I've talked about censorship before- and it seems to be a theme with me, since it was also the fire behind the will of Lies My Teacher Told Me, the last book I reviewed. Both are similar in that they address the present and future of this despicable censorship in our society as well as penetrate the pitifully shallow reasons for its existence. Pitiful are the reasons, perhaps, but the force behind them is far from such degradation. It is that which rules every aspect of our lives, what we see, hear, speak, and even , especially, what we believe.
The character Clarisse draws an interesting parallel to what I would consider to be an ideal member of a respectable society- which happens to be expressly why she is a misfit in Montag's world.
"'The girl? She was a time bomb. The family had been feeding her subconscious,
I'm sure, from what I saw of her school record. She didn't want to know how a thing was done, but why. That can be embarrassing. You ask why to
a lot of things and you wind up very unhappy indeed, if you keep at it. The poor
girl's better off dead... Luckily, queer ones like her don't happen often. We
know how to nip most of them in the bud, early... If you don't want a man
unhappy politically, don't give him two sides of a question to worry him; give
him one. Better yet, give him none.'"
-Beatty to Mr. and Ms. Montag, pgs.
60-61
Clarisse's disposition as well as her inevitable conflict with society is exemplified here, when Beatty begins one of his spiels. Beatty is an interesting character, as well. Corrupted perhaps not just by the societal expectations he lives with, but also himself- the man he forces back. He is cruel, and it seems to me like his emotions, his inhibitions, his humanity and capacity for understanding was banished long ago, appearing only in a faulty feign, even a lapse in composure. There is a question that remains, however: how did he change? We know that he was once on the fighting side, but we do not know why he abandoned it. It is then, in my opinion, a subtle hint at the molding powers of government, or even the fickle nature of human morality when confronted with authority (Milgram experiment anyone?)
The novel was, again, frighteningly similar to much of what I detest of the modern world. Certainly these problems were present at Bradbury's time, and it is depressing that they persist today. Bradbury, however, is more radical than liberal in his depiction of the main character; and for good reason, too. Books, literature, and a free mind are the most imperative elements in a healthy and societally progressive country. Montag and Faber do not merely suggest peaceful and cooperative means by which to change their world.
"After all, when we had all the books we needed, we still insisted on finding the highest cliff to jump off. But we do need a breather. We do need knowledge. And perhaps in a thousand years we might pick smaller cliffs to jump off. The books are to remind us what asses and fools we are. They're Caesar's praetorian
guard, whispering as the parade roars down the avenue, 'Remember, Caesar, thou
art mortal.' Most of us can't rush around, talk to everyone, know all the cities
of the world, we haven't time, money or that many friends. The things you're
looking for, Montag, are in the world, but the only way the average chap will
ever see them is in a book. Don't ask for guarantees. And don't look to be saved
in any one thing, person, machine, or library. Do your own bit of saving, and if
you drown, at least die knowing you were headed for shore."-Faber to Montag, pg.
86
Here is when Faber is convincing Montag of the meaning of books and their infinite arsenal of knowledge, their indomitable prowess of imagery, and other such preachy truths. Montag, then, represents the average Joe. He represents someone who would've otherwise spent his time grinding away his life with little thought or contemplation, just completing his manual labor like so many others. That was, of course, the ideal of his society, and it is supplemented by propaganda and the delusion of Utopia which is so boastfully hammered into all citizens. I think what Montag is trying to tell us is that knowledge and truth can and will purge censorship and corruption, given time, passion, and a powerful mind and will. However, such things are never condones or supported. Who in the long run will master the human race? Will it be the deception of war and the wish to maintain conceit over favorable circumstances, or will it be humiliation, the urge to learn and discover and change, most importantly, grow?
Lastly, what parallels can we draw to this world of ours? Well, there are several I can list without hardly contemplating them. In Montag's world, a large nuclear war is taking place.
The events of the war are censored from the general public unless favorable. This is a truth present in practically every war in known history; especially in the more recent world wars in all countries who participated. Would the same tactic be used if we were purely imbicilic enough to wage a nuclear war? You bet your ass that's a yes. Same with the censorship: in Montag's world, any and all literature is banned if it causes a lick of discussion, any one side of a potential argument. This happened in the Soviet Union when literature and even visual art was restricted to that which supported the USSR, under penalty of jailing and sometimes death. If someone in Montag's world harbors illegal books in their house, even without spreading them to others, they can be burned within their house or euthanized by the mechanical hound.
Lastly is a topic breifly mentioned in the book, but in my opinion worth elaborating upon. One of Montag's wife's friends talks about her children like accessories, merely something to occassionally brag about. She leaves them in daycare most of the time and their school runs practically all day so she never has to see them if she doesn't want to. She says what's fun about them is that sometimes they look just like you and they might be cute. This is undoubtedly something that might have seemed rare and frowned upon at the time this book was written, it was clearly meant to be shocking, and Montag's rant following her words ratifies this. However nowadays this behavior by "mothers" is all too common. I don't think any mother should have any of these opinions and most certainly not only these opinions
In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It has been really entertaining and contemplatory. Sure, some of it's dated, and even archaic. But it manages to create a timelessness within. It's a wonderful story that I'd recommend to anyone and everyone, and it's less than 200 pages long so it's fairly easy to swallow.
Thank you very much for considering my review, and I hope you'll consider also Fahrenheit 451: the book that flipped my perspective on the past, present, and future United States forever.
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