Guy Montag is a fireman who lives in a futurist America; however firemen of this time don't work in the same way they do today. Instead of putting out fires, they create them. In the futurist American city Montag lives in, people don't talk to each other, admire nature, read books, spend time on their own or think independently. Instead, they watch wall-sized televisions called 'The Family' and listen to the radio called 'Seashell Radio' which is attached to their ear. In fact, in this time, anyone who owns a book - or library of them - is known as a 'minority' and the books must be handed in to be burnt. And this is exactly what the firemen of this time do; as the houses of the future are all fireproof. However, Guy begins to talk to a young Clarisse McClellan who is seventeen and sees the world in a totally different light. She opens his eyes to how empty his life really is and over time, Guy experiences a series of events that changes his way of looking at his job, his life and makes him question exactly why firemen are burning books and not helping people the way they used to in the past (as he had rumours about). In one night, Guy's mind is made up when a job turns bad; when a woman whose house full of books is burnt to the ground with her inside as she refused to leave it. He decides it's time to find out the truth about why books were turned into the enemy. He remembers that he met an old English Professor once; and so he goes in search for him again. Will his friendship with retired English Professor, Faber, change his life for the better or will it get him killed? I received this book for Christmas and couldn't get my nose out of it over the holidays - also because it rained for a good part of the time too! And so, it made for good reading weather. I love this book and most definitely will read it again.
Ray Bradbury has been writing for a good majority of his life; and has a massive fan base ranging across all age groups. His writing is brilliantly sculpted without weighing a reader down. As with his shorter works, his longer works are just wonderful and a joy to read. Check out more about this brilliant writer on the side bar.
I initially heard of 'Fahrenheit 451' on the former Disney Channel show, 'The Famous Jett Jackson' where in one episode, it was a banned book. There was a teacher in that episode that was arrested for teaching that book. Later, some students involved with protesting the banning of the book (as well as the teacher's termination) are arrested as well. I think by the end, the ban is lifted.
ReplyDeleteIt was also assinged reading for my junior-level English class in high school. In that class, we also saw the movie version. I don't know if you want me to go into details about the movie version or if you'd rather see it for yourself. (I'd hate to spoil any um, surprises.)
On a final note, the Seashell Radios described remind me of those earpieces I've seen people wear, but I don't know whether they are to play music or if they're supposed to act as mini-phones.