I see the point about people saying that censorship is part of F451, but I don't believe that that is the main theme of the story. In my opinion, I think that "searching for happiness" is the main theme. In this story, the knowledge one gains from books and other sources of information is where people found true happiness. Do you agree with this idea or do you believe that there are other places in which happiness can be found, other than through knowledge?

bella 237

Is it the knowledge of truth that brings happiness? Or is everything baked with half truths sufficient? Certainly knowledge of what?!! Knowledge of the inane wouldn't bring you happiness. Knowledge of God may. But what kind of god? or God? I can have all knowledge, but I may still find myself restless.

Is it the knowledge of truth that brings happiness? Or is everything baked with half truths sufficient? Certainly knowledge of what?!! Knowledge of the inane wouldn't bring you happiness. Knowledge of God may. But what kind of god? or God? I can have all knowledge, but I may still find myself restless.

okay...I'm confused as to your statements because they are all pretty random. Each of them have the same idea "knowledge" but there is no flow to them. I'm confused as to the point you're trying to make with the part about God. I agree with the fact that one might still find themselves restless with knowledge, which is why i asked the question, "are there other things can would bring one happiness?"

Knowledge cannot bring you happiness. Like Faber says in the novel, books are not important in the pursuit of happiness unless you have quality of information, leisure to digest it, and the right to carry out actions based on what is learned from the interaction of the first two. Knowledge cannot bring happiness because happiness is not hidden in the pages of a book. It is what you do with the knowledge you gain from reading that book that can bring you happiness.

Does a book have to impart any knowledge at all to make one happy? Can't you just read a book for its entertainment value and get enjoyment from that? I think that the importance people held to the books in this novel had to do with the peoples' enjoyment of the stories they told and the use of the language. Those books were like old friends.

Bella 237 states in her first post that she believed "searching for happiness" was the main theme of the book and that censorship really wasn�t a major theme. However, these two themes are directly related. In fact, without censorship in the book, this book has no purpose. Montag would be "searching" for nothing if the books were not illegal. Sure the book could go on and Clarisse could have still asked Montag "the" question, are you happy, and everything but where would the book go. Maybe Montag would still have the same discussions with himself about his relationships, but it is the censorship of the books and the actions people take (the lady killing herself) because of it that makes Montag do what he does. Without the censorship of the books Montag never would have taken the "extreme route". Therefore Montag never would have found anything. He may have still realized that he had absolutely no relationship with his wife, but he never would have gone any further than that in his quest for "happiness". Therefore, the main theme of the book, which is defined as "the main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work", must be censorship. Therefore, censorship is either the most important theme in the book, or (as will be argued) equal in importance as the theme of "searching for happiness". However, I will never agree that "searching for happiness" is MORE important than censorship.

quote:

Originally posted by bella237:
I see the point about people saying that censorship is part of F451, but I don't believe that that is the main theme of the story. In my opinion, I think that "searching for happiness" is the main theme. In this story, the knowledge one gains from books and other sources of information is where people found true happiness. Do you agree with this idea or do you believe that there are other places in which happiness can be found, other than through knowledge?

Bella237, I agree with you that the main theme would be "searching for happiness". No one in the book is actually happy, it�s just basically the people�s way of living, so they may think they are happy, but they are not. The only person I think that has "true happiness" would be Clarisse, because she doesn�t really care about the governments way of living, she still reads books and is not afraid to express her opinion, which I believe is "happiness". Montag is just like the rest of the society until he meets Clarisse. Montag realizes that he is unhappy when he meets Clarisse, and she asks him the famous question, "Are you happy?� I think this is kind of like Montags epiphany, where he finally realizes, and �wow I am unhappy, what can make me happy�? So, Montag thinks that he could find happiness in books. Montag doesn't really understand what books are all about so he goes to Faber and Faber tells Montag that it�s not what�s in a book that makes you happy, it is the overall message and sources of information that the reader gets from the book. He also thinks that he could make the relationship between him and Mildred better if he reads books. At one point in the story, Faber calls Montag a "helpless romantic", meaning that he is doing whatever he can to help with their somewhat awkward relationship. But Overall I think that the theme of this book is searching for happiness, and achieving it through knowledge, and i think that is what Montag did, he achieved his happiness.

I would agree in that knowledge equaling hapiness is not a good theme for this novel. For one, it is quite evident that not every character is on a quest for knowledge because they are already content with their lives. Are they happy? Maybe, its more of a question based on the interpretation of the text. I'd like to think that Mildred and Beatty are happy. Beatty is the captain of the firemen and he is a pretty emotional person in the drained world they live in. When he speaks he usually seems pretty upbeat. Mildred is pretty different. She has no knowledge about anything: literature, the war, life itself, and yet, she still seems happy with her emotionally drained life. Another example I would argue with is the character of Faber. He knows about a lot of things, and he is the furthest thing from happy in the entire book. Faber is a scared little man afraid because he knows of the truth. This is the complete opposite of the theme suggested. The only way I could consider that theme would be for Montag, but even then it's not so much knowledge for him as much as it's the abiltiy to dream and imagine things through literature.