Selasa, 25 Oktober 2011

Wonderful, and still relevant, novel

Fahrenheit 451 Novel Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451 Novel Ray Bradbury

Several reviews on here have given Fahrenheit 451 a low score because they thought the premise was too far-fetched. These reviewers aren't aware of the situations that exist in certain theocracies around the world. Afghanistan under the Taliban outlawed television and women were not allowed to read or educate themselves. In several Middle East countries, merely speaking up against the government makes you a target.

Bradbury looked at different phenomena in our society- the desire to not offend anyone, the dumbing-down of a society in love with television, etc., and simply extrapolated these until he reached an end very similar to the conditions that existed under the Taliban.

Part of the point of science fiction is to be far-fetched, but good science fiction uses those far-fetched ideas to warn us of the dangers of the present, in this case the dangers of censorship, of political correctness, of television, and anyone who thinks those dangers are not real, that this book doesn't have relevant warnings, hasn't studied the real world enough.

Everyone should read this book. It's an entertaining and easy read but also has a lot of idealogical depth behind it for those who are willing to think and read at the same time. If you don't want to think about what you read, well, go watch TV and be done with it!

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3 komentar:

  1. Several reviews on here have given Fahrenheit 451 a low score because they thought the premise was too far-fetched. These reviewers aren't aware of the situations that exist in certain theocracies around the world. Afghanistan under the Taliban outlawed television and women were not allowed to read or educate themselves. In several Middle East countries, merely speaking up against the government makes you a target.Bradbury looked at different phenomena in our society- the desire to not offend anyone, the dumbing-down of a society in love with television, etc., and simply extrapolated these until he reached an end very similar to the conditions that existed under the Taliban.Part of the point of science fiction is to be far-fetched, but good science fiction uses those far-fetched ideas to warn us of the dangers of the present, in this case the dangers of censorship, of political correctness, of television, and anyone who thinks those dangers are not real, that this book doesn't have relevant warnings, hasn't studied the real world enough.Everyone should read this book. It's an entertaining and easy read but also has a lot of idealogical depth behind it for those who are willing to think and read at the same time. If you don't want to think about what you read, well, go watch TV and be done with it!

    BalasHapus
  2. "Fahrenheit 451" is a simply great book. Yes, it's quite distressing and unpleasant to read - because what Bradbury describes is much closer to truth than we'd like it to be. And that is precisely what makes the reality of the book so alike our own - it's more pleasant not to think about such things, and therefore one can merely say the book doesn't suit one's taste and go 'get entertained' in front of the TV.The disturbing thing about the book is that, unlike many other books that deal with the distant future, "Fahrenheit 451" (written in 1953) hasn't been proved wrong simply by time itself. Not at all. Actually, what is shocking to realize is that we've come quite close to the society Bradbury writes about. Perhaps books haven't been banned yet, but it is indeed the entertainment industry that controls people's minds, the political correctness has reached ridiculous levels, there are ads everywhere and now we even have Segways so that we don't have to walk anywhere... And, of course, we can get a thousand page long classics shortened to a hundred pages - or, better yet, simply watch the movie.The book also has other qualities besides making one think (which is, judging by some other reviews, one of its biggest downsides). One cannot but admire the brilliant way Bradbury uses absurd and creates a completely surreal feeling by using the methods of expressionism to describe the feelings and thoughts of the main character. Bradbury sure had things to write about - and that can be proved by even something as simple as the fact I've spent the last half an hour writing a review on the Internet rather than reading a good book or looking at the world...

    BalasHapus