Book 2 of 2014: Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 was something I bought on an impulse, but something that was safe enough because it’s clearly a no-nonsense book perfect for times when you want things to make sense or you’re in a very intellectual and critical mood. First published in 1953 and garnered the National Book AwardAnd for a book lover, who wouldn’t be captured by the premise of the story? It’s about a fireman who lived in a dystopian future and his main task is to destroy significant objects that provoke enlightenment and individual thought. And these are books. Imagine a pile of written works by genius turned to ashes? Sacrilege! 

The lead is a 30ish fireman named Montag who actually relishes his job as a “fireman,” extremely committed to his duty to JUST follow orders from the futuristic American government, to destroy whatever that was not allowed, hidden books, past records and artworks of renowned artists. At the start of the book Montag’s climactic moment of destruction through fire was intriguing. Here was a man who relishes turning valuable things to ashes. Was it a traumatic past that led him to be a destroyer? Or was this a brainwashed individual of this future government? Or was destroying things as a fireman the only truth he knows?

Through the story he began to meet characters that tickled his existence. He met a young 17-year old woman who seems to stop and notice the details of their world, who is brave enough to ask questions that no one dared looking for answers to. Slowly his life is illuminated and consciousness starts to flow through, challenging his mind. The Hound, a mechanical beast at work, Beattie his suspecting superior, Mildred his wife who is actually a stranger, the woman who was burnt that turned the point around for Montag, Faber an old ally and Granger an exiled book lover.  

This novel reminds me of other plots set in dystopian worlds that represses a part of humanity until one person becomes enlightened, breaks through the cycle and challenges it. One interesting concept that I’ve read in this story was that previously written books by the greats were created by extraordinary minds that tend to question, observe and evaluate the world. Having these books published and openly circulated will provoke humanity to enter into fantasies, have different ideals and entertain different philosophies in life.  With the government’s range of authority, to avoid any conflicts they need to eliminate sources where people could find the reason to think and value their individualism. Books that philosophize, challenge and provide fantasy through stories, would endanger a harmonious and unified thinking.  Unfortunately, this happened in a society that fears the ones in power for providing them safety and freedom. This society may be safe, regulated but it’s dull and repressed. But only a few people secretly challenge it and they do have their own reasons in the book. The wife and the Captain of the Fireman squad may be the characters that you would not love, but definitely you would try to understand as they present another facet and weakness of humanity.

I sometimes shudder whenever I read a book set in a dystopian or post apocalyptic future with repressed societies. In this case, obviously the author's focus is the censorship of works and the destruction of individual thinking. It’s much better than a zombie- afflicted way of life, but it’s definitely not a world I would want to live in. It’s a world where spirits die and I don’t know which is worse.

VERDICT: It’s a good book. It’s definitely a no-nonsense book, but I wouldn’t really recommend it if you’re into light reading and if your attention span flits around from time to time. This book, though short, is thought provoking and needs a little patience. There were some areas that are blurred to me, but thank goodness it’s short! I might need to revisit this again to give justice to its greatness.

I was curious about the title. Obviously it is connected with fire, which is the protagonist's main element and method of book burning, but what's with 451? According to Wikipedia, the author used this title because the temperature reaches Fahrenheit 451, that is the the autoignition point of paper. Cool. New Learning!