Fahrenheit 451
Author: Ray Bradbury
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: October 1953
Guy Montag is a fireman. In this case, that means a man who makes fire. A man who breaks into houses in the middle of the night, armed with a hose filled with kerosene instead of water, and burns books. This is a future in which books are illegal and society has traded technology and entertainment for vitality and liberty. Montag thrills in destruction, in the smell of kerosene and the crackle of flames. He is drawn to to secretly save an occasional book, but the action is more of an impulse than a deliberate one. Then he encounters a woman who refuses to leave her house when he comes to burn her books, and a girl whose passion and curiosity kindles Montag’s own. That is when his doubt begins - doubt about himself and his society. His impulsive thefts become purposeful, and he comes ever closer to being hunted by the same society he has brutally defended.
Despite being written almost 70 years ago, Fahrenheit 451 feels hauntingly current and even disturbingly familiar. The characters’ behavior may seem strange - Montag and his wife cannot remember where they met, “friends” only gather around screens, and the government has systematically attempted to erase the true past. People are fed a diet of pills and propaganda, of entertainment instead of education. Many listen to “ear-thimbles” instead of one another and confuse “family” and “friends” with entertainers. The reflection of ourselves in this narrative is perhaps far clearer now than when Bradbury wrote this book. Bradbury’s future looks entirely too much like our present.
From the opening pages, there is a steady, building, almost relentless tension to the story that is maintained even during lengthy philosophical dialogue. The multiple supporting static characters emphasize the importance and singularity of the dynamic main character. The technology in the story is disturbingly recognizable. Writing nearly three quarters of a century ago, Bradbury crafted a story that today presents a plausible future - and a relevant warning. Fahrenheit 451 was and remains a book that can make us think, feel, and fear. It is a terrific choice for YA and adult science fiction readers, but the passage of time and a single genre do not confine or define this story.
D. K. Nuray, age 14
