Fahrenheit 451

The amount of relevance this book offers even in todays world, 50 60 years after publication is astounding. Battling against the surge of mass media has never been more important, especially during the newfound era of anti-intellectualism in the United States, where countless of books have been banned by the government for ridiculous reasons. Guy Montags journey from ignorance to realisation is a powerful symbol of escaping the masses and gaining autonomy over oneself. For that, it only needed one curious mind, Clarisse McGlellan, to provoke a few introspective thoughts into Guy Montags mind. I just wish we got to read more about her, not just the first few pages before her death. What also raised my level of enthusiastic reading was the way Ray Bradbury implements his proses. His implementation of metaphors and analogies was great and added a new layer of depth to the short novel

O único ruim é que fui forçada a ler por causa dos estudos, fora isso, me surpreendi bastante!

The last time I read Fahrenheit 451, I was a teenager and the world and ideas Ray Bradbury wrote about seemed so far from what I knew. The closest concept I could think of was what if World War II had gone differently?We’re now in 2026, and I’m in my forties and re-reading the story of a fireman who starts fires rather than putting them out so that books which are contraband are obliterated alongside sometimes the people who’s salvaged these rarities doesn’t feel so dystopian. Quite frankly, the thoughts I had whilst reading this ‘banned book’ (the irony isn’t lost on me) chilled me to my core, because in 2026 fiction feels too close to fact.Fahrenheit 451 is a dark and emotive read, and to know it was written in the early fifties still leaves me mind-blown because in my opinion, the world Guy Montag lives in only feels outdated due to the character names. It’s core message still holds true to this day – and should act as a warning rather than being added to the banned list for ‘vulgarity’ in ’87. Bradbury weaves in poignant thinking points into this story of a world where the realities of the past have been oppressed and reshaped into what those in power want you to think and accept as truth. Even the idea of you calling a fireman not to put out a fire but to be the one to ignite a flame before a thought can be is both chilling to the reader and accepted as being how it has always been that way by the characters.This banned book highlights the dangers of censorship, the suppression of knowledge and thinking for oneself, and the danger of technology and how it’s used to make people into being nothing more than mindless, dull automatons. I do like how we see Guy come across as someone who follows the rules, he does as he’s told without question – obliterating knowledge, passion, creativity etcetera that comes from the pages of books. However, there is already considerable depth to his character, and the way each layer reveals more about both his world and him is handled so well.  You’re constantly thinking as you read about this dystopian nightmare of a place because I think those who read Fahrenheit 451 and understand the complexities that are woven throughout would despite a world where the very walls of your home can become television screens never mind the rest of the technology and fallouts of this world.This time, I finished the book within just a few hours and found myself moved to tears at moments because this second reading resonated more deeply and stayed with me longer.  Even now, a couple of days after finishing it, I’m still going over in my head some of the scenes Bradbury brought to life through his evocative writing style; the idea that people who think for themselves or perhaps make others begin to question things being disposable is chilling. But Bradbury does it, and the explanation for it will leave you ice cold. Then there’s the idea of people who have managed to salvage books, not necessarily in physical form but in their memory just in case they can be salvaged made me choke up. It’s far from a light at the end of the story – but a reminder that those who strive for good, who won’t be broken by what those in power demand as truth, will fight on not for themselves but for those who come next.