Reading through the book, it is extremely easy to see what the author values. He obviously really values books. It is not just that, though, he cares more about what the books have to say. He values the impact that they have on society. Books mean thought and opinions, and those things are extremely valuable. Even if differences in opinion cause people to be upset sometimes, those differences help sculpt people and make them diverse.
Fahrenheit 451 is about the fight to keep books in the world and to help show people how important books are; the importance being the thoughts and opinions in them. Montag starts to value thought as he talks to Clarisse. Her question about whether or not he is happy makes him think about the answer, and realize that he is not happy (Bradbury 12). When a person realizes something, they start ask "why?". When a person starts asking why, they start to think. Even if they never come up with an answer, the question is still thought. Ray Bradbury obviously values individual thought, otherwise he would not have made it so important in his book.
In the book, books are being burnt and outlawed is because they contain opinions, and an opinion is bound to offend someone, no matter what it is (Bradbury 57). It is apparent that the author values the disagreements, because even though he points out that the books disagree with each other, the author still values them a lot. Differing opinions are very important too. If everyone agreed with each other, there would be no reason to argue, and that would take away another reason to think. For that reason, Bradbury really values personal thought. I believe that the only way life can be made interesting is if you have different opinions or thoughts on definate subjects.
At the end of the book, when the main character states why books are so precious, the readers can easily see how much books mean to Ray Bradbury. In the story, Montag almost turns back toward a car that trying to hit him because he drops a book (Bradbury 127). He was about to risk his life to save a book without thinking about it. That only proves how much the author values and appreciates books.
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine, 1996. Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment