Fahrenheit 451

Once again, I am here with a dystopian novel (after Animal Farm and 1984).


After hearing about this book from some friends, I decided to try it. My first impression of this book was that it was quite depressing and gloomy. The first few parts were boring and extremely flowery, but I pushed through see why everyone liked it so much for myself.


Guy Montag, a fireman who burns books, is the protagonist of the novel. Instead of putting out fires, Guy and his colleagues start them. People in Guy's society watch too much TV and listen to the radio instead of reading books and enjoying nature. One day, he meets a girl named Clarisse McClellan. She illustrates Guy's empty life through her questions and love of people. Guy then goes through a series of disturbing events. Mildred, his wife, first attempts suicide. When he is assigned to burn an elderly woman's hidden literature, the woman chooses to be burned alive along with her books. He then learns a few days later that Clarisse was killed in a car accident. Montag's discontent with his life grows.


He starts reading the books he smuggled and stashed in his air-conditioning vent. Beatty, his fire chief, pays him a visit when he fails to show up for work. Beatty explains that it's normal for a fireman to wonder what books have to offer, and he explains why books became banned in the first place. He instructs Guy to read for about twenty-four hours to see if his stolen books contain anything valuable before turning them in for incineration. He reads throughout the whole night.


The next day, he seeks the assistance of an old English professor, Faber, to help him understand the books. Faber explains the true meaning of books to Guy and suggests that they overthrow the current government by printing and spreading books.


After returning home, Mildred's friend arrives to watch television and gossip about their families. Montag begins to read a work of poetry aloud. Faber warns him to keep quiet, and Montag tries to justify himself by claiming that it's a common way for firemen to demonstrate the futility of literature. The poem disturbs the women, and they leave, intending to report Montag.


Montag goes to the fire station and gives Beatty a book. Beatty argues that literature is dark, complicated, and dangerous, and thus must be burned. The alarm goes off, and they rush to the scene, only to discover that the fire is at Montag's home. Montag realizes that his wife has betrayed him when she leaves in a cab with her luggage.


Overall, I believe this book was decent. It seems to be arguing that literature is the only good way of obtaining information. Other methods such as TV and radio have made society become chaotic. To some extent, I agree with this claim; mindlessly watching TV for hours on end does reduce your critical thinking abilities. However, I do think that the message is too strong, as there are many ways for more visual learners to educate themselves. The flowery and metaphoric writing style of Bradbury was slightly confusing.


Score: 7/10

-Jay