Let's talk: Fahrenheit 451

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Catia
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Re: Let's talk: Fahrenheit 451

Post by Catia »

I read this book many years ago in Italian and then I found a copy at the local library, in English. I couldn't resist and reread it.
I found it disturbing still. I can't wrap my mind around the idea of burning books :o I couldn't live in a word without books and the knowledge that comes with books.
The society described by Bradbury gives me the chills. Empty, sad people wasting their life feigning to be happy interacting with false friends on a screen.
The chilling part is that we almost have something very similar to the high tech described in the book. I can even see similarities in the behaviour of young people: behave as they were happy, showing the new smartphone, fashion clothes, caring more for their appearance than for their personality. To show off instead to be.
The end of the book always made me want to commit my favourite books to memory :D

If I could save a book, it would be Notre Dame De Paris by Victor Hugo.
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Post by DathanReeves »

I read this book in middle school. It left a mark in my brain. It's certainly one of those books that becomes more relevent as time moves forward.
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Post by GabbiV »

One aspect that I enjoyed about Fahrenheit 451 is how Bradbury made future technology a perversion of nature/animals. As a freshman in high school, I thought it was poignant that as humans destroy nature, we decided that nature should injure us as well.
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Post by Tbunde5 »

The frightening reality of today isn’t that the world will ban or burn books. The scariest thing is they won’t have to. For many people today, books are irrelevant. We have become a society of big screen TVs and routines that don’t involve reading or writing.
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Post by Aituaje »

Fahrenheit 451 has a 1984-esque future-telling sort of feel to it. The relevance of the book to contemporary society is startling; even though books aren't being literally hunted and burned, the rapid shift away from books as the common source of entertainment towards television and the phone acts as a sort of metaphorical burning of books: the metaphorical destruction of books as the primary source of entertainment. I also believe the gigantic, wall-sized television was interesting. I remember thinking that it was ridiculous to have a TV screen the size of a wall ... then I went to the movie theatre.
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Post by Helpme71 »

As an avid book reader, this should be a tougher decision than it is. However, it is a simple answer for me; my Bible. I am a devout Christian, and I love to read my Bible over and over again. If I could only choose one book to save, it would have to be that one. There are so many different stories, principles, and ideals embedded within the text that I don't think I would get bored if the Bible were the only book I could read for the rest of my life.
"Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world." -Nelson Mandela

"Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men;" -2 Corinthians 3:2 (ASV)
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Post by Alimc1030 »

I just read this book for the first time at the age of 27. It's an amazing book. However, I was not very satisfied with the ending. I felt that it could have gone in a different direction than it did, but with the ending that the author DID go with, I felt that he made a clear point in what could be if we did ourselves of opinions and views that don't agree with our own. I did purchase the book after I saw the preview on HBO that they would be making a movie out of the book and I had never read it. The book I purchased was decently sized and also the reason I thought the story would go in a different direction. I finished the book and there was still a third of the book remaining about the research the author put into the book. When you finish a book and realize it is truly the end, and there is still a third of the book left, that is true disappointment. Still have not watched the movie but I still enjoyed the book.
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Post by Mely918 »

I liked the book's premise and it's beginning and middle, but was confused by the ending. I also felt unfulfilled when I was done reading it. I would have liked to have more closure.

I would probably try to protect the Harry Potter books from the firefighters in the Fahrenheit 451 universe.
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Post by Kailani_Fox »

I very much enjoyed Fahrenheit 451 and the reality it introduced. The concept of technology taking over society and influencing its every move is commonly used, but Bradbury added his own twist and made it much more unique. Its prediction as to what the world would look like without books was a little off to me, though. I don’t believe that people will come to develop an intense fear or hatred of books, nor feel the need to destroy them altogether. Aside from that, this book was very entertaining and I definitely recommend it.
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Post by rave_2 »

I read Fahrenheit 451 for fun, and it was wonderful. The concept of technology over books is very interesting. I had a hard time putting it down. :techie-studyingbrown:

As for your second question, I would definitely hide the Bible.
Just reading... :techie-studyingbrown: :techie-studyinggray:
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Post by Mallory Porshnev »

I did enjoy this book. I think Ray Bradbury was before his time in his thinking and depicted a rather accurate "future" or rather our current present. We may not be so far gone yet, but we're getting there. I love how he portrayed people as just wanting everything fast and simplified. Montag's wife is a perfect example for me of the masses of people who are content to scan their phones for social media all day and watch mind-numbing reality TV all night.
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Post by bclayton13 »

I love Fahrenheit 451, the way it relates to the way we are now will forever make it relevant. While their society's utter dependence on technology for entertainment is concerning (so much like ours), I was always curious to try the program Montag's wife was so addicted to. Interactive TV would be interesting, though I would hope I don't end up living my life in a fantasy world.
As for a book I'd save, it would have to be Harry Potter. The movies aren't enough for me.
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Post by Githumaina19 »

The paradox of this book is what had me swallowing it up hook,line and sinker until it's last page. It sheds some light of all our individual belief systems
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S Chinaski
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Post by S Chinaski »

It's absolutely a favorite of mine, and lead me to explore other sci-fi classics such as 1984.
Not only is the plot captivating on the surface, but I agree with others' sentiments that it rings very true in a more general, metaphorical sense in regards to censorship and systemic attempts at thought control.

Also, great question! I think I would end up like the lady in the book who stayed in her house and got burnt with her books; not because I want to make a statement or be nihilistic, I just wouldn't be able to decide. lol :)

Side note: Has anyone read Bradbury's Dandelion Wine? I started it not long after a read The Martian Chronicles a few years ago but couldn't get into it as much as the other two of his I have read. Thinking about giving it another go...
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Post by Jessica Reehl »

I recently read this book and, while it's a good book with good themes, I also found it to be boring. The book I would save would be Harry Potter but I am not sure which one, it would be a hard choice.
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