Fahrenheit 451- A discussion

Hello there!! Today I will be discussing Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. This is one of my favorite books of all time. I originally read it for the nerdfighter book club. I picked it up and devoured it in a day. Fahrenheit 451 is one of the most realistic dystopian novels I have ever read. The themes and metaphors in this novel are extremely comparable to our generation. In writing Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury said “In writing the short novel Fahrenheit 451 I thought I was describing a world that might evolve in four or five decades. But only a few weeks ago, in Beverly Hills one night, a husband and wife passed me, walking their dog. I stood staring after them, absolutely stunned. The woman held in one hand a small cigarette-package-sized radio, its antenna quivering. From this sprang tiny copper wires which ended in a dainty cone plugged into her right ear. There she was, oblivious to man and dog, listening to far winds and whispers and soap-opera cries, sleep-walking, helped up and down curbs by a husband who might just as well not have been there. This was not fiction.” This quote shows us that even in 1953 our world was being evolved my media. Many people don’t know the meaning behind Fahrenheit 451. Most people think it is censorship, but Bradbury himself said that censorship was not the meaning. The meaning is primarily about the way media has shaped our lives. We much rather focus on television then literature. It is also about the consequences of not reading. Because once we forget about literature, then everything becomes a fact though with no context. An other interesting fact about Fahrenheit 451 is that people are the ones that forget about literature. It wasn’t  under the governments orders. People are the ones that stopped reading. People are the ones that started burning books. That is what makes this dystopian all the more interesting. Because most dystopian novels show some sort of dictatorship, in this case Fahrenheit 451 shows people doing the damage not some almighty other. Another theme, which you can also see in Animal Farm, is the importance of second guessing the majority. Most people go through their days filling their minds with “facts” and the “truth,” while never truly thinking about. That is a very important part of Fahrenheit 451. Not accepting or believing everything your family believes or society believes. In this world that is why books are burned. Because they make you think. Now I am not saying we have these mindless people walking around doing nothing, but we do have people in this world today that accept everything because that is what they hear on a regular basis. Mark Twain once said “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” It’s true and this is a strong theme in Fahrenheit 451, which is why it one of my favorite books ever. Also Happy Birthday to Ray Bradbury, who would have been 92 today!~ I hope you enjoyed! I will talk to you later!~ Bye!~