Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
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Book Reviews of Fahrenheit 451
Book Review: Utopia at it's worst
Summary: 5 Stars
The reason that Fahrenheit 451 is such a great book can be a hard one to pin down, though the fact that it is goes without question.
It is the story of a fireman, Guy Montag, who faces a crisis when he begins to question his whole way of life after a chance encounter with a young woman on his street. After this first, casual meeting, he begins to re-examine his relationship with his wife in contrast to the familiar, warm relationship that the girl has with her family- instead of this loving type of exchange, Guy finds that his closest relation, his wife, spends all day with the three-walled 'family' that barks constantly at her from a script, but that never bothers to actually say anything. From these estranged roots, Guy turns to look at the thing that he is destroying and that he has been taught to hate- books. This curiosity gets him into trouble quickly, forcing him out of the life that he knows and into one of panic, flight, and eventual banishment...though even this is a blessing in disguise.
The novel works from the basis of a phenomenon that has occurred in literature in recent years- that of the utopia gone bad, something that Thomas Moore never could have imagined. In this growing canon of literature you will find such venerable titles as '1984', 'We', 'Anthem', and 'Brave New World'...what separates 451 from these is it's focus on the specific problem of entertainment as a venue to the masses. What happens when the government controls our books, our television, our inputs? What happens when we close our minds off to literature because it is going to offend someone, somewhere? What happens when we become so PC that we burn 'The Merchant of Venice' because it might offend Jews, 'Roots' because it might make whites look bad, and 'Huckleberry Finn' because it might make blacks uncomfortable?
Bradbury attempts to answer this question, albeit indirectly- true, no one can be offended if these things are removed, but neither can anyone learn and grow. Life, civilization, everything- it all becomes stagnant, sliding slowly away to meaningless interactions that amount to nothing. Bradbury does not tell us that our point is to go around offending but rather that in order to function, we must push one another. Life, love, happiness...none of these happen without passion, fire, intensity...all of those emotions which flow might step on someone's toes, true, but they are necessary to be human.
The novel tackles this with an unforgiving brutal bent to those who would censor and suppress anything that might make a person think. Captain Beatty is the epitome of the problem, though even in his final thoughts he seems to be full of a sort of self-loathing. This character, along with several others, leads the reader to examine the different sides of the issue at hand, trying to discern which approach is most appropriate.
In doing this Bradbury achieves what the intent of the novel is- to make us think about and examine our own views on what art (specifically literature, but it can be generalized) is and what place it has in society. Should it be censored? Should it be controlled (as in Plato's `Republic')?
The fact that the novel encourages these questions in such a short span (a little over 100 pages) is a testament to Ray Bradbury's brilliance as a novelist...it is also the reason that you, the potential reader, should make sure to pick up a copy and tear through it (it can be finished in a single day, easily). By doing so, you will be facing what are still very relevant problems in our modern day and time.
Bottom line: this book is considered a modern classic for good reason. It has all the elements- ideas, execution, style, substance- and should not be missed.
-LP
Book Review: Please do yourself a favor and re-read this classic if it has been ten years or more
Summary: 5 Stars
[This review is for the paperback "50th Anniversary Edition" of the novel, which contains special additional essays and an interview which enrich the experience of reading the novel.]
I'm not going to recount the plot details since this book should be a part of every book lover's lexicon. (If you have been off of the planet for the past half-century or so, this is a parable, set in the not-too-distant future, about book-burning. But the novel is really about what makes a person an individual. It postulates what people might be willing to give up in order to have "peace of mind," and poses material enough for hours of stimulating debate about the real value of independent thought and its importance to society.)
This review is simply a friendly nudge for those of you out there who have already read this book once, perhaps when you were quite young, and have not re-visited it. I urge you to do so as soon as possible.
I just re-read this incredible novel for the first time in thirty years. I picked it up because my teenage daughter is reading it as an assignment for an English class. I read it in high school, too, and I recall that I enjoyed it. But for some reason I had never re-read it. Bad move on my part. I got so much more out of the book now that I am older and have been in the world for awhile. The novel has aged beautifully. Actually, its insights, in light of our computer age and the changes which are being wrought in publishing and in the education of our children, are astoundingly relevant. This is a novel so current in its political and social re-imaginings that it could have been published last year.
I love Bradbury's books. He is a master story teller. His The Illustrated Man sits on my nightstand bookshelf right beside a copy of Ring Lardner's short stories, Ring Around the Bases: The Complete Baseball Stories of Ring Lardner and a copy of F. Scott Fitzgerald's short storys, The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald-- just in case I need to re-read a wonderful short story or two before sleep comes.
But as I said, I had not re-read this particular book in a long time. Not only did this futuristic masterpiece affect me completely differently when I read it again after such a long lapse of time, but I found so many nuances in the book which are just not present in the movie Fahrenheit 451 (wonderful as the movie is.) I had forgotten how mesmerizing Bradbury's prose is. I had also forgotten that this novel won the National Book Award. It's a treasure, and a novel to be savored periodically throughout one's life.
I especially like this edition which mentions on the cover that it was released as the "50th Anniversary Edition." Not only does it contain Bradbury's 1979 Coda and 1983 Afterword, but there is an illuminating interview with the author where he discusses his own views about how the book has held up to the passing of the years, his approach to writing in general, how he views the "future" we are now living which he imagined in the early 1950s, and even what he considers the weaknesses of the movie version of his book.
This is great American literature. Please re-read early and often.
Book Review: The Burning of Knowlege
Summary: 5 Stars
Ray Bradbury opened the book with the line "it was a pleasure to burn". A shocking and simple sentence began a story set in the near future where a firemen's job was to set fire, as opposed to putting them out. As the story progresses, the main character, Montag, meets more and more people who gradually begins to change his views of the society and analyze his actions as a fireman. What made this book interesting was the radical concepts and belief that the society embraced. The story tells us that a fireman¡¦s job was to set fire on books, which were considered to be bad. Not just books were bad, but knowledge in general was viewed as sinister. Montag lives in a society that only promotes very basic information to the public, and knowledge was forbidden and strictly controlled. The title of the book is also closely related to the content. "Fahrenheit 451¡¨ is the temperature at which normal book paper catches on fire. I thought this title was not only unique and related to the story, but it also attracted its readers. By only stating ¡§Fahrenheit 451¡¨ I would think to myself ¡§What would this book be about?¡¨ and ¡§What is the significance of this particular temperature?¡¨ These continuous questions really increased my curiosity on the book.
I thought that the most successful aspect of this book is its ability to portray an image in my mind. Though Bradbury's vivid expressions, I could picture the scenes in the book. Bradbury used figurative language as the paintbrush to construct the image. Personification, metaphor, and similes were extensively utilized. In the first page of the book, every sentence contained figurative speech. For example, through Bradbury's magical use of language in "With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world" (P. 1 lines 2-4), I could very clearly portray a fireman holding the hose with kerosene coming out like a python spitting it's poison. This does not solely portray an image; it also leaves a strong memory, and impression afterwards. Through the use of these powerful and impressive words, Bradbury carved an everlasting image in my heart. I especially adore the quote "He strode in a swarm of fire flies" This effectively produces a complete image in my mind of Montag happily walking through a bunch of burning ashes. The "swarm of fire flies" really produces an everlasting powerful image.
Another reason I gave this book five stars is that I thought it was not just an entertaining and poignant book, it was also a book that moved and influenced me as well as triggered me to contemplate about the presence and the importance of knowledge and books. The first time I read it, I could not understand it, so I read it again. After the second time reading it, I was stimulated to ponder about the significance of knowledge. I felt very deeply that controlling knowledge through the destruction of books is extremely inappropriate. I very powerfully felt that books were important to us in our daily lives, and that every one of them has value, and they should be kept and treasured. My emotions changed from detached to extremely motivated. I felt that this book really portrayed a very different world, such that books are absent. Through indirect speech, Bradbury has really moved and changed my views. I thought this book was both very thought provoking, enjoyable, and very well done. I enjoyed it.
Book Review: What else can I say?
Summary: 5 Stars
Back in the year 1941, Mr. Bradbury started writing the story "The Fire Man": one nickel at a time in his local library basement. This story about burning books later transformed into what we know today as the classic Fahrenheit 451. This book is hailed as one of the best science fiction novels at the time, and is still very successful today.
The book revolves around a character named Guy Montag, a fire fighter in an America where there is no order, or self control: Books that contemplate deep thought are outlawed and burned, with no sense of literature or compassion towards those who hang on to them; as the pages burn at a cozy 451 degrees. This America, maybe even this world focuses more on fake joy and illusion, than pressing world issues, such as the constant threat of nuclear war. In this world, or at least in this America; the citizens are rampant, and are brainwashed to think that they are happy, when in fact each and every one of them are just drones without a real queen. More people are killed in random car accidents than their last nuclear war, which America won. Guy, like almost everyone else in the nameless city, gives in the misapprehension of happiness until he meets someone. One day he meets Clarisse Mc Cellan, a young teenager who changes his perspective on his life, and life in general; from the smallest rain drop to whether he really loves Mildred or not. He begins to realize the sheer grievance of the world; from thinking putting new blood in a person is curing them, to thinking T.V families are your real families. (This is Mildred's problem until the very end). He at last questions his own occupation, which is probably the reason why his life is the way it is. He finally goes off the deep end and steals a book from a lady who burns her and her books before the firemen do. It is then revealed to Mildred (and the readers) that Montag has been keeping a stash of books hidden for a year, and has been trying to memorize them. Alas, the information always slips away; like "the sieve and the sand." He then goes on a journey, both physically and mentally; as he must face himself, the Mechanical Hound, and even his own boss Captain. Beatty. He is very much Montag's opposite, and is the main antagonist.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who can create deep thought from reading a book. This book is action packed, epic, and is a striking realization on a path modern America might be heading for itself. The book itself is actually more relevant today than when it was first published in 1950. The fact is that the back story mentioned in the book on how America got this way is sounding more and more like our present. Basically, their past might be our definitive future. This book is classic for a reason, as the book is critically acclaimed by almost any person who reads it; of any demographic. The only real requirement is to be able to analyze the information in the book, as there are a few moments of symbolism in the book. Overall, I believe that there are a lot of bone- rattling moments that anyone with a brain should enjoy, but probably won't in the end. And for anyone who likes this book, I recommend The Martian Chronicles, and Dandelion Wine." They are excellent examples of Bradbury's work. I also recommend The Last Book in the Universe; it is very similar to Fahrenheit 451 in plot. In all, I would give 5/5 to the classic that made us all think a little more.
. --Christian C.
Book Review: Fiction is now fact...
Summary: 5 Stars
Imagine this:
The world no longer reads. Instead, they sit around for hours and watch giant screens at home, viewing mind-numbing programming with no real intellectual value. Then, they get in the car and drive 90+ mph, not even for a second thinking about the danger that they put themselves in. People no longer care about anything really. They no longer think for themselves. They have no ideas that make them unique individuals.
Sound familiar? It can be honestly said that today, the TV has replaced reading as the number one mode of aquiring information for the majority of people in our nation. They have their minds filled overflowing with ideas that the program presents. And this is how people shape their worldview today. After all, all "normal" women look like Cindy Crawford or Halle Berry, right? All kids have sex before marriage, right? Everyone has to look like they do on TV, and be like the "normal" families portrayed on TV...right?
In the year 2004, the vast majority of what is seen on TV is absolute garbage. No? Well, OK. To each his own. If you think that watching a fashion model having needles pierced up and down her arm in order to win a challenge is perfectly fine to watch, then OK. If you think gay men running around an island butt naked is considered normal during the "family" hour, or having kids in a game show soaked with green slime, or someone having plastic surgery and cosmetic dentistry in order to win a beauty contest, or...
Thankfully, we don't have to worry about losing our First Amendment rights; there are enough watchdog groups around to ensure that our rights don't disappear. May God help us all if we ever did. The Bill of Rights ensures that in the corner of the world in which we live, we have the freedom to ignore the "idiot box" and read a good book, or newspaper, or magazine, or whatever we want to read without fear of arrest or intimidation.
In the "Fahrenheit 451" world, books are illegal. Since everyone got their dose of enlightenment from the big screen and didn't care about reading anymore, the government said, "Since no one reads anymore, why do we need books?" and promptly banned all of them. Those fortunate ones who manage to hang on to a few tomes for their enjoyment are paid a visit by the fire department.
The "firemen" in this story, unlike their real-world counterparts, start fires, instead of extinguish them. Kerosene shoots out of their hoses instead of water. The FD (with the number "451" on their uniforms, indicating the temperature in which paper burns) is dispatched to the "criminal's" home, and not only sets the books ablaze, but also the home in which they are hidden. After all, they have to set an example to the rest of the community that books are bad and if you are caught with them, your books and your home are toast...literally.
The central character in the book, named Montag, is one of these firemen. For years, he has done his job setting fires, and he does it well. But after a run-in with a girl who's a free thinker, and a professor who remembers the days when books were taken for granted, he begins to question why the firemen have to burn the books at all.
Though written over half a century ago, "Fahrenheit 451" is no longer considered science fiction. It is a glimpse of the future to come, and a warning of what the future could hold for us.