Fahrenheit 451

Interesting....I reread the novel Fahrenheit 451 recently and it was amazing. I taught this novel about eight years ago to a class of juniors and I felt is was extremely relevant to current society. The social commentary about technology was what I mostly focused on--the fact that people are continually "plugged in" to some type of technology. In just eight years our society has become even more reliant on cell phones, ipods, internet, etc. If we want entertainment it is literally at our fingertips. The "wall t.v.'s" in Bradbury's book in 1953, are our reality. The result of too much reliance on technology is that people are unable to communicate and care about each other. If people are continually plugged into technology, they aren't plugged in to each other. What I found even more remarkable this time around is the social and political commentary and how that is beginning to mirror today's world. In the novel, books are burned because it isn't good to have conflicting ideas. They don't want anyone to be offended, so anything that can be offensive is destroyed. The society "spoon feeds" ideas and wants the people entertained so they don't think for themselves. People are not encouraged to think for themselves--just stay plugged in and have fun....and the people don't see that the world is literally falling apart around them. I don't want to give too much away, but I would encourage anyone out there to pick up the book. Ray Bradbury had an amazing insight into what life could be like in the future. I would love to chat with him and see what he thinks about how things have turned out......