Fahrenheit 451 Paperback – January 10, 2012

Fahrenheit 451 is one of my all time favorites. It's written in the third person, placing you into the shoes of an objective narrator who has special access to the thoughts and world view of the characters within the book, especially that of the protagonist. The protagonist (Guy Montag) actually begins the story as a sort of villain really. His profession is that of a future based fireman, who don’t really put out fires like they used to. In fact, they professionally start fires. What a clever twist on Bradbury’s part.These firemen are sanctioned by what one can only conclude to be a dystopian government to burn books, as well as the houses they are contained within. In this future world, the government has deemed books as dangerous, containing ideas that run counter to the narrative they wish to form and broadcast via televisions that cover entire walls within people’s homes. And the people want this, as they feel more comfortable with their government fed information. How dystopian indeed.Reminds one of the behavior of the Roman Catholic Church during the Dark Ages. The two have book burning in common, as well as burning Bibles (in the case of the RCC, Bibles that didn’t subscribe to their criteria – even though they came from source material originating from the same authors). No offense to Catholics – some Protestant sects weren’t much better (like the early Anglicans who destroyed much of the Church’s property, including relics, as did Orthodox Christians during the Iconoclast Era).Montag takes quite apparent joy in his job, causing a smile to overcome his face every time he gets to burn those devilish books. That is, until he becomes intrigued by a young neighbor girl named Clarisse. Clarisse is a female character that many feminists sadly overlook as to her importance in the overall arc of the story. Good on Bradbury for taking this approach, as you know what they say – “behind every great man, there’s an even greater woman”. This doesn’t always have to imply a spouse, mind you, and Bradbury exploited this fact while using Montag’s lame wife as a great contrast.Clarisse is somehow able to tap into Montag’s emotional capacity to better understand what exactly his job is harming, and how his otherwise dull life (including dull wife who serves as a great example of the brainwashed zombie like people of his society) could become so much more enriched by. This confrontation with not only Clarisse – but himself – causes a sort of psychosis for our villainous protagonist. And thus begins his character development that makes the book really begin to take off and hook the reader into the protagonist’s story arc and growth.At first, Montag struggles with his newfound understanding of the profound beauty of books. He is intrigued by the sense of wonder, emotion, and timelessness that books have to offer compared to the mind numbing talking heads that rule the day (sounds similar to our times with all the political talking heads telling how people should think, unlike books that allow people to draw their own conclusions). Yet he is still skeptical, resisting this newfound understanding as he continues in his line of work.He challenges the notion of books being a net positive for society along the way, including challenging protectors of books along the way. All of this amidst some unknown war going on in the background of the story that is never really described in much detail. I assume that Bradbury himself had assumed (living in the days of the Cold War between the US and the USSR) that some kind of war of that magnitude coming to fruition was sadly somewhat inevitable.As his change of heart is occurring, he struggles with his chief named Beatty (the antagonist of the story). Beatty is a walking contradiction, as he is full of knowledge pertaining to the books they burn. He is so well versed in their content by heart, yet seeks to eliminate books from existence on behalf of the government.Unlike Montag who simply found pleasure in his destructive line of work, Beatty knows full well every reason and intention as to why they do and takes pleasure in doing so. This, all while being so well versed in the knowledge and insights contained within them. He overall sees them as dangerous, yet behaves as if the type of knowledge contained within books should be reserved for elites rather than the average citizen. This antagonist displays the kind of pretentious attitude that perfectly captures what it means to convey the notion of a dystopian society within a book of this genre.After trials and tribulations in his struggle, Montag reaches a point where he is so moved by the message of a particular book, that he even steals it so that he can preserve it himself. As a Christian myself, I personally loved that this book just so happened to be a Bible. Why does Montag take such a personal infatuation with the Bible?It may be that Montag’s society is so lost that when bombs begin to fall toward the end, whatever Montag had read might help him and others rebuild society for the better. After all, the Bible is full of advice, and provides direction for moral and ethical enrichment. Certainly a new society would need guidelines to rebuild and improve over mistakes made in the past.Montag refers to the book of Job at one point in the story, as well as references made about Caanan. At the end, Montag even tries to recall parts of the books of Ecclesiastes and Revelation. The book of Revelation itself (arguably my favorite book of the Bible – I’m a fan of the dystopian genre after all) deals with the end of times. Although, perhaps Montag failed to recall this as quickly as he might because they are preparing to start a new life when the world appears to be ending.The novel ends with Montag escaping the city in the midst of this new war. He escapes deep into the countryside, meeting a band of roving intellectuals who have elected to preserve significant works of literature in their memory. Reminds me of the Vaudois, the Waldenses and the Albigenses who preserved the original books of scripture in spite of the persecution they suffered from the RCC.Not long after these roving intellectuals welcome Montag into their community, an atomic bomb falls on the city and reduces it to rubble. The next morning Montag leads the men on foot back toward the city with rebuilding in mind. The novel’s conclusion functions to bring the prevalent violence to its logical conclusion, which is that violence infiltrates nearly every aspect of the world our protagonist finds himself in.The firemen violently destroy people’s property and lives. Television displays gruesome, desensitizing violence for viewers’ entertainment. Pedestrians regularly get trampled by speeding vehicles. Finally, war takes these forms of violence to a new extreme, destroying society and its infrastructure altogether. The novel’s ending depicts the inevitable self-destruction of such an oppressive society in such an effective, and rather melancholy fashion.As stated in the beginning of the Fahrenheit 451 book review, this book is one of my all time favorites. It’s no wonder as to why I give it a 5/5 rating. Bradbury’s use of language is lyrical, yet not overly forceful. He paints a picture of a world in which we as a society should wish to avoid – in a multifaceted way.When it comes to dystopian books, this is truly a classic – and for good reason. Not only was it tremendous back in its heyday; it has stood the test of time, proving to be of use to us nearly 70 years later. I absolutely love Fahrenheit 451, and I believe you would too if you love dystopian fiction and have happened to somehow not have read it yet (it happens – later is better than never though!).

A Chilling and Prescient Warning for Our TimesRay Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 isn't just a classic dystopian novel; it's a terrifyingly relevant commentary on censorship, conformity, and the slow erosion of critical thought. Set in a future where firefighters burn books instead of putting out fires, the story follows Guy Montag, a "fireman" who begins to question his society's enforced ignorance.Bradbury's prose is as evocative as it is unsettling, painting a vivid picture of a world obsessed with superficiality and technological distraction, while shunning the power of knowledge and independent ideas. The themes of censorship, the dangers of an over-reliance on media, and the importance of intellectual freedom resonate more powerfully than ever in today's digital age.If you're looking for a thought-provoking read that will make you look at your own world with fresh eyes, Fahrenheit 451 is an absolute must-read. It's a stark reminder of what we stand to lose when we stop thinking, questioning, and engaging with the complexities of the written word. Highly recommended.

Fahrenheit 451 is set in a world where books have been outlawed. The tale revolves around Guy Montag, a fireman, who in this world are tasked with burning books and starting fires in place of putting them out. After meeting a fascinating teenager called Clarisse he is introduced to a new way of thinking, one that changes his entire view of the world.I am embarrassed to admit that until recently I had never heard of Fahrenheit 451, although I had heard of the author Ray Bradbury before. How I discovered this novel was after reading and thoroughly enjoying Reader of Acheron by Walter Rhein. I noticed in several of the reviews for the Reader of Acheron how favorably Walter Rhein’s novel was being compared to Fahrenheit 451. The main reason why I bring this up is because if it hadn’t been for the Internet or Amazon, where I could read such reviews at a moment’s whim I never would have discovered this book. In other words I discovered Fahrenheit 451 because of the advancements in technology we enjoy today.This is interesting to me because Fahrenheit 451 deals with the dangers of technology or rather the dangers of over reliance of technology. It is amazing to me how some of the points made in a book written over 50 years ago are still relevant today. I remember reading the part where a seashell radio is introduced and in my head it looked exactly like a blue tooth earpiece. Another part where Guy is talking to his wife about putting in a 4th TV wall instantly conjured up images of the How I Met Your Mother episode, where Lily discovers that one of Barney’s walls is actually a television.But this also lead me to thinking about the cast of characters in How I Met Your Mother and I realized, all the characters were well read. Marshall was a lawyer and so by default had to spend years with his head in a book in order to pass the bar. Ted was an architect and often showed affection for classic novels and poems. Lily was a schoolteacher, you have to be well read by default for that occupation, the same goes for the journalist Robin. Barney clearly enjoyed reading, he wrote the Bro Code and the Playbook. I mean sure they may not have been great literary works, but clearly he valued the power of books.Okay so why have I spent a paragraph talking about How I Met Your Mother on a review for this book? Because this book came out decades before I was born, I didn’t grow up in the 50’s or the 60’s and therefore have never really experienced what the world was like back then. I only have the modern day to compare “the future” that this book represents. Haven’t we all watched a sci-fi movie born out of the 70’s and 80’s, ones that represent those decades’ vision of what the 2000’s were going to be like? Haven’t we at times shook our heads at some of the claims that were made now decades ago?Well I didn’t shake my head at most of the predications that Ray Bradbury made and to me that was a little startling. I mean yes you can nit pick the small pieces that show it is a product of its time, such as the fact there were no employed women or that wages were criminally low (by today’s standard). But just the notion that this decades’ old story still has specific relevance today is quite impressive.But what really made this story for me was a certain revelation that occurred three-fifths into the book. Basically Guy Montag is talking to a former professor about why books are considered so dangerous in this world and why they were burned. The reason is more than simply the information that the books hold, it also has to do with the necessity of books. Sad to say in the most practical of terms a person can live without a book, it can be done with the wonders of technology. But how many people in this day and age can live without their mobile phone? Their tablet? The Internet?While of course Bradbury had no way of knowing about these specific advances his point is made clear. You can turn off a television, a computer, a radio, a phone, but you can’t turn off a book. Once you have sat down and read it, there’s no way of turning it off, even if you close the book the information is in your mind, those once written words have become thought. That is why books were banned, because they couldn’t be controlled with a flick of a switch and therefore were considered dangerous, because there was no guarantee that all those thoughts would be happy or pleasant ones. The consequences for Fahrenheit 451’s world are that it may be a world of safety, of practicality but of rare beauty. With no reason to think for one’s self, to question why things are the way they are, to explore those shades of gray, there is nothing to dream about.I cannot think of a more beautiful way to describe the greatness of books, I had never in my whole life thought about it like that. When I had read that part of the story all of my argumentative notions about technology being solely responsible for people not reading were wiped away. Look, I don’t know if that was the author’s intent, to catch the reader off guard like that, but frankly I don’t care, because to me the way that point was made and built towards was absolutely brilliant.Yes it still deals with being weary about the wonders of technology and yes that is a theme that all classic sci-fi deals with. But Fahrenheit 451 IS a classic novel and after having read it I can see why. I know now why this is still read in schools, I know now why it is still considered relevant. It got me thinking, it made me want to discuss the implications it made. But most importantly it made me aware of the power of choice.Technology was never the sole culprit, as I said in the first paragraph of this review, I discovered this book because of technology, heck I am reading it on an e-reader! The problem was that people willingly closed themselves off to different ways of thinking, all in the name of severe “safety” and it showed me the dangers of doing that. But the most important part of all of this for me was that I CHOSE to read it, I forgot about my prior connotations regarding this book and because of that I have a way of looking at things that frankly I didn’t before. Fahrenheit 451 taught me a valuable life lesson and to me that shows why this book deserves to be considered a classic.