Fahrenheit 451. Jumbled thoughts.

I do not know how it could be said that Fahrenheit 451 is not an amazing book. It is one of the most intriguing books that I have ever come across. I think one of the reasons that it may have interested me as much as it did is because of the fact that, throughout the entire novel, I had to continue reminding myself that the book was not written recently. It was published over 50 years ago. When I'd think about this, it amazed me. How someone could so accurately depict the future is incredible. From the flat screen televisions mounted on the walls to the ear buds that Mildred uses to lull herself to sleep. Everything that Bradbury comes up with and describes as 'futuristic' is all standard to my generation. It is strange to think that, if technology continues advancing as it has, such a futuristic book will soon be outdated. Perhaps my generation will be one of the last to really be captivated by it.

I think Clarisse, even for the short time that she was in the novel, grew to be one of my favorite characters. I liked her because she is so similar to what I feel most teenagers are. It is a common misconception these days that all teenagers do is party, text, and watch tv. While these are things that teens enjoy, our lives are not consumed by them. Like Clarisse, many people my age enjoy hiking, nature, literature, and things that do not involve technology in the least. I think Ray Bradbury may have been thinking the way about the future generations as adults currently think of adolescents. I feel F451 is more of an entertaining story than an accurate depiction of life in the future as seen by people in the 1950's.

The end of the novel was a perfect end to the story. When Granger says 'welcome back to life' it ends the book in the best way possible. In saying this, he is addressing the rebirth of Montag. A new life that has been given to him. A life that can be lived in any way Montag desires.

Bradbury. Jumbled thoughts.

It seems obvious that the thing that motivated Bradbury to write F451 is that he loved anything futuristic. In the interviews, he talks about falling in love with the comics he read in the sunday paper. He says he liked to collect them because he loved that they were about the future. I feel the book came to life as it did because he was living it.. Not, of course, in the way the characters in the book live it.. But Bradbury heard of Hitler burning books in the streets of Berlin. He said that if you are not reading, you cannot be part of a democracy. I think this caused him to feel the way he did about the burning of books and definitely motivated him to write F451. Bradbury's literature definitely effected us in terms of technology, although, I wouldn't go so far as to say that we only have what we do because of him. I'm sure Ray Bradbury wasn't the only person to be thinking the way he did, but was one of only a few to bring his thoughts to life in the form of a novel. All the things we have today i'm sure would've been invented regardless of whether Bradbury had written this novel or not. I think a good question to ask would be whether or not they'd have been invented in time for us to benefit from them or if they'd only come to life for future generations.