Fahrenheit 451 blog 6

We still read Fahrenheit 451 because of its important message and great characters.  Ray Bradbury did not write this book with the focus of government censorship, instead he intended it to be a story about the dangers of too much technology.  “In his mind, the novel is about the potential for TV to replace books, causing us to forget how to think for ourselves” (Shmoop 1).  This book is still read so that its readers can understand just how true this statement is, and how it is partially coming true.  Many of the scary concepts addressed in Fahrenheit 451 actually occur every day around us and we do not even think about it.  On the literary side of things, we still read this book because of the excellent character development and progression seen through Guy Montag.  The reader can feel like he is part of the story.  Bradbury did an excellent job of communicating Montag’s feelings and emotions which make the reader sympathize towards his cause.  Bradbury earned the title of classic for Fahrenheit 451 because of his great writing and communicating abilities along with the message of the novel.  The futuristic feel to this novel makes its characters and messages timeless.  It is interesting to look back and see what people thought the future would be like sixty years ago, but it is even scarier to think that some of what they thought was correct.  Bradbury’s portrayal of the future was very new to others of its day, and it found its mark among other novels of its kind like 1984 and Brave New World.  By reading Fahrenheit 451, we can learn many lessons.  One of these lessons is that almost everything in life can be used as either a destructive power or a constructive power.  Fire is the example seen throughout the book.  The firemen use fire to destroy books, and that is all that Guy thought it could do.  When he sees a fire being used for heat, a constructive purpose, he is in awe because he did not know that it could have a good quality. 

Fahrenheit, 451. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2012. Print.

"Fahrenheit 451." Shmoop. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Aug. 2012. <http://www.shmoop.com/fahrenheit-451/ending.html>.