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Summary: Censorship in an alternate society
Review: The story, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, is about an alternate society set in the future where cars travel 100 miles per hour, TV walls interact with people and books are banned. Guy Montag is an enthusiastic fireman, who enjoys pouring kerosene over books and burning them and the entire house. In this society, firemen do not put out fires. They start them. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. This book was action-packed and involved a lot of good writing. For example there were many metaphors in this book. They helped to connect Montag's society to ours, and show the frightening similarities between the two. Mildred Montag is Guy Montag's wife. She is an example of the people the government wants to create. Mildred is shallow and cares more about her possessions than about herself or her husband. Also, Mildred never shows interest in what Montag has to say. She regards him as an annoying younger brother rather than her husband. Mildred is the stereotypical housewife of this time period. She values all the things her society does. She seems to not think for herself, and only knows what the society wants her to know. In the beginning of this book, Montag seems perfectly content with his life and his job. He says it is a pleasure when he burns people's houses. He loves the smell of kerosene that comes from his job, and 'wears it like a perfume'. Then one day Montag meets a girl named Clarrise McClean, and his life changes forever. Clarrise is a peculiar girl for the time period. She thinks. She enjoys smelling the leaves in fall, staying up late at night talking and watching the stars. Clarrise seems like a girl that came from our time period and was placed in Montag's. The norm for teenagers in this book is to play video games, play sports, and kill each other. There are many gangs in this society and often innocent teenagers are shot. Also, teenagers like to drive their cars hundreds of miles per hour to see how many people they can run off the road. If a pedestrian were to be crossing the street in this society, they would most definitely be killed. However, no one walks anywhere. Rather, they take the subway or they drive to wherever they need to go. Pedestrians are seen as weird and are often watched by the police to make sure they don't do anything illegal. When Montag meets Clarrise and talks to her, he immediately wants to know more about her. She is unusual to him, and he likes that. Montag loves the way Clarrise doesn't care about what anyone else thinks of her. Clarrise teaches Montag to question society when the society seems wrong.
The day after Montag met Clarrise, the firemen were called to a site where there were books in need of burning. Montag seemed detached from the routine that usually captured his every waking hour. The firemen were at the house of a woman who had hidden books in her attic. When the other firemen were pouring kerosene over the books, getting ready to burn them Montag stole one. He put the offensive book under his jacket and in doing so saved it from being burnt. When Montag got home he revealed to Mildred the stolen book. He opened up the air vent in his room and exposed 20 more books! Mildred was horrified, and gathered the books so she could burn them in her incinerator. Montag ordered Mildred to stop and said he wanted to read the books. He reasoned the authors must have spent their whole lives writing a book and therefore the books must be worth reading. Some people were willing to die for the ideas and opinions in these books, and Montag wanted to figure out why. Mildred, like most of the society, took no interest in Montag's books. She knew that if she did, she could be sent to jail. Mildred did not want to risk ruining her reputation, or loosing her house and TV walls. After Montag realized that Mildred would be of no help to him, he decided to talk to someone. Montag needed someone who would be aware of what he was going through, and could help him understand the books. Montag recalled an elderly man, by the name of Faber, he met in the park years ago. Faber told Montag that he was once a literary professor and he loved books. Montag went to Faber's house to visit him there. He brought with him one of his stolen books; the Bible. Faber eventually helped Montag in his quest to change the society. He told him that this couldn't be done quickly, but rather after a long period of time. Montag and Faber then began to discuss a plan to change society's views. They decided to place copies of books in firemen's homes. Then they would have the homes burnt. This would cause unease within the system and hopefully cause its demise. This book is about a society similar to ours. They have censored everything possibly offesive, thus only keeping the facts. The society is terrified of stepping on the toes of minorities for fear that they will rebel. They believe the bigger your market, the less you have to handle controversy. The public doesn't want to read anything that might offend someone. This aspect of Montag's society sounds frighteningly like ours. People watch what they say in public so as not to offend anyone. Montag's society grew to hate books because they might cause an uprising. What their society wanted above all, was for everyone to be happy. The story of Fahrenheit 451 is of the coming of age of Guy Montag. It is about his heroic efforts to restore civilization to it's thinking. This was an astounding book, and it is great for people who like action, controversy, and to think about life.
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Summary: As topical now as ever
Review: Reading this book for the first time at the beginning of 2003, I found it remarkable that a novel about the suppression of information in an oppressive police state stands as a powerful critique of the assaults on freedom and personal liberty that the U.S. Government is now engaged in in the name of protecting its citizenry from terrorists. Who exactly are the terrorists? In the view of the shadowy government represented in the novel, they are those who hoard and protect forbidden printed works, and they are those members of an underground information subculture that commits works of literature to memory in the hope that one day, the printed page will be welcome again. In the post-9/11 America of George W. Bush and John Ashcroft, the terrorists can be anyone with a foreign-sounding last name. Even blameless American citizens are suspect. Under a provision of the USA Patriot Act, the government can force public libraries to hand over records about what books anyone has checked out, and they've furthermore made it a crime for the libraries to inform those whose library records have been invoked. Bradbury depicts a nation in which individuality is frowned upon, in which the government is deeply suspicious of its own citizenry, in which suspected "criminals" can be hunted and murdered by the state without a trial, in which content is spoon-fed to the public. In light of news stories reporting on the Total Information Awareness project in development by the NSA, how much of this can be taken as fiction? How long will it be before the cautionary tales of Bradbury and Orwell and Huxley become a nightmare reality?
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Summary: A Great Book
Review: This novel by Ray Bradbury is a very interesting book. Fahrenheit 451 is one of those books that you just can't put down. It's hard to say why, but you pick it up saying to yourself, "I'll just read a few pages," and you end up reading for an hor or two because of the way it puls you in. The conflict starts imddediately, solving the problem of a slow beginning that some novels have. The very first few paragraphs show Guy Montag's love for fire that eventually becomes his personal struggle as well as the struggle of the world throughout the novel. There is alot of foreshadowing that you don't really recognize until you see what it's lead to, such as how Beatty doesn't run out of the kerosene-filled house as the others, but walks slowly almost delaying when the old lady pulls out a match. In leads into something very strange later on, but I don't want to give it away. This novel plays off the old concept of how you never really know how valuable something is until its taken away, playing on something as important as making books not only rare but illegal in the future. It also shows how destructive the world has and will become, with wars lasting technically 48 hours, and are decided in less time than it takes to blink. All and all it is a very interesting and entertaining book, and I would recommend Fahrenheith 451 to anyone, whehter they are heavy readers or not so heavy readers, such as myself.
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Summary: A banned book about book burning
Review: When I was in high School many moons ago, there were three books about the future that were required reading. Brave New World, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451. All three novels were dark looks at the future of a society that had lost its way. Fahrenhiet 451 is an a dark tale about the problems of modern life and how normal things taken for granted can be turned inside out. Bradbury's hero Montag, is a firemean that has the job of actually setting fires to burn books. For those of you who do not know, Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature that paper catches fire. His world is about modern convenience and the lack of intimacy that society had developed over time. His chance meeting with another leads Montag down a path from book burner to exile on the run trying to save what he once destroyed. Bradbury tells a tale of the redemption of a man and the hope of society by learning what is important. It is an excellent read and very thought provoking. For those of you who do not think that books can ever be burned, I named this review what I did because this book is on an official banned book list in the United States. What do those who want to ban books to our children fear from this book? Makes one wonder.
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Summary: Surprisingly a reflection of today's society
Review: It is pretty up to date, and reflects society, since the concept of different ideas and philosophies is ignored in favor of TV, and remembering the dull words of pop songs, and the dull and almost pointless existences of some people, reflected rather grimly in this book. It was very powerful, and a very remarkable book to say that least. Probably the most realistic and the least sci-fi influenced of all those 'utopian society' novels.
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Summary: Fahrenheit Four-fifty-amazing
Review: I read this book for a school project. I go to a school in Maine and I am in eighth grade. I read this book for an honors English class. I am not a really big fan of reading because I find it to be extremely boring and useless. In fact the only reason I am writing this review is because I am being forced to. This book was one of the better books that I have been forced to read over my school career. There have been some pretty horribly boring books than I have been forced to read but this one isn't that bad. In fact it is a somewhat exciting book. I would recommend this book to a student that is being made to read a book that is like this or if this book is on one of there book lists. This book was somewhat good. I am not really sure what I think about it. The book was very confusing and I found it hard to read. Now that I think about it this book was not very good. I can see why they wanted to burn books in this book because I wasn't a very big fan of this book. It was very confusing and hard to believe and a little to old. I recommend this book for people that are old enough to understand it. In my opinion this book was an OK book but for certain people.
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Summary: Fahrenheit 451
Review: I read Fahrenheit 451 at school. Before I picked it my Mom was telling me how she enjoyed reading the book before me ,so naturally me being a teenager assumed that the book was going to be stupid ,but I got it anyway .It turned out that Fahrenheit 451 was one of the most enjoyable books I've ever read. It's true to life sci-fi theme puts me in the future world as depicted by Ray Bradbury where firemen are paid to start fires instead of put them out. I read the book once before but the second time around was much better. Allot of details in the book were overlooked by me the first time .It captures the decay of modern day literature to technological advances such as television and amplifies it with a sci-fi twist to the point where literature is forbidden .The reader follows the character montag through the story as the reluctant firemen begins to long for literature .His wife is addicted to television so she doesn't really help him with his self-esteem .He meets a man named Faber who helps him learn more about literature while his secret still remains kept .Eventually he ends up with a choice between his job and his life .A problems with this book is as follows ; If literature is forbidden how to they teach children ? Overall It was a good book and if you haven't read it yet I'd recommend that you do.
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Summary: S-Dawggie Dawggs Revew for the Gay and Lesbian Reader
Review: Do you really want to read my review? I doubt it. But if you are reading this I will actually type my opinion. WARNING: Not suitable for children under the age of 10. This book is good for anyone who enjoys burning things. I enjoyed reading this book because of all the fury and held in rage I have consumed over the years from reading [bad] books. I also enjoy burning misc. things. This was one of the better books I have been forced to read in school. I do not read much and when I must do book reports it makes school worse and worse but this book was not so bad. I do not usually get assigned good reading books as assignments. Reading is good for you. Stay in school. Read this book. I do suggest this book, however, to read this book even if not assigned. It will keep you wondering what will happen next. Keeping me on the edge of my seat is a good combination for a book when mixed with only 180 pages. This is a good book to read if you like to read AND if you hate reading and need a book report because of how short it is. I have given this book 4 stars for a good plot and it's worth reading. Writing 250 words is usually hard but when you write on constantly about nonsense it becomes easier. If you are being forced to read this book, do not fret, read it. It's not so bad. Thanks for hearing out my opinion.
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Summary: Fahrenheit 451
Review: We thought this book was a good one, but it started out to be slow and confusing. It is about a person name Guy Montag and he is a firefighter that burns books. He is starting to find out that it is not a good job, and he wants to quiet. This is all i can say because if I tell you any more it will give the book away. I can tell you that this is a science-fiction book, and it involves a different society. This is what makes the book so great.
In conclusion, this is a good book, and even though it is hard to read in the begining, it gets much better.\
Thanks for reading this.
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Summary: Burning on the mind
Review: Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, a thought-provoking book about censorship centered around book burning, seemed to get off to a slow start by following the life of the main character, Guy Montag, a firefighter who does not put out fires, but rather burns books for a living. Some of the descriptions given at the beginning of the book were confusing at first, like those of the parlor walls, which really turned out to be futuristic video screens, and the mechanical hound, a robot which is used to track and kill people by the chemical scents they leave behind. However, as I got into the book more, I felt that the almost boring way Bradbury wrote the introduction helps give the reader a sense of what Montag's life was normally like, and allows the reader to see the vastness of the changes he encounters in his lifestyle.
I also felt that as the plot thickened, Bradbury did an excellent job of giving Guy human qualities, such as making him impulsive and sometimes hot-tempered, and showing how he strove to do what he thought was right. His interactions with other characters are very real, especially those with his boss, Beatty. When Montag starts to regret burning books, and starts to perceive that there is more to the books he burns for a living than he and most other people believe, Beatty senses Montag's change in emotion, and does his best to set him straight, telling him that books are only filled with useless thoughts and people and places created by writers that are long gone. This is the main conflict that leads to the rising action of the novel. Montag is told that books are bad, and thus by human nature becomes even more interested in them. However, the conflict is greater than this, as it is not just Montag versus Beatty. Besides also trying to get his ditsy wife interested in books, Montag faces an internal battle with himself. He has to weigh the consequences of getting caught with books with the rewards of what he could possibly gain by reading. I especially appreciated the effort Bradbury went through to bring the feelings and emotions Montag goes experiences to the reader by his word choice, and the way he showed the reader how Montag was playing a sort of tug-of-war in his mind.
I think Bradbury did a good job surprising the reader whenever possible, such as with Montag's actions. Just when you begin to think that you might see how Guy will act in a situation, Bradbury twists the outcome, keeping you on the edge of your seat in some cases, or at least wondering what will happen next. Such is the case with Faber; a man Montag becomes friends with who also has interests in the forbidden world of books. Just as Bradbury leads the reader to believe that Faber will be somewhat in control of how Guy responds to the remarks of his boss Beatty, Montag leaves Faber in the dust, taking matters into his own hands and acting on impulse.
Bradbury uses a serious tone throughout the novel, which helps to bring forth the importance of the subject at hand. I liked the serous way in which Bradbury presents the world Montag lives in, a world without books or leisure reading material. This made me question what I would do if I were in Montag's situation, even though in this day and age it is quite unlikely that books would suddenly be totally banned. It really got me thinking about censorship in general, and how at times in the past we made steps toward making Montag's world a reality by banning books from libraries and bookstores. On the other hand, in brought to light the fact that the bans placed on many books were lifted after such acts were declared unconstitutional, which somewhat renewed my faith in the ability of our government and society to recognize and correct some of its mistakes.
The novel is still thought provoking, however, because no matter what kind of society we live in today, we can all imagine living in one that is totally different, one we do not feel comfortable in, one that we let our imaginations run wild in creating it, making it painful to think about let alone live in. I enjoyed how the novel made me realize how many freedoms we have nowadays, and how they can easily be taken away.
Without spoiling the ending, I just want to say that I thought it was very fitting. As Granger says near the end of the novel, "You're not important. You're not anything." Montag and his group would have appeared to be insignificant to any unsuspecting stranger, even though they were the keys to a vast world of knowledge, one they hope someday the world will get to experience again.
Though I do think that Ray Bradbury did a very good job of writing Fahrenheit 451, I feel that it has a few weaknesses. First would have to be a shortness of description, especially at the beginning of the novel when the reader is trying to form an image of the world Montag lives in. His short initial description of things such as the parlor walls and the mechanical hound left me somewhat confused about what they really had to do with the novel. Another case of confusion occurred with the mechanical snake that was used to empty Montag's wife's stomach and change her blood while she was sleeping after Montag found out that his wife, Mildred, had swallowed some thirty sleeping pills. It is not so confusing how this event happens but rather why it happens, and it does not seem to be important later in the story.
Despite some weaknesses, the main point of Fahrenheit 451 is clear, and makes the book a definite "must-read."
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