I read this book in ninth grade English this year and it was one of my favorite books that we read this year!

I have always been a fan of sci-fi books and reading it actually brought me more insight on the dangers of the futuristic society that we might face sooner or later.

In Fahrenheit 451, the futuristic society is controlled by the government. People are emotionless, have no depth, and just can’t care less about anything. Most people consider the word, “family”, as having the latest gadgets such as T.V parlors and less about human interaction and love between husband and spouse.

The main character in the book, Guy Montag, has a breakthrough after meeting his new neighbor, Clarisse. Montag’s job is a fireman, which in this futuristic world they burn books and houses instead of protecting houses from fires. Kind of ironic isn’t it? Clarisse sees the world much more differently than Montag and introduces him to the tiny aspects of nature that makes it worthwhile to live for such as the dewdrops on grass and just looking up at the moon sometimes.

He compares what Clarisse says to his life right now: Mildred, his wife, doesn’t care for him at all and considers the T.V. parlor as her makeshift family. She also overdoses on sleeping pills, which is symbolic since she knows she unhappy but at the same time she doesn’t know why.

He also had a big turning point as well when he watches a woman burn herself alive in the fire with her books rather than live in a world without them. Montag even questions to himself after and says, “there must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.”

There are so many foils in this book, its amazing how Bradbury added so many in a short novel that’s a little more than a hundred pages. You can clearly see the comparisons he’s trying to make with our society and the one he’s created.

Also, Bradbury wrote this book in the 1950s, which means that the things he created in the book such as seashells (now known as modern-day airpods), parlors (T.V that spans the whole wall), and even the mechanical hound (robot dogs) now has been created.

A little more on the mechanical hound: our teacher sent this link the other day saying that “Bradbury really knew it was coming”. The link is down below:

https://abc7.com/robot-dog-lapd-city-council-vote/13290121/

Anyway, a quick summary, the LA police department decided to press the OK button on their proposal to accept donations on funding for a mechanical police dog. Obviously there’s a lot of controversy on this. But, amazing how Bradbury predicted this right?!

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is available to checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby