Importance Of Reading In Fahrenheit 451
Zachary Muñoz
Ms. Wrenn
Power of Words
22 October 2015
Warnings to People in America In Ray Bradbury's futuristic novel, Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury wants to send a message to his audience about the importance of reading. The novel takes place in a setting where reading is prohibited in the society. Technology has become more common in this society, taking away from the magical importance of reading. Even though the book is written over 60 years ago, it still shows a powerful message today. Bradbury utilizes the characters Guy Montag and Mildred to illustrate the importance of reading. Guys Montag has been a firefighter for about 10 years. His job was to capture and destroy books which had irreplaceable knowledge. The firemen's
slogan was, "Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner burn 'em to ashes, then burn the ashes" showing how no books survived the wrath of the firemen (Bradbury 6). But when he discovered books, his opinion soon started to change. He wanted to understand the message they held inside. When he opened up a book he decided to, "begin at the beginning" (Bradbury 65). He finally discovered in what a mindless world he lived in surrounded by technology and he discovered the knowledge within the books. Once he realized that he could change his way of life, he traveled to Faber and begged him, "to teach [Montag] to understand what [Montag] reads" (Bradbury 78). Bradbury uses Guy Montag's discovery of the knowledge in books to show the message how important books are. While Guy Montag discovered the knowledge of books, Mildred still lived in a society surrounded by technology. Bradbury uses Mildred as an example of how unsatisfying life without technology can be. One night Montag comes home and finds her trying to attempt it suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills. She claimed to be happy with her life but based on her actions she was not. The next day when she was asked why she tried to kill herself, she insisted that she was happy. You can clearly see her addiction to the technology. The one time that the parlor walls turned off, "Mildred kept peering in at it with a blank expression" (Bradbury 67). Without the parlor walls in her life, she was so lost and confused with herself. Bradbury uses Mildred as another example for the importance of reading, she never read and didn't have interest in reading. Bradbury often used his characters to demonstrate the reason why books are so important. Bradbury used the novel to send the message of how and why books are so important. He uses the characters Guy Montag and Mildred to portray the importance of books and reading them. Guy Montag discovered books and opened himself up to the knowledge. While Mildred has been lost in technology and her parlor walls and could care less with reading. Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, portrayed the message of the importance of reading and books through Guy Montag and Mildred.
Ms. Wrenn
Power of Words
22 October 2015
Warnings to People in America In Ray Bradbury's futuristic novel, Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury wants to send a message to his audience about the importance of reading. The novel takes place in a setting where reading is prohibited in the society. Technology has become more common in this society, taking away from the magical importance of reading. Even though the book is written over 60 years ago, it still shows a powerful message today. Bradbury utilizes the characters Guy Montag and Mildred to illustrate the importance of reading. Guys Montag has been a firefighter for about 10 years. His job was to capture and destroy books which had irreplaceable knowledge. The firemen's
slogan was, "Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner burn 'em to ashes, then burn the ashes" showing how no books survived the wrath of the firemen (Bradbury 6). But when he discovered books, his opinion soon started to change. He wanted to understand the message they held inside. When he opened up a book he decided to, "begin at the beginning" (Bradbury 65). He finally discovered in what a mindless world he lived in surrounded by technology and he discovered the knowledge within the books. Once he realized that he could change his way of life, he traveled to Faber and begged him, "to teach [Montag] to understand what [Montag] reads" (Bradbury 78). Bradbury uses Guy Montag's discovery of the knowledge in books to show the message how important books are. While Guy Montag discovered the knowledge of books, Mildred still lived in a society surrounded by technology. Bradbury uses Mildred as an example of how unsatisfying life without technology can be. One night Montag comes home and finds her trying to attempt it suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills. She claimed to be happy with her life but based on her actions she was not. The next day when she was asked why she tried to kill herself, she insisted that she was happy. You can clearly see her addiction to the technology. The one time that the parlor walls turned off, "Mildred kept peering in at it with a blank expression" (Bradbury 67). Without the parlor walls in her life, she was so lost and confused with herself. Bradbury uses Mildred as another example for the importance of reading, she never read and didn't have interest in reading. Bradbury often used his characters to demonstrate the reason why books are so important. Bradbury used the novel to send the message of how and why books are so important. He uses the characters Guy Montag and Mildred to portray the importance of books and reading them. Guy Montag discovered books and opened himself up to the knowledge. While Mildred has been lost in technology and her parlor walls and could care less with reading. Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, portrayed the message of the importance of reading and books through Guy Montag and Mildred.