We all understand that there were many messages to get out of Farhenheit 451. Throught the book, there were many cases where Ray's thoughts, feelings, and ideas of what he wanted us to get out of the book were reflected upon us. This was all done in hope of us to get a different aspect on our lives and to give us a message. Which of these messages did you find the most meaningful, powerful, or maybe just your favorite?

Preserve all good things and all things good.
--or--
Look at life through the eyes of a child, with the innocence of wonder.

One of my favorite quotes is very similar, but not by RB.

"Look at everything as if you were seeing it either for the first or last time. Then your time on earth will be filled with glory." -Betty Smith


[This message has been edited by grasstains (edited 09-03-2004).]

Ray's main purpose in writing Farenheit 451 was to influence readers to contemplate the consequences of disposing of anything that should be preserved and savored. It doesn't have to necessarily have to be material. It can include emotions like love. Ray's other message includes foreseeing the future by keeping an open mind and eyes open to prevent.

I believe that Bradbury was also speaking out against Governmental controls in F 451. He paints the Government officials (firemen) as heartless and numb individuals. Though not really individuals because of the influence of others (Big Brother). I think that in addition to preserving anything and everything, Bradbury was telling his readers to be different from society as were Montag and Clarisse. But, he was also warning us who are different that there are consequences to being different...others won't like you, they won't understand, you may be physically injured and certainly emotionally damaged, others will make fun, etc. Those are my two favorite messages from F451. Many of his other works have the same kind of messages in them, anti-society/pro-thought ideas.

A lil Ray tribute. . .
I always found Ray an admirable human being, due to his childish nature, and optimism in the eyes of the dismal genre of science fiction. He's an amazingly creative person, who's created his own brand of science fiction, that is creative, imaginative, inspiring, and allegoric, and for this I am always grateful, for his work, and his inspiring personality.

Thanks Ray.

I found it to be more of a spiritual message, warning us not to abandon the soul in our efforts to achieve materialistic perfection. People were committing suicide in the book because their souls were starving to death, but they didn't know it. Things like great books, conversation with family and friends, enjoying nature, all those things feed the soul, and they had been abandoned.

I think there are several messages in the book, actually. I also got the message that you should always, always think about everything and decide things for yourself, not just accept propaganda or be mindlessly herded into an ideological group.

I agree with the above thoughts. Especially the one about the idea that a focus on material perfection, or satisfaction in material perfection, will eventually lead to emotional/spiritual starvation. There is no real satisfaction in material prosperity or comfort. In Bradbury's world, real happiness comes from something else.

The other thing I think that is really important in F451 is that people matter. Montag is influenced and changed by Clarisse, he is helped and touched by Faber, he is challenged by Beatty, he is saddened by Mildred.

The interactions of people are critical in looking at Bradbury's writing. He doesn't see people detached from one another, unless, like Mildred and her "friends," they are dysfunctional and in a state of malaise at some level.

One of the things Ray has said is that to achieve censorship, it is not necessary to burn books, merely to get people to stop reading them. If the statistics given here http://parapublishing.com/sites/para/resources/statistics.cfm are true, that situation is frighteningly close to becoming a total reality.

Know what you live for and don't die for nothing.

Dandelion, thanks for your link on literacy statistics. It is both educational and informative. Although, Ray said to me that a reality like 451 "is impossible". One hopes he is right. Perusing the video clips on this site, I find that his strongest message is a cautionary one involving humans and technology. For instance, I have owned my computer for six years now. It replaced an older model. One with a black and white screen. I loved it. Someone at Apple computers recently said that I should look at my new iMac as a "big toy". But Ray infers that we shouldn't treat computers and the internet as toys, and I think that is signifigant.

LIVE!