I admit that I was the only adult in America who had never read Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. I have no idea why this wasn’t required reading in high school except to remember that we didn’t read many classics at all.
In my quest to read source materials from which countless references are made, I succumbed to Bradbury’s prose. He does know how to write social insanity.
Society has decided that books are the source of discord and unhappiness so they are banned. It is the fireman’s job to burn the books. Montag is the fireman who begins to question his job and social priorities in general.
Published in 1953, Bradbury set this story in the future. Some of the futuristic items have become realities of the day.
- The seashell radio reminded me of earbuds and ipods. It served as a cellphone-like device when Montag communicated with Faber.
- The parlor walls in Montag’s house reminded me of flat screen TVs. His wife interacted with the entertainment on the screen similar to a current day video game used with skype.
- When the group of men were sitting around the campfire wondering how the manhunt for Montag was going, they pulled out a device that was similar to a current day tablet.
The story ends by a war breaking out and by the cities being bombed flat. There is no mention of who the war was with or the reason for the war.
In a coda written in 1983, Bradbury notes that he had only then realized that he had named his characters with true connection to the story. Montag is a brand of paper and Faber is a brand of pencil. They are the basis of book writing; they need one another.
Here is another classic I get to check off my list.
