Unlike traditional firemen as we know them, the firemen in Bradbury's futuristic dystopian society have a completely different goal, which is to eradicate books from society by burning them. Instead of preventing fires, the firemen in the novel soak homes in kerosene and light book collections on fire using powerful flamethrowers.

Despite the obvious differences between real firemen and Bradbury's firemen of the dystopian future, they share several similarities. The firemen in Bradbury's novel perform an important job to their society, just like real firemen. They are also on call and receive alarms informing them of emergencies. They wear specific uniforms that identify themselves as firemen and also ride in fire trucks, which are called Salamanders in the novel. While they are waiting to receive alarms, they reside in a firehouse, which has a massive garage, an upstairs living quarters, and a brass pole. Bradbury's futuristic firemen also have a Mechanical Hound, which is akin to a Dalmatian. The firemen in the novel are also part of a fraternity and have a dangerous job, which involves being around fire.

Your teacher is asking you to look at the similarities between real fireman and the fireman in Faranheit 451. Sometimes, however, teachers are also looking for some differences. Look at the question carefully.

The length of your paper isn't mentioned but can be determined by how many traits you want to discuss.

Start with tasks (what are the daily tasks of real fireman and what are the daily tasks of fireman in the text). Make a list, when you find tasks on both lists, discuss these. You can then move onto emotional aspects of firemen, etc.

There are striking differences between firemen in our world and the main character, Montag. "An atmosphere of alienation is established by Bradbury in the opening scenes of Fahrenheit 451, which details a "fireman's" growing dissatisfaction with his conformist society. Montag's pleasure in his work of burning books is quickly challenged in his conversation with his neighbor, Clarisse McClellan" (e-notes).

Quotes from the text are helpful in proving your ideas and major themes. Check out the following reference links for additional help with themes.