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Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451
Contains essays by Wayne L. Johnson, Donald Watt, William F. Touponce, Susan Spencer, and others discussing the novel as it relates to cultural history.
147 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2000
51 people are currently reading
648 people want to read
About the author
Harold Bloom
1,717 books2,028 followersHarold Bloom was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was called "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking world." After publishing his first book in 1959, Bloom wrote more than 50 books, including over 40 books of literary criticism, several books discussing religion, and one novel. He edited hundreds of anthologies concerning numerous literary and philosophical figures for the Chelsea House publishing firm. Bloom's books have been translated into more than 40 languages. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1995.
Bloom was a defender of the traditional Western canon at a time when literature departments were focusing on what he derided as the "school of resentment" (multiculturalists, feminists, Marxists, and others). He was educated at Yale University, the University of Cambridge, and Cornell University.
Bloom was a defender of the traditional Western canon at a time when literature departments were focusing on what he derided as the "school of resentment" (multiculturalists, feminists, Marxists, and others). He was educated at Yale University, the University of Cambridge, and Cornell University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
July 20, 2017
Back in my undergraduate days I was lucky enough to hear Ray Bradbury speak in person. (He was a keynote speaker at a conference for college newspaper staffers). He was so funny and so inspirational that decades later I still have the notes I took during his speech and during the workshop the next day. This dynamic and imaginative man has given us loads of fascinating and creepy books and stories (and inspired me to write a few lesser efforts of my own). I loved The Martian Chronicles and Dandelion Wine, and always looked forward to reading Fahrenheit 451, especially since I knew it was made into a 1966 movie. Now, admittedly, the burned-out future described in this book still has the look and feel of cheezy, 1960s pop culture. Nevertheless, the whole idea of a society that bans and burns books because they are the source of ideas and individuality is sobering in any time period. Bradbury's book is a quick read, but it has a lot of thought-provoking ideas and downright scary points of view about to what extremes a dictatorial society may evolve and how ordinary people can rise to the seemingly impossible task of combatting the hysteria and preserving the literature of the present and of centuries past.
December 9, 2008
This ranks up there with The Fountainhead for me because it tells such a great story of how we as a culture continue to refine, reduce, shrink, and water down our most valuable aspects of culture in favor of the quick, the easy, and the enjoyable. The author's coda at the end really hit home and reinforced this concept for me.
The biggest mistake I see us making as a culture is the drive to not offend anyone. It's OK to be upset. It's OK to be offended. Like Ray Bradbury says in the coda (paraphrased) "If you don't like what I write, go write your own".
The biggest mistake I see us making as a culture is the drive to not offend anyone. It's OK to be upset. It's OK to be offended. Like Ray Bradbury says in the coda (paraphrased) "If you don't like what I write, go write your own".
February 10, 2017
This novel tells of the protagonist named Guy Montag. Montag lives in a society in which firefighters burn books and set fires instead of putting them out. At first Montag delights in producing fires, but eventually begins to question why people are devoted to their books, and why they even read books. This novel focuses on the transformation of Montag from a mindless firefighter to a thoughtful citizen. "Yes, thought Montag, that's the one I'll save for noon. For noon... When we reach the city" (158). This last line of the novel brings new hope that books can be brought back into society, and people can freely read without being punished. I would recommend this novel to middle school school students.
August 22, 2018
"You don't have to burn books, do you, if the world starts to fill up with non-readers, non-learners, non-knowers?" (Ray Bradbury). Some interesting critical reflections on a book whose fingerprints are all over me.
March 29, 2018
Matteo Woods
Mrs. Bailleul
Short Stories
28 March 2018
The Irony of Connection in the Midst of Conformity
“All distances in space and time are shrinking... yet the frantic abolition of all distances brings no nearness” (Martin Heidegger’s The Thing, 1971). Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury depicts a dystopia in which rapid population reveals the need for mass censorship of critical thinking, especially in media. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the consequences of future societal growth. As the reason for the censorship was conflict born from suspense of societal minorities, this book is relevant now more than ever. In Fahrenheit 51, Bradbury uses imagery and symbolism to emphasize his forewarning of technological and societal advances, a theme present throughout most of his books and short stories.
On August 22, 1920, in the town of Waukegan, Illinois, Ray Bradbury was born to parents Leonard, a lineman for telephone and utility companies, and Ester Bradbury, a Swedish immigrant. Growing up, Ray was a huge fan of magic and the literary genre fantasy fiction. Some of his earliest inspirations include L. Frank Baum, Jules Verne and Edgar Rice Burroughs. At the age of 13, Bradbury became a writer in hopes to “live forever” through his fictional stories and characters. Bradbury’s family would move to Los Angeles in 1934, where he befriended many future Hollywood starts in a drama class. Even though he had hopes to, neither Bradbury nor his parents could fund the cost of college. He has been quoted saying “I believe in libraries because most students don't have any money. When I graduated from high school, it was during the Depression, and we had no money. I couldn't go to college, so I went to the library three days a week for 10 years.” Bradbury would make a living by selling newspapers and eventually starting his own small fantasy fiction magazine, consisting of collections of short stories about conformity, technology, and future societies. Since he was ineligible for the draft of World War II, he became a full time writer in 1943. A small collection of short stories written by Bradbury would be published in 1947, the same year he met his wife, Maggie. The couple would have four children soon after and be constantly moving in and out of apartments and houses of family and friends since the family was functioning almost solely off of Maggie’s income. Bradbury, ironically, would rent out a small room in the basement of the UCLA library at one point in need of an office. It wasn’t until 1950 that Bradbury’s first major work, The Martian Chronicles would be published. This gained Bradbury massive popularity and was the perfect set up for his most famous piece, Fahrenheit 451, published in 1953. He would go on, successfully, to write many more books and stories such as The Veldt, Dandelion Wine, and The Sound of Thunder. Bradbury continued to create on all platforms, adapting many of his short stories into film. In 2017, HBO announced that there is going to be another film adaptation of Fahrenheit 451 staring Michael B. Jordan. Even though he died on June 5, 2012, at the age of 91, Bradbury’s legend lives on through his timeless stories and characters.
Guy Montag, more commonly referred to as Montag, works as a fireman in the branch 451 in a futuristic interpretation of an American city. However, he is not a fireman as we are used to depicting one today. Fahrenheit 451, takes place in a society that suffers mass conformity and censorship—Montag and his crew burn books and the houses of those who hide them. However, Montag himself has secretly been stealing and hiding books from past house burnings. The government, after having seen what conflicts arise from having large societal minorities, has dumbed down the population to interdict deep, critical thinking and anything related to it. Montag lives with his normal wife Mildred, working a normal job, following a normal routine. This is, until he meets his neighbor Clarisse McLellan on his walk from his subway back to his house one night after work. She is unlike any girl he’s ever met. She asks questions, wonders, shows gratitude, and most importantly, seems almost free. Many events after this lead Montag to find that he truly does not know himself or anyone around him, especially his wife. The only person he has ever known is Clarisse and this resonates with him. One night he reached an epiphany. A woman was so attached to her books that instead of leaving the house and having her books torched, she lit a match herself to burn herself alongside her books. Montag saw this and now knew that there had to be something in books worth dying for. He is scarred by this experience and wishes to call in sick the next day. His captain, Beatty, suspects this would happen and goes to Montag’s house. He says that even that this job seems like it may be tough, it is needed in order to keep everyone happy. He also states that if a fireman were to take a book from a burning house, there would be no consequences if returned within 24 hours. Montag, now set on reading and wishing to be enlightened by books calls a friend of his that was a psychologist professor at UCLA many years ago. They have a grand plan in which multiple copies of several books will be made to rebuild an intellectual society. This starts by Montag handing over the book Beatty knows he stole from the night before. After this is done, everything seems well and almost normal again with Beatty. However, the night escalated when the crew got an alarm for another book-hiding household. The house they were alarmed about belonged to Montag.
A literary element prominent in Fahrenheit 451 and other works from Bradbury as well is symbolism. This novel is riddled with symbolism, both blatant and covert, which requires examining every page more in depth, contributing to creating the long-lasting effect of the piece. An example of this is shown when Montag recalls what Clarisse had said to him previously. “No front porches. My uncle says there used to be front porches. And people sat there sometimes at night, talking when they wanted to talk, rocking, and not talking when they didn’t want to talk. Sometimes they just that there and thought about things, turned things over” (Bradbury 63). Freedom of thought and the drive to ask questions is symbolized by porches. In the government’s efforts to dumb down their citizens, places in which deep or intellectual thinking could occur have been completely abolished. Another use of symbolism hides in Montag himself—or his name, rather. ‘Montag’, in German, directly translates to the word ‘Monday’. As Monday starts of the beginning of a new week, Montag starts fresh, new, and ready to build up an intellectual and knowing society.
Another literary element seen throughout the works of Bradbury is imagery. He uses intense imagery to create suspense and familiarize the reader with certain characters and situations. This can be observed in Fahrenheit 451 when Montag is on the subway. He is trying to memorize the chapter of Ecclesiastes from the Bible, as he would later turn it over to captain Beatty, when all of the sudden a commercial for a toothpaste brand interrupts his thoughts. “He clenched the book in his fists. Trumpets blared. ‘Denham’s Dentifrice.’ Shut up, thought Montag. Consider the lilies of the field. ‘Denham’s Dentifrice.’ They toil not— ‘Denham’s—‘ Consider the lilies of the field, shut up, shut up. ‘Dentifrice!’ He tore the book open and flicked the book open as if he were blind, he picked at the shape of the individual letters, not blinking... ‘Shut up, shut up, shut up!’ It was a plea, a cry so terrible that Montag found himself on his feet, the shocked inhabitants of the loud car staring, moving back from this man with the insane, gorged face, the gibbering, dry mouth, the flapping book in his fist. The people who had been sitting a moment before, tapping their feet to the rhythm of Denham’s Dentifrice, Denham’s Dandy Dental Detergent, Denham’s Dentifrice Denham’s Dentifrice, one two, one two three, one two, one two three... were pounded into submission” (Bradbury 79). After finally bursting out and yelling at the commercial to ‘shut up’, Montag is described as ‘insane’ and ‘gibbering’, as someone who is abnormal for wanting quite in a society that aims to distract. This also serves as a guide into the mind of Montag for the reader. Montag is conflicted in becoming societally insane and intellectually, emotionally sane. This is clearly shown through his thoughts and actions. A couple months before this, perhaps, if he had seen someone do the same on his daily ride on the subway, he would have labeled them as weird or different. Using imagery and repetition, Bradbury submerges the reader into the quite irritating scene as if they were there.
With stunning imagery and symbolism, Bradbury depicts a dystopia faced with censorship and a prohibition of critical thinking in a future American society. Fahrenheit 451 provides forewarning of technological and societal advancements and shows the irony in connection. Even though everyone seems to be communicating and connecting, no one really seems to know each other. Making everyone happy in avoidance of potential conflict has lead to people unaware of their true loneliness. This is very relevant today and will only continue to become more relevant as time passes. Thus, I would highly recommend this book to anyone, especially those interested in consequences of future societal growth.
Mrs. Bailleul
Short Stories
28 March 2018
The Irony of Connection in the Midst of Conformity
“All distances in space and time are shrinking... yet the frantic abolition of all distances brings no nearness” (Martin Heidegger’s The Thing, 1971). Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury depicts a dystopia in which rapid population reveals the need for mass censorship of critical thinking, especially in media. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the consequences of future societal growth. As the reason for the censorship was conflict born from suspense of societal minorities, this book is relevant now more than ever. In Fahrenheit 51, Bradbury uses imagery and symbolism to emphasize his forewarning of technological and societal advances, a theme present throughout most of his books and short stories.
On August 22, 1920, in the town of Waukegan, Illinois, Ray Bradbury was born to parents Leonard, a lineman for telephone and utility companies, and Ester Bradbury, a Swedish immigrant. Growing up, Ray was a huge fan of magic and the literary genre fantasy fiction. Some of his earliest inspirations include L. Frank Baum, Jules Verne and Edgar Rice Burroughs. At the age of 13, Bradbury became a writer in hopes to “live forever” through his fictional stories and characters. Bradbury’s family would move to Los Angeles in 1934, where he befriended many future Hollywood starts in a drama class. Even though he had hopes to, neither Bradbury nor his parents could fund the cost of college. He has been quoted saying “I believe in libraries because most students don't have any money. When I graduated from high school, it was during the Depression, and we had no money. I couldn't go to college, so I went to the library three days a week for 10 years.” Bradbury would make a living by selling newspapers and eventually starting his own small fantasy fiction magazine, consisting of collections of short stories about conformity, technology, and future societies. Since he was ineligible for the draft of World War II, he became a full time writer in 1943. A small collection of short stories written by Bradbury would be published in 1947, the same year he met his wife, Maggie. The couple would have four children soon after and be constantly moving in and out of apartments and houses of family and friends since the family was functioning almost solely off of Maggie’s income. Bradbury, ironically, would rent out a small room in the basement of the UCLA library at one point in need of an office. It wasn’t until 1950 that Bradbury’s first major work, The Martian Chronicles would be published. This gained Bradbury massive popularity and was the perfect set up for his most famous piece, Fahrenheit 451, published in 1953. He would go on, successfully, to write many more books and stories such as The Veldt, Dandelion Wine, and The Sound of Thunder. Bradbury continued to create on all platforms, adapting many of his short stories into film. In 2017, HBO announced that there is going to be another film adaptation of Fahrenheit 451 staring Michael B. Jordan. Even though he died on June 5, 2012, at the age of 91, Bradbury’s legend lives on through his timeless stories and characters.
Guy Montag, more commonly referred to as Montag, works as a fireman in the branch 451 in a futuristic interpretation of an American city. However, he is not a fireman as we are used to depicting one today. Fahrenheit 451, takes place in a society that suffers mass conformity and censorship—Montag and his crew burn books and the houses of those who hide them. However, Montag himself has secretly been stealing and hiding books from past house burnings. The government, after having seen what conflicts arise from having large societal minorities, has dumbed down the population to interdict deep, critical thinking and anything related to it. Montag lives with his normal wife Mildred, working a normal job, following a normal routine. This is, until he meets his neighbor Clarisse McLellan on his walk from his subway back to his house one night after work. She is unlike any girl he’s ever met. She asks questions, wonders, shows gratitude, and most importantly, seems almost free. Many events after this lead Montag to find that he truly does not know himself or anyone around him, especially his wife. The only person he has ever known is Clarisse and this resonates with him. One night he reached an epiphany. A woman was so attached to her books that instead of leaving the house and having her books torched, she lit a match herself to burn herself alongside her books. Montag saw this and now knew that there had to be something in books worth dying for. He is scarred by this experience and wishes to call in sick the next day. His captain, Beatty, suspects this would happen and goes to Montag’s house. He says that even that this job seems like it may be tough, it is needed in order to keep everyone happy. He also states that if a fireman were to take a book from a burning house, there would be no consequences if returned within 24 hours. Montag, now set on reading and wishing to be enlightened by books calls a friend of his that was a psychologist professor at UCLA many years ago. They have a grand plan in which multiple copies of several books will be made to rebuild an intellectual society. This starts by Montag handing over the book Beatty knows he stole from the night before. After this is done, everything seems well and almost normal again with Beatty. However, the night escalated when the crew got an alarm for another book-hiding household. The house they were alarmed about belonged to Montag.
A literary element prominent in Fahrenheit 451 and other works from Bradbury as well is symbolism. This novel is riddled with symbolism, both blatant and covert, which requires examining every page more in depth, contributing to creating the long-lasting effect of the piece. An example of this is shown when Montag recalls what Clarisse had said to him previously. “No front porches. My uncle says there used to be front porches. And people sat there sometimes at night, talking when they wanted to talk, rocking, and not talking when they didn’t want to talk. Sometimes they just that there and thought about things, turned things over” (Bradbury 63). Freedom of thought and the drive to ask questions is symbolized by porches. In the government’s efforts to dumb down their citizens, places in which deep or intellectual thinking could occur have been completely abolished. Another use of symbolism hides in Montag himself—or his name, rather. ‘Montag’, in German, directly translates to the word ‘Monday’. As Monday starts of the beginning of a new week, Montag starts fresh, new, and ready to build up an intellectual and knowing society.
Another literary element seen throughout the works of Bradbury is imagery. He uses intense imagery to create suspense and familiarize the reader with certain characters and situations. This can be observed in Fahrenheit 451 when Montag is on the subway. He is trying to memorize the chapter of Ecclesiastes from the Bible, as he would later turn it over to captain Beatty, when all of the sudden a commercial for a toothpaste brand interrupts his thoughts. “He clenched the book in his fists. Trumpets blared. ‘Denham’s Dentifrice.’ Shut up, thought Montag. Consider the lilies of the field. ‘Denham’s Dentifrice.’ They toil not— ‘Denham’s—‘ Consider the lilies of the field, shut up, shut up. ‘Dentifrice!’ He tore the book open and flicked the book open as if he were blind, he picked at the shape of the individual letters, not blinking... ‘Shut up, shut up, shut up!’ It was a plea, a cry so terrible that Montag found himself on his feet, the shocked inhabitants of the loud car staring, moving back from this man with the insane, gorged face, the gibbering, dry mouth, the flapping book in his fist. The people who had been sitting a moment before, tapping their feet to the rhythm of Denham’s Dentifrice, Denham’s Dandy Dental Detergent, Denham’s Dentifrice Denham’s Dentifrice, one two, one two three, one two, one two three... were pounded into submission” (Bradbury 79). After finally bursting out and yelling at the commercial to ‘shut up’, Montag is described as ‘insane’ and ‘gibbering’, as someone who is abnormal for wanting quite in a society that aims to distract. This also serves as a guide into the mind of Montag for the reader. Montag is conflicted in becoming societally insane and intellectually, emotionally sane. This is clearly shown through his thoughts and actions. A couple months before this, perhaps, if he had seen someone do the same on his daily ride on the subway, he would have labeled them as weird or different. Using imagery and repetition, Bradbury submerges the reader into the quite irritating scene as if they were there.
With stunning imagery and symbolism, Bradbury depicts a dystopia faced with censorship and a prohibition of critical thinking in a future American society. Fahrenheit 451 provides forewarning of technological and societal advancements and shows the irony in connection. Even though everyone seems to be communicating and connecting, no one really seems to know each other. Making everyone happy in avoidance of potential conflict has lead to people unaware of their true loneliness. This is very relevant today and will only continue to become more relevant as time passes. Thus, I would highly recommend this book to anyone, especially those interested in consequences of future societal growth.
February 24, 2020
Guy Montag is a firefighter who’s job is to start fires to burn books rather than put out fires. One night while coming home from work Guy meets his teenage neighbor Clarisse McClellan who thinks freely which leads Guy to question his profession and lifestyle. When Guy makes it home he finds his wife overdosed, he rushes her to the hospital where is pumped with new blood while Guy goes outside he overhears the Mcclellan family talking about how messed up society is. From that point on Clarisse waits for Guy every night to walk home with him and she talks about all her thoughts then one day Clarisse goes missing, Guy immediately suspects something is wrong. While on a job to burn an old lady's books, Guy steals a book while the other firefighters aren’t paying attention. The old lady does not want to leave her house so instead she lights herself on fire, Guy was shock by the suicide. Although he takes the book home and hides it, he then wakes his wife to ask about Clarisse and she says that Clarisse was hit by a car and killed. Guy cannot sleep from the news and then hears “The Mechanical Hound” outside his window a eight-legged robotic animal created to help the firefighters. Montag then becomes sick and his wife tries to take care of him but becomes more involved in their parlor wall. While Guy is sick his Captain,Beatty comes to visit him out of suspension. They talk for awhile but right before leaving Beatty gives Guy a warning if he doesn’t get rid of the books, the firefighters will be ordered to burn his house. Guy then talks to his wife saying they must read the books and if they are not important he promises to burn them. Guy’s wife, Mildred does not like the idea and Guy goes on a to talk about her suicide attempt, the old ladies suicide, and Clarisse’s disappearance although their argument is interrupted by Mrs.Bowles and Mrs.Phelps Mildred’s friends who came to watch the parlor walls. Guy then decides he is going to visit Faber, an old friend who is a professor, he takes the book he stole from the house which is an old bible. Faber gives Guy an earpiece to help direct him constantly. Guy then returns home to try and involve Mildred and her friends, to do so Guy turns off the parlor walls. He then is annoyed by the females unintelligence, leaves the room but returns with a book of poetry and resights lines from the books. Although Mildred’s friends leave in disgust and Faber reprimands Guy which leads him to burn the poetry book. Guy then goes to meet Beatty and hands him a book. At that moment Beatty reveals he used to love reading but the conversation is interrupted by a fire alarm the destination for the burning is Guy’s house.Guy is ordered to burn his house although while doing so Beatty finds Guy’s ear-piece and plans to find Faber, Guy then burns his boss alive and knocks-out the other firefighters and runs away to a group out in the countryside that have memorized important books for future generations.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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January 23, 2020Kind of long and confusing but I enjoyed some of the crazier arguments with Betty. I loved how sure of himself and how reasonable he sounded.
November 15, 2020
Fahrenheit 451 was a book about a society without books. They have firefighters who's sole purpose is to burn books. However, he is a firefighter and he decided to steal books from the houses that he was burning and reads them himself. He looks at his society pathetically because of their weird world views and became a criminal for reading a book to one of his neighbors. This book is a good read because its unexpected especially when Clarisse died because I thought she was gonna be an important character. Its also nice to see a potential society created by the lack of books.
October 23, 2019
This is one of those books were the author didn't necessarily write it with the intention of being big and its importance became HUGE! If dystopia is your thing, put this at the top of the list with Brave New World, Anthem, and 1984 for your reading -- don't do what I did and put this off for years...
August 12, 2024
I read this to support Michael with his English assignment, reading it in the car as he drove. I would stop to make my own commentary about the essayists point of view. We stopped this when Michael assignment was finished (he got an A), and I finished the book by myself. This consisted of a number of essays about the book.
Jack Zipes ‘Mass Degradation of Humanity’ was the first. Zipes is definitely a socialist and his socialist themes are foundational to this critique. He has his own Utopian socialist view which contrast the dystopia of the book. He makes a fair point that whilst Bradbury critiques the elite, he is an elitist himself with his own vision of a book lead utopia. People is a free society should have the freedom to follow the masses if they wish. Mildred is happy in her consumerist existence, or at least claims to be (her repeated suicide attempts question this). Should Montag be able to prise her out of this against her expressed will (even if it is for her own good)? Or leave her to her blissful ignorance.
Dianne Wood essay is a review of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and only vaguely juxtaposed itself with Fahrenheit 451. It would have been appropriate in a book considering Atwood’s work. It only convinced me I am not interested in Atwood’s anti Reagan thoughts.
We viewed Fahrenheit 451 thought the lens of Plato’s Cave and juxtaposed it with Robocop. My mission was to provide Michael with a number of perspectives and provoke thought. This worked in this regard. I am not sure it was worth the time spent reading it if I was doing it for myself.
Jack Zipes ‘Mass Degradation of Humanity’ was the first. Zipes is definitely a socialist and his socialist themes are foundational to this critique. He has his own Utopian socialist view which contrast the dystopia of the book. He makes a fair point that whilst Bradbury critiques the elite, he is an elitist himself with his own vision of a book lead utopia. People is a free society should have the freedom to follow the masses if they wish. Mildred is happy in her consumerist existence, or at least claims to be (her repeated suicide attempts question this). Should Montag be able to prise her out of this against her expressed will (even if it is for her own good)? Or leave her to her blissful ignorance.
Dianne Wood essay is a review of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and only vaguely juxtaposed itself with Fahrenheit 451. It would have been appropriate in a book considering Atwood’s work. It only convinced me I am not interested in Atwood’s anti Reagan thoughts.
We viewed Fahrenheit 451 thought the lens of Plato’s Cave and juxtaposed it with Robocop. My mission was to provide Michael with a number of perspectives and provoke thought. This worked in this regard. I am not sure it was worth the time spent reading it if I was doing it for myself.
June 21, 2024
Fahrenheit 451.
This the temperature at which paper burns. This book is about a civilization that is trying to burn all printed material. Books, newspapers, academic papers - everything printed.
The "hero" is one of the people who seeks out books and burns them. The rebels - resistance actors - are arrested and (usually) executed.
As he gets meets more and more of these people who hide books, preserve them, use them to teach others, the more he questions his job - why should books be burned?
In today's world, where there is a growing movement to ban (and even destroy) books, the lessons Bradbury wants to teach seem to be so much more critical. Why do so many people want to ban & destroy books? Even though they haven't actually read that book but are just relied on something they been told (often by someone they know nothing about?
Read this book - actually read it, don't rely on what you've "heard" - and asked what he is trying to tell us. Does it make sense?
This the temperature at which paper burns. This book is about a civilization that is trying to burn all printed material. Books, newspapers, academic papers - everything printed.
The "hero" is one of the people who seeks out books and burns them. The rebels - resistance actors - are arrested and (usually) executed.
As he gets meets more and more of these people who hide books, preserve them, use them to teach others, the more he questions his job - why should books be burned?
In today's world, where there is a growing movement to ban (and even destroy) books, the lessons Bradbury wants to teach seem to be so much more critical. Why do so many people want to ban & destroy books? Even though they haven't actually read that book but are just relied on something they been told (often by someone they know nothing about?
Read this book - actually read it, don't rely on what you've "heard" - and asked what he is trying to tell us. Does it make sense?
November 14, 2025
Fahrenheit 451 surprised me with how close it feels to the world we live in now. Bradbury wrote it decades ago, yet the story still hits hard. It isn’t just about burning books — it’s about what happens when a society slowly stops thinking, questioning, and feeling. That part honestly felt more unsettling than the firemen.
The moments that stood out most to me were the quiet ones, when characters start to notice what’s missing in their lives. There’s this constant tension between comfort and curiosity, and you can feel how easy it is for people to slip into distraction instead of facing uncomfortable truths. Reading it made me think about how technology shapes my own habits, especially when it replaces real conversations.
If you like dystopian stories that make you reflect on your own world, this one is definitely worth reading.
The moments that stood out most to me were the quiet ones, when characters start to notice what’s missing in their lives. There’s this constant tension between comfort and curiosity, and you can feel how easy it is for people to slip into distraction instead of facing uncomfortable truths. Reading it made me think about how technology shapes my own habits, especially when it replaces real conversations.
If you like dystopian stories that make you reflect on your own world, this one is definitely worth reading.
January 21, 2026
Fahrenheit 451 presents a chilling vision of a society where censorship is normalized and intellectual curiosity is treated as a threat. Through Guy Montag’s awakening, Ray Bradbury explores the dangers of passive consumption, state controlled media, and the loss of critical thought. Montag’s internal conflict drives the narrative, transforming him from an obedient fireman into a man desperate for meaning. The novel’s strength lies in its unsettling relevance, as technology and entertainment replace reflection and dialogue. Bradbury’s poetic prose amplifies the emotional weight of the story, making Fahrenheit 451 a powerful warning about conformity, ignorance, and the cost of silencing ideas.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2022
I always enjoy futuristic books like these, and the premise behind it that people don't read is definitely an interesting idea to consider when thinking about the future of America. This story highlights the importance of literature, and emphasizes how it keeps society in structure. I think we can really see this effect in Clarisse and the way that she has a general lack of will to live. But seeing all of society in ruins all because people stopped reading is pretty wild. In general I would recommend this book but i do feel like it got a little boring at times with the story telling and pacing. A solid read for sure.
May 4, 2019
This book is the textbook definition of a classic. I have read it many times since I had to read it for grade 10 English and 30 years later both my daughters had to read it for grade 10 English. How I wish I could get my hands on both sets of essays. I was amazed someone could even think of people wearing "shells" in their ears to receive information, and walls that displayed moving pictures. Even with generational perceptions factored in, the heart of the story is still censorship and the value of the spoken story.
September 5, 2017
There was a lot to love here -- the deadly Hound gave me delicious creeps, and the book makes you ponder the worth of books -- but it ended up being a book I felt like I was supposed to love but didn't. Lots of long paragraphs of characters making profound observations that didn't sound like anything anyone would actually say. Definitely worth reading, though, for its place in literary history and the creativity of the future world Bradbury imagined in the 1950s.
December 21, 2025
Nedegūs namai. Gaisrininko profesija reikalinga ne tam, kad gesint, o tam kad degint. Retai sutinkamos knygos naikinamos. Viskas sukurta žmogaus patogumui. Nereikia bendraut, prisirišt, ilgėtis, jaust. Nereikia kelt klausimų kodėl, kam, kaip? Karai vyksta tik kelias valandas ar dienas. Viskas aišku ir paprasta.
Ar grįš jausmai ir mintys į žemę? Kaip pažadint iš naujo žmogaus širdies šilumą? Kaip išgelbėt knygų išmintį, už kurias žmonės pasirengę mirti...
Ar grįš jausmai ir mintys į žemę? Kaip pažadint iš naujo žmogaus širdies šilumą? Kaip išgelbėt knygų išmintį, už kurias žmonės pasirengę mirti...
December 25, 2019
It's scary.. It's like a nightmare.. Although I want more details about Montag's feelings.. but I do understand him..
The story definitely need part two.. Or maybe it supposed to be more specific than that.
But it's really a good one.
The story definitely need part two.. Or maybe it supposed to be more specific than that.
But it's really a good one.
June 18, 2017
Great book, wonderful story...
October 29, 2017
Que final! Que conceito! Inesquecível.
January 5, 2018
This novel is more relevant now than ever. Bringing to life a interesting aspect on censorship in a dystopia lifestyle. Some flaws but still highly recommend.
December 12, 2018
Thought-provoking & well written. Recommend.
June 21, 2018
This was certainly an intriguing book. Loved reading it.
October 22, 2018
Took a while to get going, but otherwise a good book with an interesting plot. If you're thinking about not finishing it, I suggest sticking it out anyway.
April 19, 2019
Un roman très bien mené plein d'idées qui encore aujourd'hui raisonnent avec force.
November 22, 2020
The Disaffected People of the Earth are a drag.
December 6, 2022
I like this book a lot.
The plot is really interesting to me.
The only thing i didn't like it's the fate of one of the characters.
The plot is really interesting to me.
The only thing i didn't like it's the fate of one of the characters.
January 1, 2026
A classic for a reason, its prose and descriptive writing style, while overbearing or flowery to some, were wonderful fruit upon which my mind devoured.
Needless to say, I love this book. A lot.
Needless to say, I love this book. A lot.
October 28, 2019
I was not a fan of Farenheit 451 when it was published. Just timing. This book of Critical Interpretations is excellent.
While Fahrenheit 451 manifestly is a "period piece," this short, thin rather tendentious novel has ironic ability to inhabit somewhat diverse periods.
This is how Harold Bloom starts in the Introduction, written 2000.
It belongs to the Cold War of the 1950s, yet it prophesied aspects of the 1960s, and has not lost its relevance ---
He adds that Bradbury (1920 to 2012) had the foresight to see that the age of the Screen (movie, TV, computer) could destroy reading.
If you cannot read Shakespeare and his peers, then you will forfeit memory, and if you cannot remember, the you will not be able to think. ...
He said that Bradbury will survive as a moral fabulist. making reference to, "The house will crumble and the books will burn.
Some of the essays written in this book of Critical Interpretations are noteworthy-
All are worth reading.
At the end of Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag joins a group of self-exiled book-lovers who hope to preserve the great works of the world despite the opposition of the masses and a nuclear war against an unspecified enemy, wrote Donald Watt.
Bradbury dramatizes Montag's development by showing the interactions between his hero and other charactersin the book; the way Bradbury plays with reflections of fire ...
Beatty articulates the system's point of view, but Mildred lives it. Faber articulates the opposition's point oif view, but Clarise lives it. Fire, color, light, darkness and variations thereof suffuse Bradbury's account of the interplay among his characters.
Fire is pervasive throughout the narrative...
Burning is blackening not enlightening.
Rafeeq O. McGiveron, in his critical essay, writes, "As Montag and the other book-memorizers walk back toward the atom-bombed city, blithely unconcerned with radiation poisoning, he remembers a passage from Revelations on ... The Tree of Life."
I like the Chronology of Ray Bradbury's life listed on page 129,
listing his birth in Waukegan, Illinois in 1920.
This along with Acknowledgements, Contributors, Bibliography and Index complete this book.
PS.
I enjoyed immensely, the Neil Gaiman's introduction to the 2013 edition of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 .
Sometimes writers write about a world that does not yet exist. We do it for a hundred reasons ... because the world of the future seems more enticing or more interesting than the world of today. ..to warn. to encourage. to examine.. to imagine ...
Speculative fiction is not about predicting the future. ...
While Fahrenheit 451 manifestly is a "period piece," this short, thin rather tendentious novel has ironic ability to inhabit somewhat diverse periods.
This is how Harold Bloom starts in the Introduction, written 2000.
It belongs to the Cold War of the 1950s, yet it prophesied aspects of the 1960s, and has not lost its relevance ---
He adds that Bradbury (1920 to 2012) had the foresight to see that the age of the Screen (movie, TV, computer) could destroy reading.
If you cannot read Shakespeare and his peers, then you will forfeit memory, and if you cannot remember, the you will not be able to think. ...
He said that Bradbury will survive as a moral fabulist. making reference to, "The house will crumble and the books will burn.
Some of the essays written in this book of Critical Interpretations are noteworthy-
All are worth reading.
At the end of Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag joins a group of self-exiled book-lovers who hope to preserve the great works of the world despite the opposition of the masses and a nuclear war against an unspecified enemy, wrote Donald Watt.
Bradbury dramatizes Montag's development by showing the interactions between his hero and other charactersin the book; the way Bradbury plays with reflections of fire ...
Beatty articulates the system's point of view, but Mildred lives it. Faber articulates the opposition's point oif view, but Clarise lives it. Fire, color, light, darkness and variations thereof suffuse Bradbury's account of the interplay among his characters.
Fire is pervasive throughout the narrative...
Burning is blackening not enlightening.
Rafeeq O. McGiveron, in his critical essay, writes, "As Montag and the other book-memorizers walk back toward the atom-bombed city, blithely unconcerned with radiation poisoning, he remembers a passage from Revelations on ... The Tree of Life."
I like the Chronology of Ray Bradbury's life listed on page 129,
listing his birth in Waukegan, Illinois in 1920.
This along with Acknowledgements, Contributors, Bibliography and Index complete this book.
PS.
I enjoyed immensely, the Neil Gaiman's introduction to the 2013 edition of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 .
Sometimes writers write about a world that does not yet exist. We do it for a hundred reasons ... because the world of the future seems more enticing or more interesting than the world of today. ..to warn. to encourage. to examine.. to imagine ...
Speculative fiction is not about predicting the future. ...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews