Fahrenheit 451

Title: Fahrenheit 451

Author: Ray Bradbury

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Genre: Intellectual Freedom

Summary: Have you ever considered what it would be like if there were no books?  A word with no written words?  What if your concept of a fire fighter was totally changed?  The story centers around a firefighter by the name of Guy Montag, and his journey of finding his true happiness through books.  I know your thoughts are what does a firefighter have to do with books you'll have to read the book to find out.  In a censored society no one was allowed to read.  He is awaken to the freedom of reading and the ability to think and imagine.  But he is not alone he is joined in his pursuit by Faber and Clarisse who have the same interest as he does. They help guide him in his journey to read and discover.  Montag’s pill addicted wife shared the love of books as well, but she turns her back on him, because they are breaking the law.  Montag becomes an enemy of the state.  Does he obey the law and burn down his own house?  Will he turn his back on everything and escape?  Will he be killed?  Learn the fate of Montag in this awesome book that challenges the norms and paints a grim picture of a future without books. 

Reaction: What would the word be like with limited intellectual freedom?  As I read this book all I could think of was the question is reading a right or a privilege.  I see reading and education as a right!  For a government any government to restrict people from reading was beyond me.  But then I looked around and discovered that with the advances in technology are we voluntarily moving toward a society that no longer values literature.  In recent newspaper have decreased the number of printed papers in favor of an online presence while channels have increased.  Personally I find less and less time to read for pleasure but still find time to catch up on my latest shows.  Could it be that we will not need the government to tell us not to read we will stop doing ourselves.   But there is hope especially in YA literature with media blitzs and word of mouth many title have become best sellers and have even gone on to become (dare I say) movies!  I don't think a time will ever come where we all will reject reading but we have choice to open a book and allow it to take us to farthest reaches of time and space or allow Hollywood to interpret it for us.  The choice is yours. 

Application:  There are a plethora of ways this book can be used in the classroom.  As of now this is required reading in literature classes all over the country.  This book like 1984 shows the reader what the future can hold for a society that allows itself to be censored.  Beyond the literature classroom it can be used in social studies as a means to interpret laws and society.  It may also be used in a sociology and psychology class to spark dialogue about censorship and its affect on a society.  I could use this book in marketing to discuss the implications of such laws and how effective marketing can be used to propel such censorship.  I can even see it used in a science classroom to help guide students in discovery learning.  What temperature does a book burn at?  What chemical changes take place as a book burns?  How long does it take a book to burn?  With a little imagination this book could spark great dialogue in the classroom. 

Who might use this book: Middle and High School Students