Fahrenheit 451 Book Review Essay

Kindle or hardback, that is the question! I often hear the older generations talk about how they like to feel a book in their hands, and sometimes the weird ones talk about smelling a book. Does a book really smell? Now picture a world where books are not debated between electronic reading or good old paper books, but reading is outlawed. Do you think it is possible for the world to shun books and focus so much on the electronic world that we eventually do away with books too? Could we someday rely on the computer, television and media to teach us? Maybe even cut books off completely. Now try to imagine this in the 24th century, but instead of people shunning books, they are burning them. In the book “ Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury, it has

Early on in the book Montag meets a neighbor, by the name of Clarisse McClellan, a kindhearted teenager who likes conversations and is a very smart girl. Up to this point, Montag is content to continue living the way he has always lived. However, in a conversation with Clarisse, she asks him, “Are you happy?”. This sparks in Montag a question that he has never before felt. He has never asked questions or had thoughts of his own. Clarisse sees herself in a way that is different from society. She tells Montag what people think of her, “I'm antisocial, they say. I don't mix. It's so strange. I'm very social indeed”. Clarisse understands that there is more than one way to perceive something, she tells Montag that “It all depends on what you mean by social, doesn't it? Social to me means talking to you about things like this”.Clarisse has found that people only want to talk about what society wants them to. Clarisse speaks to Montag of his personal life, about being a fireman, to awaken Montag to think on his own and see the world for what it is. Clarisse sparks a huge change in Montag's life for the better. After Montag's meeting with Clarisse, he comes home to his wife unconscious on the floor.