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This is a central theme and one of the reasons behind the burning of books - as books make you think and loosen one's ability to control. Although interpreted to be exaggerations at the time - one can link these ideas to current society (in the 2000s). Such as the mass media (or propaganda) and mind control - crippling people's ability to think for themselves - and in fact doing the "thinking" for them. While a good read with strong themes, I struggle to grasp why this book is considered such a "classic" by so many. The tension between knowledge and ignorance was one of the main reasons for the banishment of books in the book. I think she represents society in general - what Montag is "supposed" to be but is breaking free from.
Bradbury displays the deterioration this causes with the Mildred character - Montag's numb wife whose only satisfaction is her television "family", and who presents a shallow façade of happiness - but who in reality is miserable (poignantly displayed when she attempts to kill herself towards the beginning of the novel).
And similarly, the (television) media's creation of short attention spans (immediately looking for the climax of a story - otherwise attention drifts) - creating a society that shallowly drifts from one climax to another, without every really grabbing a hold of anything.
The mindless shows and distractions we watch to help us escape from our own lives (I don't mean to sound like I'm on a high horse here - I do the same thing); the mind control of masses by spin networks and political twisting.
I'll admit - I am no one to judge what a "classic" is, but it would be nice if someone could explain it to me - as there are other books out there that drive at similar points but are considered far less noteworthy.That being said, there were some strong themes running through this book that seem very prophetic - the book was written in the 1950s, and I caught myself more than once drawing on Bradbury's "exaggerations" (at the time) to current society.
The ever shrinking attention span as technology develops new and newer media outlets (television, video games, Internet, iPods - all moving us further away from books).
Senses have been dulled to the point where no one actually sees anything - to the point that it's suggested that society wouldn't know what grass or flowers were - only if you showed them a green blur would the recognize grass (as they are so busy driving fast to get to their next "climax" they don't see anything else).
Both of these create a mindless society that lacks anything beneath the surface.
One reviewer mentioned the absurdity of intellectuals being banished to the far forest outside the city (in the book) - but what angle do you think "political strategists" are playing when they label President Obama an elitist, or rave about the liberal academia.
I'm not suggesting that book burning is around the corner - only that the seeds that seem to have created Bradbury's fictional society are the same seeds that are present today.Overall - as mentioned a good book - and one that continues to grow on me (perhaps it is a classic after all).
There are two major problems with it. I'm no advocate of book burning, but burn this book. It was terribly disappointing--lots of hype over a cheesy science-fiction novel. One is poor language usage--lousy descriptive word choices, lousy metaphors and similes that make inappropriate comparisons--and two, not enough attention paid to societal problems that give rise to things like book burning in the first place: the threat of the individual to the group; government control over the sheep-like masses; the modern epidemic of people's lack of interest in anything intellectual; the timeless epidemic of a fear of anything that goes against group mentality or upsets the status quo, and so on. Bradbury touches on some of these issues, but leaves them largely undeveloped.
When I first encountered this book at the age of 13, I was more accustomed to 'choose your own adventure' books or pulp science fiction. I've always found him to be one of the most successfully entertaining science fiction writers of all time. Conceptually simple (books are outlawed and the world has become a dreary, dystopian place where cheap thrills and wars fought with disease bombs are the norm) but wise and deep in substance, Bradbury successfully weaves characters and plot into a profound statement about the essential nature of human kind and how the best of our writing can, if used (read) properly, even save us from ourselves. I stuck it out however, and when I was done, my life had changed forever. This is book filled with profound truth, a book that inspires, and a book that illustrates the best and worst of what men are capable of. Since then I have read this book many times, and it is always with a particular fondness because this is the book that taught me to read. I'd never heard of Bradbury, but realized as I fought through the first few chapters that I was in over my head. FAHRENHEIT 451 is on of his best.
To read as more than someone who desires nothing more than to be entrained. That is not to say that Bradbury isn't entertaining. There are few accolades that I can give this book that have not been already said more eloquently elsewhere. Ultimately about the hope we have in the sum of human knowledge, few other books will make you treasure the act of reading and the privilege of owning books like this one will.
But when those people assume that everyone is that way, and they start restricting people's freedom because they think it will make everyone happy - well, that's when you get Fahrenheit 451. This book blows my mind. The character of Millie, especially, strikes me with her utter devotion to meaningless trivialities. It says so many things that I've been believing for years (and that's before I read it) about human nature: the tendency of the masses to follow and do what they're told; how easily humans waste their capacity for critical thinking; the difference between pleasure and true joy; the true meaning of freedom. Many people don't search for a deeper meaning to life than what tradition gives them, and that's okay; it's their choice. We all know a Millie, or two or three. And this book is the story of how Montag discovers he really isn't like Millie at all, even though he thought he was, and how he fights the law and becomes a renegade, just to discover who he really is.
If ever there is a formula for the perfect novel, 451 has the ingredients. It would be our worst nightmare for society to regress to a state of anti-intellectualism so staunch that ideas themselves have become the enemy. It would be one part science fiction masked in a glaze of poetic impulse, settled on a bed of classic literature soaking up the juices of vast philosophical thought. The burning of books is a horror to any who love the written word and our freedom to dream. Ray Bradbury not only captures our fears in this post nuclear world but also touches upon our often forgotten love for the stories that have captured our hearts. This is a must read for anyone who has ever loved a book.
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