I’ve always wanted to read
Fahrenheit 451 so I am more than happy to use this project as an excuse to finally
read it. I’ve heard mixed reviews on
Fahrenheit 451, I think it’s one of those books where you either love it or you
hate it. Some people get distracted by the futuristic setting and the strange
ideas and they completely miss the point because they’re too caught up in the
details. I’m really loving the book so far. The book begins with the main
character Guy Montag burning a pile of books he confiscated form a nearby home.
In this futuristic society, firemen
start fires instead of putting them out and owning or reading books is illegal.
Guy’s life as a fireman is anything but fulfilling for him. He doesn’t seem to
quite realize why he is so sad at this point but I’m sure the author will
elaborate on that later. The moment Guy realizes that he is unhappy with his
current lifestyle is during a conversation he has with Clarisse McClellan.
Clarisse and her family are known as the town weirdos and don’t follow the conventual
way of life so the other people in the town try to keep their distance from
them. The McClellan family is known for doing things we would view as normal
like talking with their family over dinner and laughing on the front porch but in
this futuristic society it’s viewed as really strange. Clarisse talks to Guy
about his job, family, and lifestyle and this is when he realizes that he’s
unhappy. He says “He was not happy. He was not happy. He said the words to
himself. He recognized this as the true state of affairs. He wore his happiness
like a mask and the girl had run across the lawn with the mask and there was no
way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back.” This general feeling of
unhappiness builds and builds throughout the story. It’s especially evident in
his relationship with his wife because as the novel goes on, his relationship
with his wife becomes more and more tense. At one point, he asks her where and
how they met and she couldn’t remember! Her entire life is consumed with a “technological
family” she watches on TV and she rarely ever pays Guy any attention. I look
forward to seeing how Guy and Mildred’s relationship develops through the book
and if he ever actually takes a stand and demands her attention. Another very
important event that occurs on Guy’s journey to finding happiness is his
interaction with a woman who’s house he has been told to burn down. Instead of abandoning
her books and saving herself, the women would rather burn to death than leave
her books behind. This event really hits Montag hard and you can see that it
makes him second guess his lifestyle and the society he is living in. I can’t
wait to see how this event affects his decisions in the future.
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