A BURNING PIECE (Review of
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451)
If there’s one thing that never seems to go out of style, it’s censorship.
People, at one time or another, have experienced it. In fact, a study of mankind’s history would reveal that this issue has received more than its fair share of attention and criticism.
With that in mind, anyone would undoubtedly have a great time reading Ray Bradbury’s
Fahrenheit 451.
This is a highly imaginative novel that focuses mainly on suppression. Set in the future, it presents a new and very extraordinary angle to what could have been a common topic.
The story revolves around Guy Montag, a fireman, and the realizations that came to him as he went through the routines that made up his everyday life. These realizations made a strong impact on him and brought significant changes to his life – changes that he wasn’t in the least prepared for.
This may sound like a pretty ordinary story for most people but it’s not. Montag’s being a fireman is itself already bizarre since their concept of the said profession is very much different from ours. Poles apart different actually.
When we hear the word “fireman” what immediately comes to mind is a person in charge to PUTTING OUT fire. In his book, Bradbury defined the fireman as someone who does exactly what the name implies – he STARTS a fire. Firemen, as depicted in their futuristic novel, were people whose job was to burn books. Books about poetry, philosophy, and anything else deemed to be detrimental to the public’s happiness and sense of contentment since they complicate what were relatively
simple minds of simple individuals.
Montag used to be one of those people who never thought of questioning the said burning of books until certain circumstances provoked him into breaking away from the herd. With his natural inquisitiveness and very human flaws, Montag is one endearing character that can make the reader sympathize and, at the same time, relate to him.
All these, coupled with the exceptionally vivid writing that composes Fahrenheit 451, make this not just something that one
could read if there’s time. It’s something that
must be read – no ifs and buts to that!