Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: How Technology Drives Humans Away From Reading
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is a dystopian novel set in the future which introduces a world where books are outlawed and burned; and the society is controlled by mass media. The novel focuses on Guy Montag, the protagonist who enjoys his profession as a fireman, a destroyer of books and homes. He lives in a lonely, isolated society where books are outlawed by a government fearing an independent-thinking club (the public). It is the duty of firefighters to burn any books on site or said collections that have been reported by informants. People in the society including Guy Montag’s wife are drugged into compliance and get their information from wall-length television screens. After meeting his new neighbour, a young girl named clarisse, he begins to question his profession and his life altogether, leading him to search for answers that may endanger his life. He begins to build a connection with Clarisse. Through his relationship he begins to question the government’s motives behind book-burning. Montag is soon found out, and he has to decide whether or not to return to his job or run away while understanding the consequences that he could face if he was captured by the government. Getting to know Clarisse inspires Montag to observe the world with the same literature view, he looks over his life and sees his ‘brain washed’ wife and his uninspired dead end home. He begins to set out on a journey to help discover what his true identity without influence from the government is.
Fahrenheit is a classic that lives up to its reputation as a popular science-fiction novel. It is a fascinating and powerful representation of the future which shows how entertainment can take away a person’s focus and attention from books. Bradbury shows that technology not only has the ability to change culture but can negatively alter society and the way it functions, and can also influence how people express different emotions. Fahrenheit 451 tries to explain the negative effects and demonstrate what could become of our future if we don’t change the way we behave socially. This novel shows how technology drives away interest in reading, and how society is focused entirely on the media that they are oblivious. Fahrenheit 451 also talks about how censorship is represented by the fireman system. This system purpose is to burn books, by doing this they are obstructing people from education and freedom of expression.
Many others have reviewed this timeless novel such as Heidi Hammel from The New York Times stated that, “Fahrenheit 451 is a remarkable novel that speaks directly to us today. She explains that in terms of technology the novel accurately predicted the future of the internet and suggests that we should read this novel. “ As well as Dave Itzkoff from The New York Times states his opinion on Fahrenheit 451, “It’s longstanding presence on adolescent reading lists makes it no less worthy of adult attention, and in an era when accessibility to books is still regularly denied – whether by jittery school boards or petulant online retailers – its relevance can hardly be disputed.” He states that the book provides an unforgettable experience that reflects ideas and intelligence.
Overall, this novel is a great story that shows how technology drives away interest in reading, and how society is focused entirely on the media. It is a very precise and descriptive book, that leaves the reader with different impressions about the possible dystopian time that our society could face in the future. While reading this book it inspires the reader to explore different possible views of each aspect that Ray Bradbury portrays.
