What is the major theme of this novel? Why is this theme important to a teenager living in 2007?
The major theme of Fahrenheit 451 is to think for oneself. We shouldn't let the government, or anything else, decide for us what we want to think. In this novel, the government tells everyone what is right and what is wrong. They don't allow the people to think or have their own opinions. Because the government has the power to tell people want to think, they implement the idea into people that thinking for oneself is bad. It is illegal. The citizens of this government have already been brain-washed enough to actually believe that this is true. So in this novel, anyone who actually thinks for themselves is feared by the other people (e.g., Faber, Clarisse, and later Montag), because they have been told that having their own opinion is wrong.
This theme is very important to a teenager living in 2007. As teenagers, we are one of the biggest targets of the entertainment industry. They are always trying to tell us what to think. For example, some of the biggest messages they are trying to make us believe are, "If you're ugly on the outside, then you're ugly on the inside," - "If you aren't rich, then you aren't worth anything," - "If you don't wear these clothes, then you're uncool," - "If you aren't exactly like us, then you aren't good enough," - "You have to believe everything we say and think only what we tell you to think. Why? Because we said so." Many teenagers believe these messages and start thinking what the entertainment industry wants us to think. All teenagers living in 2007 must not believe these messages, but instead, learn to think and judge for themselves what is right, wrong, and in between.
The major theme of Fahrenheit 451 is to think for oneself. We shouldn't let the government, or anything else, decide for us what we want to think. In this novel, the government tells everyone what is right and what is wrong. They don't allow the people to think or have their own opinions. Because the government has the power to tell people want to think, they implement the idea into people that thinking for oneself is bad. It is illegal. The citizens of this government have already been brain-washed enough to actually believe that this is true. So in this novel, anyone who actually thinks for themselves is feared by the other people (e.g., Faber, Clarisse, and later Montag), because they have been told that having their own opinion is wrong.
This theme is very important to a teenager living in 2007. As teenagers, we are one of the biggest targets of the entertainment industry. They are always trying to tell us what to think. For example, some of the biggest messages they are trying to make us believe are, "If you're ugly on the outside, then you're ugly on the inside," - "If you aren't rich, then you aren't worth anything," - "If you don't wear these clothes, then you're uncool," - "If you aren't exactly like us, then you aren't good enough," - "You have to believe everything we say and think only what we tell you to think. Why? Because we said so." Many teenagers believe these messages and start thinking what the entertainment industry wants us to think. All teenagers living in 2007 must not believe these messages, but instead, learn to think and judge for themselves what is right, wrong, and in between.
5 comments:
Hey~~
Someone who has cracked through Ray Bradbury's theme! :DD I completely agree that the theme is to think for oneself. However, more specifically, I believe that the major theme was for every person to think for onself with the expansion of knowledge. However, I have to disagree with you that the government started to run people first. In the novel, it is explained that society has gotten to a point where there are so many objections to every book that is read that the entire idea of individual thinking is banned. In the novel, Beatty talks about how weak humans are. Because of this weakness, humans are afraid of the responsibility of thinking, and because of that, they have gotten the government to think for them. From that perspective, it was not actually the government who brainwashed them first, it was the citizens that brought it upon themselves! :D
Anyways, that is definitely an extreme case, which declares war against the government, dependence, indifference to issues, and even the media. I am certainly hoping that such a state of society will never come to be!
Great job on figuring the theme out!!XD
Have a great Lunar!
Hey Inhye~
When govenment decides everything for us, it is like communism. Think about it, don't dictators have power in their hands and control everything for themselves? They don't care what we think, but care for their own benefit, only. I guess in the book you've read, that is being emphasized~
Yes, today in society, people think outer looking are similar as your personality. I think that is very bad. Entertainment industry had affected us severly deeply to change our way of thinking like this; however, this isn't true. You know that everything you have, your kindness and your great characters, cannot be expressed with objects because it is so great~ :)
See ya tomorrow~
Thanks Jihyun and Justine for commenting! =]
Jihyun --> Yeah, I see your point that the people brought their own doom upon themselves, but I still think the government is partially responsible, because they could have just still allowed people to read books, but they didn't.
Justine --> I totally agree with you. This government is very much like a Communist government, and the entertainment industry really has affected how we think. What's happening to today's society?!?!?!
WOW!I totally agreed all along. I like the sentence "We shouldn't let the government, or anything else, decide for us what we want to think." This sentence really hit the mark. It is justified to have oneself's thought. No one can judge other people's thought since everyone has different thoughts. Therefore it's actually weird to have a right thought.
It's true that teenagers' values are in confusion because of the entertainment industries. However teenagers should overcome whatever the media says and realize how precious and beautiful existence they are. There is just one of them in the world and that's unique!
Hey girls, great ideas. I think it's not just teenagers whose values are confused - adults are even more deluded in some instances. Wisdom is a gift from God, for all who ask. Mrs.Mc.
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