Published December 2, 2004
This book is the first Ray Bradbury book I have ever read. I had to read it for my 9th grade english class. All I have to say about this book is that it is absolutely fabulous.
This book takes place in the future where books are illegal and firemen shoot kerosene out of their hoses to burn books. Its a story which takes place in a world where the government is totalitarianistic and the society is full of nonintillectual people who are jam-packed with government progaganda. I can't even begin to explain this world in detail without having to write pages and pages, your just going to have to read it for yourself.
One reason this book really caught my attention as being top notch is Bradbury's constant use of figurative language. Almost everything in this book has a figurative meaning, from the firemens' symbol (a salamander, phoenix, and the number 451) to his reoccuring themes, which include the colors black and white, mirrors, and many other things. The salamander is a mythical lizard wich resists fire. The phoenix is a mythical bird which every so often burns itself and is reborn from the ashes (in the book bradbury compares this to mankind also). The number 451 is significant because it is the temperature at which books burn. This is just a small sample of the figurative language in this book. There are so many great parts in this that have really deep figurative meanings, probably one every few pages, maybe even less.
Another reason this book is really great is Bradbury's way of giving you a world so much like the one we live in today that its startlingly scary. The world he describes may be more advanced, but it has some of the same key elements that are happening to our society. Books are becoming less important. Media is taking over. Religion is less important. Values and morals are being forgotten. People are becoming less and less social with real people and more into watching T.V. or listening to the radio. People aren't asking "why" something happens but "how" it happens.
This book is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Even if you aren't into sci-fi you will probably like it because it relates more to real life than most other books do.
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I read Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451 over the summer and I can honestly say it has become my favorite novel of all time. Never before has a book struck me with more fear and insecurity about the future.
If you know me, you'll probably know I get really nervous and anxious about what the future has in store, whether it be war or natural disasters. The end of the world. But none of that even seems remotely frightening after having read 451. A society where thought is banned? Where questioning authority or reasoning is a criminal offense? George Orwell wrote in his 1984 a word which has defined that crime: thoughtcrime.
The novel is a fast paced, exhilarating critique on what society is turning into. IceCreamMan said, "Books are becoming less important. Media is taking over. Religion is less important. Values and morals are being forgotten." I couldn't agree with him more. It is frightening to see how closely Bradbury's world is to our's.
Fahrenheit 451 has given me a new appreciation for books. Before I read this groundbreaking novel, I had never once considered books as a form of voice. Of reasoning. I had never thought that books could give people ideas--ideas, dangerous or safe, that could change the face of the world.
-Jared
Okay, so, when I was reading it over the summer, I had NO IDEA that it was Sci-Fi.
I was like "Dang, why do we have none of this cool stuff now?
Was that burned too?"
But then I came back to school and realized I was horribly, terribly wrong.
The book mostly confused me, but I guess it was pretty cool in a lot of ways.
My favorite character was probably the Proffessor.
My sister read it, and apparently it's good, but kind of creepy. I dunno if that's true or not ...
BOOKS, ILLEGAL??? I'M GOING TO DIE!!! KILL ME NOW!!!
I swear, if I lived in that futuristic world, I would die. No books ... It doesn't bear contemplating.
Brr. Off to read now.
I read this book a while back for my book group and I absolutely loved it. It was definitely one of the best books that I've read for book group
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Absolutely, especially since its plot pertains to all of us as writers.
I loved this book so much! It was great! I read it last year. Just in my free time, because my Mom was raving about it.
I didn't like the Martian Chronicles that much though.
Well got 2 go!
TTT
I've been meaning to read this book for a long time. I always get sidetracked.
Should I make room to read it?
Ray Bradburry wrote this book and I love him so much. He also Wrote Something Wicked this Way Comes. I was about to buy this book so I think I am more egar to read about it now than ever before. Thanks for giving me a better summary and if I ever read it I'll be sure to tell you how it went.
Read it yesterday.
Didn't impress me... until I got to Captain Beatty's speech. o_o Don't ask me why, but he became my favorite character from that moment on, even if he the main antagonist of the story (questionable point, if you ask me, but you didn't, so I'll just shut up.)
It was an okay book. It didn't catch my interest very much, and I found the main character rather... uninteresting. While the premiss of the story was verrry interesting, the actual intrigue of the story was mediocre; the events followed one another without much flair.
It was thought provocating, though, and the metaphors were nicely and subtly done. Writing style is, all in all, rather so-so, but poetic and flowery enough to catch my attention.
I know what your saying about it not being sci-fi, although I would have to disagree. It doesn't have aliens or other galaxies. Their not living on another planet. They dont have a floating city. But, nontheless, this book takes place in the future. Contrary to your opinion, I believe that this is a very crucial point to the book. It shows what will (or might) become of us. It shows a very scary reallity in which our grandchildren could someday live. It shows of things to come. I really enjoy thinking about this book BECAUSE it takes place in a reallistic future. It takes place in a future very similiar to our present day time, yet so different somehow than ours.
My absolute favorite part of this book, however, wasn't the actual book but the authors coda at the end. It was very interesting to hear Bradbury's opinion on the world.
No offense, but I didn't like this book very much. Actually, I didn't like the Martian Chronicles much either. I guess I just don't like Bradbury's style that's all.
And I would have to agree with something my English teacher said--this can hardly be called sci-fi. After a while, it's pretty easy to ignore the futuristic element. Of course, that's probably because we butchered the poor book in class.
But compared to some books we're forced to read in school, this is awesome. Even if it did put me to sleep. LOTR put me to sleep to. I ended up falling asleep in the middle of lots of books, but that's probably more due to tiredness.
I liked this one as well.
Sort of funny that its on the banned/challenged list...