Fahrenheit 451: Final Thought

     Fahrenheit 451 is probably the most thought provoking story I have ever read. A riveting, honest portrayal of the future, it is also a way for the author, Ray Bradbury, to vent his feelings on the censorship of books. What's ironic about this book, which is about censorship, was released in the early 1950s, when the US was rampant with fears of communist infiltrators and a book about defying the government was the last thing everybody needed. I'll admit, the idea of the banning of all printed liturature seems scary when you think about how much printed liturature there is in the world. But the most striking thing about this book is that it depicts a future America. America. The land of the free and the home of the brave, now burning books to get outside thought into their people's mind. And that could be our future. I say could because you never know what's going to happen.

      I saw a trailer and a few scenes from the movie version, and it's very, VERY, different from what I envisioned as a very bland, cloudy all the time kind of world, but it seemed half decent, it had a whole big monorail system and it all seemed kind of nice, you know, except of couse, for the book burnings. I also found it really cool that Bradbury predicted the widespread use of technology, like television and bluetooth headsets, and even predicted the awkward conversations that arise because of it. "Fool, Montag, fool, fool, oh God you silly fool...""Shut up! He pulled the green bullet from his ear and jammed it into his pocket.    

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    Over all, it's been a pretty good book. It's interesting to see how we have a law enforcer using the stuff he's supposed to confiscate and destroy, it's like a DEA agent using drugs he takes from other people. But the drugs Montag takes are one full of uncensored knowledge and wisdom. It's a shame to see that the world Montag live's in could be our future, but it's in our hands to prevent that from happening. 

The poster for the film version.