Fahrenheit 451

The novel is based on a short story, "The Fireman," that Bradbury published in "Galaxy Science Fiction" in 1951 and then expanded into "Fahrenheit 451" two years later. However, those who have studied Bradbury's writings caw trace key elements back to a 1948 story "Pillar of Fire" and the "Usher II" story from his 1950 work "The Martian Chronicles." Beyond that, there is the historical record of the Nazis burning books in 1933. The story is of a future world in which everyone understands that books are for burning, along with the houses in which they were hidden. Guy Montage is a fireman who has been happy in his work for ten years, but suddenly finds himself asking questions when he meets a teenage girl and an old professor.

"Fahrenheit 451" is not only about censorship, but also about the inherent tension in advanced societies between knowledge and ignorance. Reading this novel again I am reminded about Pat Paulsen’s editorial on the old "Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" (a series well acquainted with the perils of censorship) about how we might enjoy freedom of speech in this country but we do not enjoy freedom of hearing because "there is always the danger of something being said." Censorship, in practical terms, is the effort of those who do not want others to hear what they find offensive, for whatever reasons, basically because it leads to people thinking thoughts they do not want them to be thinking. Through the rambling diatribes of Captain Beatty, Bradbury makes this point quite clear to his readers.

Even though this is essentially a novella, Bradbury's work retains the charm of a short story. The recurring use of animal imagery throughout the story, the use of the mythic ideas of the salamander and the phoenix, make "Fahrenheit 451" more poetic than any other dystopian work. Even if it is predominantly a one note argument regarding censorship, it is impossible to deny that Bradbury makes a clear and convincing case for his position. Besides, there is something to be said for any work that insures that beyond the point at which water freezes the only other recognizable number on the Fahrenheit scale is the point at which book paper starts to burn.


F 451 is a book for those who refuse to be dumbed down.   April 6, 1999
 10 out of 11 found this review helpful

As a high school junior, I was recently made to read Farenheit 451. Unlike the typical high school student, reading is one of my most cherished activities. Thus I was pleased to find that we would be reading 'heavy' novels and were expected to do some thinking beyond the usual confines of teen thought. I was shocked at the way most of my peers responded to the novel and the assignment itself. Most hated the novel and were disgruntled to find that we were (gasp) supposed to think? The very idea! It was actually quite ironic to find that the very ideas of lax thought and caring that Mr. Bradbury was trying to convey were precisely what I found in my classmates. It was also a disturbing discovery for me to make. Farenheit 451 was an excellent novel although I believe it was written far in advance of its time. Had it been published just recently, perhaps more people would understand the troubles it predicts, which are indeed staring us in the face. The most interesting part of the novel is that it came in a time when the Guy Montags of the world were frowned upon, as were individualism and self-expression. The struggles which Guy faces are a perfect example of today's struggles. There are some of us in the world who refuse to conform and think exactly like the government wants or society decrees. It makes one truly think about how close we have come to slipping into Guy's society. Look at Hitler and WW II. Look at genetic engineering and euthansia. Mr. Bradbury's novel gives a chilling and striking depeiction of what the world would be like without a few individualists. I recommend this novel to anyone who likes Kate Chopin or Ross Perot.