Fahrenheit 451 Response Essay

Knowledge is power. Everyone craves it and everyone strives to obtain it. In the book Fahrenheit 451 people are afraid of this knowledge. I interviewed three people and asked them their thoughts on Fahrenheit 451’s ideas. I asked them if they could memorize a book, if so what book, and would they be willing to die for this information. I got quite a few answers that were very diverse. These are their answers.

In Fahrenheit 451 we meet Montag. He seems like an average man, but his job is a bit different. He works as a fireman for his local city Instead of fighting fires he creates them. Books are outlawed in this world. People are not allowed to read an they have to conform like everyone else. Very few people go against this government. Montag

fights the system throughout the book. He doesn’t care what people think, he just wants to learn how to understand books. He is tracked down by his own colleagues for having a book collection. He runs away and narrowly escapes. He drifts down a river for awhile until stumbles upon a fire. This fire is surrounded by old men. They welcome Montag with open arms. The men tell him that they have a society that memorizes books and are named after those books. This will pick up the pieces of society once it breaks. They will rebuild the world the way it used to be. This society is where I got some of my questions from.
My first interviewee is Lydia Bobell.

I asked her if she could memorize a book. She said that she probably could if she put her mind to it. I then asked her what book she would try to memorize. She told me that she would memorize the Holy Bible. The Holy Bible is the book of religion for christianity. It depicts the old testament which is the beginning of the universe according to christians. The second testament is more about the birth of Jesus Christ and his teaching. It mostly depicts how people should act and that they should worship God correctly. Its ideal are very beneficial in nature. She could win any argument that anyone ever had with her. This would be an amazing skill. I then asked her the last question. She told me she would definitely not die for it. Its ideas are good, but death is a little

far.
My second interviewee is Jim Kirkton.

He said that he could memorize a few chapters. I asked what book he would memorize. He said that To Kill A Mockingbird would be his pick. Its ideals, themes, an meaning behind the text were important. To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in Alabama during the Great Depression. It tells the story of the Finch family through the eyes of Scout Finch. It tells the story of Atticus Finch trying to protect a African American wrongly accused of rape. The story doesn’t just focus on this. It also focuses on their mysterious neighbor Boo Radley. The story is very diverse for its time. The themes are also different then most other book from this time period. The themes of law, compassion, forgiveness, youth, morals, and ethics really made the book stand out. When Kirkton was asked if he would be willing to die for this information, he said depends. He expanded his answer by saying that he would rather live for this information. He thinks that people should know the ideals of the book an learn from them. He did say that if it came down to it though he would die for this

book.
My final interviewee was Carly Halberg. I asked her if she could memorize a book. She said that if it was a smaller book she could memorize it, but probably not a chapter book. I then asked her what book she would memorize. She told me that she would memorize The Gingham Dog an the Calico Cat. The children’s book is about a dog an a cat made of fabric. They get get mad at each other and decide to fight. They end up tearing each other to shreds. The next morning the owners of the animals can’t find them at all. They think that maybe the animals were stolen where in reality they fought each other to the death. Carly also said that the reason she picked this book is because it has a very place in her heart. It is important to her past. When asked if she would die for this book she said no. She explained that even though it is special to her it is not worth dying for.