Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 was one of the best novels I have ever read because it showed me how history can repeat itself. It was shocking to me at first to read about society where reading or owning a book is a felony, where one will get arrested for a possession of a book. Any access to all forms of literature and facts have been removed from that society, now that is a scary thought in my opinion. Getting rid of books and banning it across the country will make everyone illiterate and ignorant, as many people were. In the novel, Montag, the main character, is a fireman whose job is to destroy all homes that contains books. Eventually he turns out to sacrifice everything he has in his life in order to protect books and even wants to produce books. Montag eventually becomes addicted and cannot stand the fact of destroying man’s creation, (Books) where he becomes in deep trouble and is forced to burn his own house and is charged with many “illegal doings”. Montag eventually kills his chief and runs away where he eventually meets people like his own kind, who were once scholars and were now seen as “the social outcasts” or prisoners.

Granger who was one of them told Montag “Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made” (Page 182). This shows that people in the future, or in this case their society, will not be remembered after they pass out. This is due to the fact that people were not able to read, so therefore were not able to write, or even if they were, what good is it to write if you cannot read or even own a book? As time progresses, the war starts again and a few bombs turns the city to ashes, where Montag finally remembers how he met his wife and in some ways feels bad for her now that she is dead. After reading the novel, it seems to me that society has to reach its’ worst for us humans to eventually realize what has happened and what our mistakes were, which is when society can finally start all over.