Fahrenheit 451 in Overdue Podcast

Feb 25, 2013 Amanda rated it it was amazing

Mark Twain once said that a classic was “something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.” As I listen to what is said about Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, I get the sinking feeling that it fits Twain’s definition of a classic.

When discussing Bradbury’s novel, people invariably talk about it as a great protest against censorship. Well, yes, it is that. More importantly, it is a warning against apathy and complacency.

Set in a future where books are outlawed, Fahrenheit 451 te Mark Twain once said that a classic was “something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.” As I listen to what is said about Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, I get the sinking feeling that it fits Twain’s definition of a classic.

When discussing Bradbury’s novel, people invariably talk about it as a great protest against censorship. Well, yes, it is that. More importantly, it is a warning against apathy and complacency.

Set in a future where books are outlawed, Fahrenheit 451 tells the story of Guy Montag, a fireman whose job it is to burn any books that are found. Eventually, Montag gives in to his curiosity and reads one of the books he was meant to destroy. Montag’s life is transformed by his rebellious act and he becomes a defender of the written word.

Those who have actually read the book will remember that Bradbury placed the blame for the book ban squarely on the shoulders of the public. He wrote of special interest groups rallying against books they considered offensive until people turned away from reading for fear of offending anyone. Then the government placed a formal ban on books to keep people from being disturbed by them, to eliminate conflict, and to keep everyone “happy.” There was no public outcry, with people turning to “seashells,” earbuds that play a constant stream of sound, and giant video screens to keep themselves from having to think to hard about anything.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Fahrenheit 451 is a favorite target of would-be censors. They claim it contains “obscene” language, even though it contains nothing that can’t be said in a PG-rated film. It has also been called anti-Christian, a charge I find puzzling as one of the books Montag saves is a Bible–he even commits several books of it to memory.

Bradbury said that he wrote Fahrenheit 451 to prevent, not predict the future. Maybe if more people actually read the book, it wouldn’t seem so eerily prophetic to those of us who have.

I originally wrote this for The Tiger Print. It is reprinted with permission.
...more

1 like · Like · see review