“Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury – Fire of Ignorance

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Short Summary

Ray Bradbury has contributed more than he could have probably every hoped for to the realm of science-fiction, shaping it with his groundbreaking and unique stories containing profound meditations on modern society. Fahrenheit 451 is probably his best-known novel, telling the story of Guy Montag, a “fireman” whose job consists of burning books en masse, one day after the next, until a chance encounter challenges him to consider all he has ever known and believed.

Ray Bradbury Predicts a Terrifying Future

Though today much of science-fiction seems to blend with the realm of fantasy and is dedicated to telling epic stories set in technologically-advanced universes, there was a time when the genre was also used to comment on modern society by looking where present tendencies might one day lead. Few did it as well as Ray Bradbury, and over sixty years after its publication, Fahrenheit 451 remains as relevant as it ever did.

This classic science-fiction story published all the way back in 1953 and adapted to the silver screen begins by introducing us to Guy Montag, a “fireman”, but one quite different from the kind we’re used to. As a matter of fact, in this future, conventional firemen don’t exist anymore, largely because everything is made from non-flammable and fire-resistant materials. Guy’s job isn’t to put fires out, but to start them instead. More specifically, like his colleagues, he is tasked with burning down forbidden books as well as the houses where they might be found, aided by eight-legged robotic hounds. Every evening he comes home to his wife Mildred, who essentially spends her days with her “TV family”, leading a dull and relatively pointless existence.

Though Guy himself isn’t exactly the happiest man in the world, he doesn’t think too much about his lot in life, at least, not until he meets his new neighbour, a teenage girl, who has some pretty radical ideas for her time. If nothing else, the few times he runs into her begin to make him question the concept of happiness, and whether or not he can find anything like it. When, one day, Claire goes missing, Guy takes a step bound to change his life forever.

During a routine book-burning job, Guy steals a book and takes it home, with the intention of reading it to see for himself if it truly is something worth eliminating from this world. Slowly but surely, it leads him down a spiral into his own self, forcing him to rediscover the world from a completely new perspective, and most importantly, to witness for himself the immeasurably profound impact the written word can have not only on individuals, but society at large.

The Frightening Accuracy of Fahrenheit 451

In most cases, when we read science-fiction novels which have been written some thirty, forty, fifty or sixty years ago, they end up seeming relatively naive by today’s standards, imagining technological concepts and futuristic societies which appear utterly ridiculous from our modern perspective. This is especially amplified when they introduce gadgets which would be obsolete in today’s world.

Thus, while many old science-fiction novels make for a nice and entertaining read, they don’t necessarily stand the test of time, with their predictions having been proven wrong and archived as something amusing. In my opinion, Fahrenheit 451 is one of the more notable exceptions to this rule, remaining as relevant today as it was when it came out, perhaps even moreso.

In this novel Bradbury imagines a society where intellectual pursuit has been scorned in favour of media which can be consumed quickly for rapid rewards and satisfaction. He imagines a nation where people’s attention spans have progressively become shorter and shorter over the decades, to the point where much has to be dumbed down and shortened to be palatable. Sounds familiar yet?

Naturally, we still have ways to go before books are declared as sources of confusing and intrusive thoughts which unnecessarily complicated our lives, but it’s not like such things haven’t happened throughout history already (most notably the book burning in Nazi Germany). As we all know, if there’s one thing history loves, it’s to repeat itself ad nauseam.

I think more than anything, we could all use a reminder about the ultimate destination the road we’re all walking down collectively will lead us. Books are falling out of favour with younger generations whose attention spans are constantly trimmed by shorter and shorter forms of entertainment, and should things continue to develop this way, I fail to see how we’ll manage to avoid the sort of bleak, ideologically-bankrupt and pointless future predicted in Fahrenheit 451. As I’ve said before, unlike most of its peers, this novel stands the test of time and remains pertinent today.

The Harrowing Journey of Self-Realization

While the world Ray Bradbury imagines in Fahrenheit 451 is indeed harsh, and Guy Montag does seem doomed to remain ignorant or die on his quest to illumination, not all is darkness and despair in this novel. As a matter of fact, Bradbury traces a rather interesting and believable path for our protagonist, showing how a person can find it in themselves to overcome the pressures of a society which values ignorance.

This novel does have quite a lot of societal and political commentary, most notably about the dangers of governmental overreaching and the rise of the television, it doesn’t mean that it’s lacking in action. On the contrary, the plot moves along rather quickly and is in no way short on surprising plot twists and developments which are still effective and impactful to this day.

The plot itself, the characters’ actions and dialogues are what the author uses to make all of his points and meditations on society, rather than stopping in his tracks and deliberating on the topic. Though it might seem a little weird to say about a book, here Bradbury prefers to show rather than tell, which is possibly why the novel lent itself so well to a silver screen adaptation.

The character of Guy Montag also makes for a curious case study, being, for all intents and purposes, an average man in his society and far from a hero, or even remarkable. It is only through chance that his perspective on life begins to change, but the way he embraces it and the courage he musters to go through with it make him into more and more of a three-dimensional individual, as well as someone whose cause we can be sympathetic to. I’d say that ultimately, he earns the reader’s respect.

Ultimately, I think Ray Bradbury makes a good case with Fahrenheit 451 for our need, as a society, to keep the written word at the forefront of our sources of entertainment and knowledge, to preserve all that has been said and recorded down in the past, and to take our time to truly think about our lives. The search for personal happiness is different for everyone, but the more knowledge one has, the more profoundly they can experience it.

The Final Verdict

To bring this review to its conclusion, Fahrenheit 451 stands the test of time like few other science-fiction novels ever could, and in doing that, Ray Bradbury has further cemented his legacy as one of the titans of literature. It combines a thrilling and fast-paced story with profound political and societal commentary which I can only hope will one day no longer be relevant to our future. Though it might be a science-fiction book, it’s one I recommend to anyone who hasn’t read it, no matter what genres they usually prefer. It’s an important milestone in 20th century literature, and I think everyone, especially in today’s world, can get something out of this experience.

Ray Bradbury

(August 22, 1920 –June 5, 2012)

Ray Bradbury was an internationally-celebrated American author whose works of science-fiction have left an everlasting imprint on the genre’s landscape. Some of his more famous works include Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man and Dandelion Wine. Many of his books have been turned into movies, and he has been the recipient of numerous great honours, such as the Prometheus Award as well as the Nebula Award, not to mention that a crater on the moon has been named Dandelion, in honour of the novel.