Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury Review & Ponder

Here we go with another book review that is (again) in the odd dystopian genre…

Review:

Let’s start with a brief plot overview.  Montag is a fireman, but not the kind we are familiar with. In Bradbury’s dystopian world, it is a fireman’s job to burn books. This world forbids books, as it believes they are the source of society’s troubles and unhappiness, instead favouring moronic, bland entertainment to sedate the world and stop individuals forming their own beliefs and philosophies. We follow Montag through his tormented, emotional and moral path from a fireman who believes books are a ‘pleasure to burn’ to a man who abandons his career, wife, home and life to protect the books he previously sought to destroy.

The futuristic society has happily swapped; literature, independent thought, conversations, intimacy, privacy, nature…well, everything really, for driving fast cars, watching TV and using technology to provide every experience in their lives. So when Montag meets teenager Clarisse McClellan he is instantly captivated by her young love for literature, independent thought, conversations, intimacy, privacy, nature…well, everything except driving fast cars, watching TV and using technology to provide every experience in her life. She shows Montag there is life beyond what the governing body wants the population to see and believe. This awakens a spark within Montag, which opens his eyes for the first time to the good and bad in the world, but also leads to danger and destruction.

Similarly to how it was written, I read it continuously and uninterrupted. It was engaging, poetic and a prime example for me of ‘hOw Do THEY MAkE WorDS Do ThaT?’ (In regard to Bradbury’s enviable descriptions and selection of language). While I am aware not everyone loves Bradbury’s descriptive style, it was one of my favourite features of the book. After realising that it was written more than 50 years ago the sci-fi predictions are quite amazing, they include; seashells (rather like Bluetooth headsets), massive flat screen TV’s that take up entire walls (sound like home cinemas?) and having the ability to talk to friends through these screens (smart TV’s and computers). Wow…why don’t people just look to sci-fi books for new inventions? (hmmm, hurry up I want a ’Back to the Future’ style hoverboard by the predicted 2015). As well as physical inventions, there are many ideas that seem increasingly prevalent in modern society. These include; not going outdoors, people driving so fast from A to B they don’t think to stop and appreciate at the landscape around them, people spending nearly all of their time in front of screens and neglecting human contact to favour virtual communications.




Favourite Quote:

“Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you're there. 

It doesn't matter what you do, he said, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's like you after you take your hands away. The difference between the man who just cuts lawns and a real gardener is in the touching, he said. The lawn-cutter might just as well not have been there at all; the gardener will be there a lifetime.” 

Overall View:

It is not all about the typical tale of how the evil authorities are oppressing and attacking the defenceless population. The people are willing. Mildred, Montag’s wife, talks to her friends as if war is a game and detaches from her husband to spend more time in her TV room. Therefore, the attack on literature can be viewed as a mere side-effect, created by a society that is happy to disengage itself from any kind of deeper thought other than what is essential. It does explore the effects created by the removal of books from society as well as exploring a handful of other messages regarding free will and thought (all of which I believe have stood the test of time). However overall, I believe it is not just about censorship but also about what we choose to value the most in life, why that is, and how easy it is to become enslaved to the human inventions that appear to enable us but simultaneously take our freedom. It is a though provoking and beautifully written book that was a pleasure to read.