clarisse, but her own will against society which is so strong that it is worth dying for; another example of self-destruction. Her death of course has an enormous impact on Montag. Even before she dies, Clarisse is very influential over Montag and when she does die, Montag sees just how intensely Clarisse felt about the things she told him. He finally sees how much Clarisse valued the small amount of freedom she was given to be able to feel. This really shows Montag that if someone is willing to die for it, there must be something there worth dying for. This death also makes Montag wake up to reality and notice how far the new society has gone; so far that anyone who tries to think differently from the rest of society is killed so as not to spread any revolutionary thoughts. This again makes Montag think about his position in society, being one of the people who are actually reinforcing the ideas contradicting Clarisse's way of life. So Clarisse's destruction sparked Montag's new thoughts about life, which go on to change the course of his life completely.
This is exactly what starts him on his quest to break out of the so well established society he finds himself in up until that point.
The lady who dies on Elm Street is another important, influential character for Montag. She acts as a martyr by giving up her life for her books. She has the choice of going to jail, and living a life without reading any books, or dying along with her books. In the end she decides that a life without any books is pointless and doesn't want to live if her books are destroyed. So she sacrifices her own life for the books by committing suicide as a protest against the burning of books. This greatly moves Montag because he realizes that if someone is willing to give up their whole life for some books, their contents must be worth reading. This is what triggers Montag's sudden interest in books which is what eventually drives him towards Faber. Therefore the destruction of the lady at 11 Elm Street can be seen as an important catalyst for Montag starting up his interest in books.
Beatty is definitely another case of self-destruction. Even though Montag kills Beatty, Beatty insults him so intensely that Montag is, in a way, forced to kill him. From this we can easily conclude that Beatty wants to die. Beatty is also obviously not totally against books. We see this from the quantity of quotes that are integrated into his everyday speech. This means that at some point in his life, Beatty was also questioning society just like Montag is now. Beatty once also had the choice of following his desire and turning against society, but unlike Montag, he chose to follow his duty and ignore his desire. Beatty obviously regrets not having chosen the path against society. For this reason Beatty sympathizes with Montag and "forces" Montag to kill him. Beatty does this because he knows that once Montag kills him he is going to also have to kill the rest of the firemen and then flee, making this Montag's point of no return. Beatty does not only sacrifices himself for Montag, but also for the rest of society because he knows that the whole of society will eventually benefit from what Montag is about to do. So in the end Beatty's self-destruction leads to Montag finally breaking free from society and begin to act forcefully against it without any way of turning back.
The destruction of Montag's old self is one that is not easy to identify because Montag is a lot more concerned with the creation of his new self to worry about the destruction of the old one. Throughout the novel his old self slowly disintegrates leaving Montag with no way to go back to being how he used to be. Although this destruction of Montag's old self happens due to various events throughout the story it is Montag who chooses each time to continue and not to give in to society. It is Montag who decides to steal the books and it is he who decides to read them. Montag decides to go and meet Faber because he is so interested in the books, he continues to meet and talk to Clarisse even though he knows that what she is talking about goes against the basic policies of the society. So Montag definitely does want this destruction to take place, making this another example of self-destruction. Montag knows that it is totally necessary to create a new self in which he can completely turn away from the society and start his own, new way of living. But in order to create this new self he also knows that it is his duty to destroy anything that has anything to do with his old self. Therefore the Montag destroying his own house is really a part of the self-destruction of his old self. He knows that he has to make sure that there is nothing he could possibly come back to, meaning he will be forced to continue against the society and will not have the opportunity to be reluctant. So by destroying his old self, including his house, Montag creates a new self which is prepared to take full action against
The destruction of the city is yet another instance of self-destruction. The city had put itself into such a state of demise and thereby turned itself into such a dystopia that the only way to continue was to start again from scratch. In a way the bomb falling on the city was just the finishing touch; the city had been dead inside for a long time just waiting for something to give it that final push and finish it off. The self destruction of the city can really only be seen as something positive. Nothing is really lost during the destruction of the city. Even Mildred's death does not have a very large effect on Montag, because he realizes that he never actually loved Mildred and the only reason he is married to her is because that is what society requested of him. Her death also signifies the end of the old society since she really was the quintessential member of that society. The destruction of the city is also most definitely the start of something new; an opportunity for the book people to interfere with the development of a new society in which books and literature can once again take part to form a society superior to its predecessor. This is really what is created due to the destruction of the city, making it a key part in the rebuilding of a new society.
After going through a couple of events in the novel, it becomes clear that a lot of the destructive events that take place in Fahrenheit 451 are acts of self-destruction. This can be closely related to the symbol that the firemen use; the phoenix. The phoenix is an immortal mythological bird that is reborn from its own ashes after burning itself. This reflects the idea that for anything to be created, something needs to be destroyed so that there is room for the improved successor. This is precisely what Pablo Picasso's quote is referring to and is really the base of the whole story; the self destruction of the old, to create something new.
This is the complete article, containing 1,599 words
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