Introduction
Fahrenheit 451 is an internationally renowned novel by Ray Bradbury, which is a masterwork of the 20th century envisaging a bleak dystopian future. Guy Montag acts as a fireman, and in his world, television is on the lead with literature been on the brink of collapsing and becoming extinct. Firemen, on the other side, start fire rather than putting it off. His main aim is to get rid of all the illegal commodities like printed books as well as the houses in which they were kept all along. Montag does not question the ruins and destruction caused by his actions, and he always returns to his bland wife Mildred, who spends the whole day watching her "family" the television (Bradbury 35). However, he meets a bizarre young neighbor by the name Clarisse. He gets introduced to the past where individuals never lived in fear and a current world where the world is seen through book ideas rather than the mindless television chatter. Clarisse disappears as Mildred attempts suicide, and Montag questions what he knows and decides to hide books at his home, and when discovered, he runs for his life. Below is a review of the novel by Ray Bradbury.
Review
Fahrenheit 451 is a relatively short dystopian fiction novel of about 194 pages. Initially published in 1953, the book Fahrenheit 451stands in the western culture of literature as one of the best dystopian fiction pillars alongside other books like Orwell's 1984. Bradbury's fiction story subverts the tradition of some of the dystopian fiction novels like the Orwells's 1984, which confront the western modernity incursion in the human conditions by presenting the readers with a future which is archaic and simultaneously advanced. However, there are, of course, some few acts which can be considered quite very anarchically barbaric like the burning of the printed books (Bradbury 45). The novel's title is a reference to the 451° Fahrenheit, which is the temperature at which the paper ignites. The author has exceptionally crafted the writings in the novel, and this can see how he develops all the characters.
The author with his assumptions on how the future would look like excellently guesses most of the technologies which have now been embraced in this current world like the ear pods (Apple) big televisions which are taking over the whole walls and are able to commune with the digitalized individuals at the comfort of their houses. Bradbury’s voyeurism is very fundamental in the novel; his observation on each character within the story like those who speak and interact with Montag, is the second to none and makes the reader become completely immersed in the themes, the society in the masterpiece as well as the whole dystopian story.
Bradbury centers his story on the fireman’s life; Montag. The firemen in the novel are accused of starting fires rather than putting it off; they pump out the buildings with light instead of hosing them with water. Their main aim is to eradicate and censor the evils of the literature books, the powers associated with them as well as the transformative powers in the written words (Bradbury, 54). The novel delves profoundly into the psyche of what it means been charged with a job and also discovering that the job that an individual has dedicated themselves wholeheartedly and diligently could be the very job destroying the society one is struggling to maintain. This is the glue binding the story together and the author delves into Montag's turmoil like been blinded by the government censorships, having his mind attacked daily, getting convinced that he was fighting the right thing when the fact is that he was he had been manipulated to police epic proportions nightmares. Nothing is right in Montag's world since his bland life is filled with disillusionments in his marriage with wife Mildred who is always busy with screen dramas, uneasiness sparked by the bizarre neighbor as well as the fear of the robotic beast "Hound " which gives fatal justices to those found to be hiding the books (Bradbury 100). All these contribute to Montag's introspection journey and his discovery on how powerful literature can be.
The cultural and social issues that the author directs and discusses in the novel are also as if Bradbury glimpsed in the future since he actually writes about the current world we are in today. Reading the dystopian story is shocking and can cause one to muse about the time individuals have left to learn about their lives and when to make conscious efforts of changing it. For instance, some of the issues presented in the newspapers and televisions today about school shootings in America have also been talked about Bradbury in the 1950s. "Sometimes, I'm ancient. I'm afraid of children my own age. They kill each other. Did it always use to be that way?"(Bradbury 87). The author uses an example of a young girl to talk about the fears she has grown up in the scarred and censored world.
Bradbury's story is one of the novels which once read acts as the game-changer. I started hearing about the book's brilliance a long time ago before I had even read it. The impacts of the novel are so significant, and it has changed how and what many authors will write in the future. Even though the book can be classified as science fiction or a dystopian, it is very remarkable and worth reading by anyone since its appeal wide and far-reaching and cannot be classified or restricted by those genres. Been one of the individuals who has already read the novel, I have a firm belief that the story has something for everyone.
The Folio society in Bradbury’s edition is an excellent book. The construction of the book helps in accentuating Bradbury’s brilliant words and bringing it into the new readers and audience, and this makes the book worth displaying in its every glory. The mass Media's pervasive ability to make individuals oblivious to the general world is a common theme that is majorly personified in Montag's wife Mildred with the maneuvering of Beatty been the symbol of envy of any politician trying to push a specific agenda today (Bradbury 167). Since this is a novel with dark themes, there is suppression, murder, and suicide. However, the novel still remains a paragon of the dystopian fiction genre, which is a fantastic example of how the literature books can prompt individuals to examine the entire world.
Conclusion
Only a few books can stay with the reader; however, the embers of optimism shining in the authors Fahrenheit 451 have stayed with most of the readers. There are various illustrations by various philosophers like Sam Weber, which can breathtakingly open the world established by Bradbury and help the readers to picture all the characters and the standout moments. When it comes to the slipcase, the real beauty of the novel is its striking cover, which tries greeting the readers as they slide the book from the holster; this shows the haunting and the striking vision of one of the characters (Montag possibly) who is a fireman. The illustrations made by Sam Weber are menacing, dark, and perfectly fit Bradbury's fiction, its plot as well as the feelings evoked when reading.
