Fahrenheit 451: A Novel

Stop Thinking.

Stop Thinking Right Now.

Because that book you have in your hands will cause you to Think.

Unacceptable Behavior.

Prepare for the book to burn.

Thank You for your cooperation.

This is the future world existing just around the corner, only a scant few minutes from our present times. Everyday, books which are filled with ideas to provoke thoughts and feelings in us, are routinely challenged and banned by unthinking and unfeeling scoundrels. These immoral vapid inhabitants of our planet are constantly trying to control what you read in order to control how you think. The scary insane world they propagate is shown in all of it's terrifying fullness in one book. A literary classic by one of our modern masters.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. And yes, "they" have attempted to ban this book as well.

A Spoiler Filled Summary Follows.

First published in 1953, this volume tells the complete tale of Earth, sometime down our future road, where books of all types are banned. Reading is prohibited by law. Virtually everyone drugs themselves out on television all night and day. Into this time and place we are introduced to Montag, who, while out walking one night, meets a teenage girl named Clarisse. She does the unthinkable and goads him into thinking, creating thoughts of his own, and wonder about all aspects of his life. Montag's wife is whiling her life away in front of the television, and he cannot seek solace for these uncomfortable ideas at work either. For Montag has the profession of enforcer of this societies rules. He is a fireman.

For in this twisted tormented existence, all houses are fireproof. Firemen are called upon to save citizens from the illicit few who still harbour those dangerous, vile and destructive books. Crashing through your front door, the fireman ransack and pillage all over your home in order to find your treasured hidden books. These offensive items are then piled up in your living room. And then set afire.

Just close your eyes right now and imagine all your books burning up in a massive pile. Terrifying isn't it?

And this is where the title of the book comes from. The temperature of Fahrenheit 451 is when paper burns. A fact that we never wanted to know, never needed to know, but Bradbury makes it a part of our reality.

And now back to the story of Montag, the man who preaches fire against books, is experiencing doubts about his purpose. His inner turmoil is kept secret from Captain Beatty, the suspicious fire chief, but to no avail. After stealing a book from a "crime scene", he slowly realizes they are coming for him. Now a fugitive whose only sin was wishing to read, Montag is chased out of the city and into the wilderness away from "civilization." Meeting up with a group of fellow refuges, Montag settles into his new journey, now finally free to read.

And now he is happy.

Bradbury's story of burning books became an instant classic and helped launch his greatness. What initially started life as a short story, he nurtured into a fully developed gem about the horrors of censorship. Bradbury saw an evil that existed, that crept along stalking humanity since the dawn of time, and felt emboldened to expose it. He famously wrote the entire manuscript at a local University on a pay typewriter that charged a dime per half hour. That is how strongly Ray Bradbury had to tell Fahrenheit 451. Unfortunately a rather mediocre movie was produced in 1966, which except for a haunting ending is mostly a waste. It was also mentioned in singer's Rachel Bloom musical ode to Bradbury, a song that can be easily found on Youtube and is NSFW.

Their are two reasons for my diatribe today. One reason is to pay tribute to a fine excellent book that teaches you to cherish reading and knowledge and ideas. The lifeblood of our soul. The second reason is because coming up is Freedom To Read Week. This proved to me the perfect confluence of events, the story that epitomizes the fight for the right to think, married to the week that celebrates your right to think.

If you have never read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, this week would be the perfect time to.

The present world we live in is wonderful, a beautiful here and now. Everyday, books which are filled with ideas to provoke thoughts and feelings in us, are routinely consumed and enjoyed by thinking and feeling people. These amazing lively humans on our planet are continually trying to spread happiness by sharing their readings to help cause you to think. The encouraging healthy vision they propel is what society starts to transform into at the conclusion of one book. A literary classic by one of our modern masters that will never come to be.

Start Thinking.

Start Thinking Right Now.

Because that book you have in your hands will cause you to Think.

Excellent Behavior.

Prepare for the book to be read.

Thank You for your excitement.

Scoopriches

A short novel set in the future about a dystopian civilization that forbids their citizens from reading books. Firemen enforce the laws by setting ablaze any house suspected of not conforming. Very fast paced however lacks depth and leaves the reader with many unanswered questions.

Fahrenheit 451 is an exhilarating dystopian novel that describes firefighters not as heroes who extinguish flames that are threatening the lives of citizens, but they are considered as man start the flames. The book displayed how books and novels were discriminated, which meant if citizens were caught hiding books and novels in thier houses or caught reading them, they would be burned alive with their books. The story was interesting, because who would have thought that Non-Fiction and Fiction novels would become inferior to the human race, but some can argue that politician are the ones who enforce that law on society. Either way the novel was amazing and enjoyable to read and I recommended to everyone.

Imagine yourself sitting in your living room, having a cup of tea and reading a harmless object called a book, when suddenly your front door is broken down and a bunch of men come running through the door with blowtorches and begin to torch your house. Now your house, all your belongings, and most important of all, your memories are being burnt down. And it all happened just because you had a book. Why would anybody do such a horrible thing? Well, because in the book Fahrenheit 451, books are dreaded and feared by the common folk, and it's up to the "firemen" to help them out by burning all books in the world. Throughout the book the main charachter begins to realize what books really were made for. THey begin to understand the value of these little rectangular object that burn beautifully when set on fire, the objects that light up the night sky when they burn and "die" off. By the end of the novel he is trying to save books instead of burning them to hot smoldering ashes.