Fahrenheit 451 -- By Ray Bradbury

Books, Movies, Theatre, Lectures Fiction
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Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” is set in a totalitarian dystopia on the verge of nuclear war. Montag, the protagonist, is a fireman. However, in this world, firemen do not put out fires. Instead, they set them. They burn books. Books make people think; books contradict each other; books contain sadness; they’ve been banned. Owning a book can send you to jail.

Books in this genre will always bring out the author’s explicit ethical/political philosophy, because he has to explain why the world got into such a terrible state. If a typical anti-consumerist, conservative attitude bothers you, you might let this book lie. However, if you can get past that, the book is an interesting (nicely plotted) tale of a fireman in this new world. I like Bradbury’s style.

I first read this book more than ten years ago and liked it a little then. I re-read it recently and liked it a lot. I think that has a lot to do with my own ability to give Bradbury a free-pass on his philosophy, for the span of the book. It is a short book, best read over a single weekend.

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I liked Fahrenheit too. I always remember Guy trying to open his wife’s eyes and all she could think about was the White(?) Clown and other irrelevancies :smiley:

I didn’t quite like the ending; it seemed … passive? (Ironically I don’t get that weak/futile image from 1984’s ending.)

I don’t know exactly what genre Fahrenheit would be in, but as far as what I think of as “survival” books go, I’d suggest Hugo’s Toilers of the Sea to anyone who’s not read it. Though the main character’s struggle is (more explicitly) against nature, the books share some interesting similarities IMO.

From the other end, I’d suggest avoiding The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles. I read it about a month ago, and it’s also what I’d call a “survival” book, but it sucks. While Toilers is A-grade, and Fahrenheit has a lot going for it, I think most Objectivists would see Sky as yet another indication of the need for (a resurgence of?) romanticism.