A World Without Knowledge
Olivia Pardo
Have you ever wondered what the future would be like? Could you imagine a future where books are illegal? The author of this book, Ray Bradbury, writes this story by revealing many twists and turns about the future he’s created. Fahrenheit 451 will surprise you from cover to cover.
This story follows a fireman named Guy Montag, who enjoys his job burning illegal books and occasionally the houses that hide them and the people who protect them. He’s never read a book before but is curious about the secrets inside. He begins stealing books and hiding them in his house. He occasionally refers to a park where he once met a mysterious man who doesn’t follow the rules of this futuristic society. This man winds up playing a big role in Montag’s life.
Guy never really opened his eyes to the world until he meets 16 year old Clarisse, a person who goes against the rules in almost every way possible. She opens a door for Guy; a way he has never seen before. She makes him wonder about things, makes him think. Montag realizes he has had enough of being “in the dark”. He decides to open the books he’s stolen and get in touch with the man he met in the park. While reading, he deals with sadness, confusion, and chance of freedom. Books for Montag become his savior, and Montag realizes that knowledge is power, and the government has taken their power away by taking their knowledge.
The main part of this book takes place in a massive urban city where Montag lives. The author is very descriptive and often writes large paragraphs to describe different places, objects, and feelings that Montag encounters. This is the only downside to this book, it was hard to follow Montag’s thoughts and understand the long paragraphs written about them.
Overall I liked this entire book. I would rate it a 9/10 and if it wasn't for the long paragraphs it would be a 10/10. It was exciting, surprising and built suspense as the story continued on through Montag’s troubles. This story makes me think about what the future could be like, and what the government is hiding from us right now in the present. It makes me wonder about how the world is going to turn out and if we still would have power to gain knowledge, or if it would be taken away from us slowly. Would we notice ourselves falling down the cracks into the dark, like the world was in Fahrenheit 451?
