by Gabe

Created on: January 31, 2010

Fahrenheit 451 is one of the most important books I have read in my life. A classic American novel that speaks to me as if it had been written at the height of our current technological age. I've just finished the book myself and couldn't wait to write my thoughts on it. The book has a weight that at times is heavy and is occasionally lifted to show you the clarity and freedom of real living. It was a joy to read and if your reading this and haven't read it, go to the library now and borrow a copy.

Fahrenheit 451 takes place in a future time where books are burnt with extreme predjudice and the population is gladly kept in the dark about most things having to do with real life. People have televisions that fill entire walls, care nothing for the lives of other individuals and are generally very boring and robotic.

In this future the people who burn the books are the firemen. This is an age where houses are now coated in a fireproof plastic so the job of the fireman is to now find books wherever they are hidden and burn them and the houses in which they are contained. One of these firemen, the main character of the novel, is Guy Montag. Guy is a sullen figure, a man at odds with himself. It becomes very obvious from the beginning of the book that he doubts the virtue of his current occupation. His life begins to change when he meets a young girl who cares nothing for television, fast cars and typical conversation.

This book, to me is about breaking away from the mold of society. This is important. Evolution depends on someone, anyone grabbing the reigns of progress and pulling it in a direction where it will not eventually run into a brick wall. The main character resonates the ideals of every outcast in society, the pains of having to fake normalcy and the madness that ensues from thinking outside of societal norms.

This book is a must read for anyone feeling like society is a madhouse in which he is the only sane person alive. The book gives me the courage to speak out against injustices and to make the "right kind of mistakes". This is a book that, unfortunately may echo for quite some time in the history of man, but it does give hope that one day those who remember the knowledge contained within words will change things.

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