Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”: Themes and Importance of the Book

Introduction

Fahrenheit 451 is a metaphysical novel written by Ray Bradbury. The book was first published in 1953 by Ballantine Books in America. The fiction is set in an unnamed city at an unidentified time and reflects Bradbury’s agitation in the McCathy era. The McCathy era was characterized by brooding remarks on incinerating books in America and was a threat to various authors. The title refers to a temperature at which paper burns itself automatically. Today, the book portrays technology as a threat to the extinction of a reading culture and self-introspection.

Importance of the Book

Fahrenheit 451 is an essential book as it illuminates today’s issues that are otherwise left unspoken. Bradbury uses his science fiction literary work to portray the adverse effect of technology on human rationalization, unlike other works which promote its greater good. The wife of the protagonist, Mildred, and her friends represent a brainwashed society by watching television. They are shallow individuals who do neither think independently nor make sound decisions. The protagonist, Guy Montag, portrays how institutions can set up people to conform to certain activities without asking questions. Montag and his friends are firemen and are to burn books as the ruling regime had outlawed them. Captain Beatty represents dictatorial leaders that hinder people from drawing from the wells of knowledge due to their dislike.

Important Themes

Censorship is one of the major themes as the story revolves around the burning of books that have been illegetimized. The houses are fireproof, and the role of firemen involves setting books and the structures that store them aflame. Control is another issue that is evident in Bradbury’s book. The people are controlled through knowledge suppression as reading and owning books is unacceptable. Captain Beatty describes the role of firemen as those that shield society from those that want to cause misery through discordant propositions and thoughts (Bradbury, 1989, p.59). The book also centers on the negative impact of technology. Mass media creates illusioned individuals that have lost touch with reality. The shows have made wives indifferent to their husbands, children disobedient, parents irresponsible, and increased suicidal rates. The mechanical hound, a robot that is kept in the firehouse also aids the firefighters to track book hoarders (Bradbury 1989, p.32). Bradbury also shows the power of books as it was impossible to suppress the enlightened as they had no taste in the usual way of life and desired change.

Relevance of Themes

Many governments today employ state censorship to suppress the role of literary work in exposing their dirty linen. At present, numerous authors lament the cutting of some chapters of their books in the editing phase to be politically correct before they are published. Worse still, the writers that forge forward to publicize their revolutionary work are either eliminated or banned. Technology and the advent of social media are slowly eroding the reading culture. People have replaced books with social media, online games, and television shows, resulting in an illusioned, depressed, and antisocial populace. In some countries, those in positions of power employ robotics to monitor actions, words, and movements of opposing parties to prevent revolts. The misuse of these political influences violates the people’s freedom of expression.

Benefit to Reader

Fahrenheit 451 explicitly reveals the dark side of technology. Bradbury’s book opens the understanding of an individual to the detrimental effects of mass media, helping them reduce their consumption of the same. Additionally, it ignites the fire to become an avid reader. The book makes the reader ponder the essence of a book that stimulates and transforms an individual’s thinking, association, and action. Bradbury’s book inspires a reader to question the norms and practices of a place and not just accommodate them.

Conclusion

The book leaves a reader with many unsettling questions. How can one affect change in a society that is adamant and unresponsive? Does one have to be the sacrifice and be burned down to plant the seeds of revolution? How can an individual be against technology in such a time where almost all processes are digitized? The positive contribution of technology, such as medical advancement and research progress, counterbalances the negative.

Reference

Bradbury, R. (1989). Fahrenheit 451. Pax.