Monday, January 22, 2007

Question #6 - Fahrenheit 451


Are there are any current situations in the world that relate to the novel? What are they, and how do they relate? Does the novel shed any light on how current situations could be resolved or "fixed"?

Unfortunately, there are current situations in the world that relate to Fahrenheit 451. The situations that I am talking about are not book burning, but they relate to it. In this novel, people burned books because they feared them. They feared them because of what the government told them. In the same way, many people are hated and bullied because they are irrationally feared. Even though we are taught that prejudice is wrong, people still have them. These prejudices cause the bullying and hating of other people. For example, there is a prejudice that Asians are smart. Someone who feels he/she isn't smart enough might bully an Asian because they fear that the Asian is smarter than him/her. This relates to book burning because the person is acting on what they are told, which he/she doesn't even know is true, and an irrational fear.

The book does shed some light on on how these current situations could be resolved. It shows that if many people who think the same thing (e.g., prejudice is bad and bullying caused by prejudice should be stopped) come together and fight against what they are told, the people have a chance of getting their message across. However, the book also tells us that violence should not be used when going against an already popularly accepted idea. Instead, the people should spread the message subtly, but to all people, so that everyone knows the truth (e.g., prejudice is bad).

3 comments:

Mr and Mrs L said...

Hey Mrs. Jack Sparrow :)
I agree with you. In history as well they have burned Bible's and people had to hide them in save and secret places in their homes. Doing this was a life-risking act and if you were caught, you would be executed. These people knew what they were doing and what the consequences would be and yet they stuck to what they believed. To me these people are modern hero's. Also, these people remind me of Montag. Montag didn't really know what he was doing, he just knew that there was a truth behind books, a truth that people would die for.

LUV YA ~~~
XOXO
Comment on my blog :)

Rebecca

Inhye Lee said...

Thanks for the comment Rebecca! =]

I agree with you that these people are modern heroes. It was really life-risking to save those books. I don't know if I would have the courage to save books if a time like that ever came (which I hope it doesn't), but let's not worry about that now, right?

African Globe Trotters. said...

Insightful comments and a good post. Mrs.Mc.