“It was a pleasure to burn”
It’s not a secret that I’m addicted to reading. Over my whole life, I read a lot of books of different genres and eras. Some of them were contemporary, and other ones, classics. It’s a fact that I read more sagas and trilogies than classics, because they’re simpler than classics most of the time. Despite of this, I have to admit that one of the books that influenced me the most is a classic. Fahrenheit 451, a dystopian novel where reading is forbidden, and books are burned. I know it sounds ironic, actually, the plot contains a lot of symbolism and relates to our everyday life, since each time we’re getting more censored and silenced. This book reflects very well what’s happening right now symbolically, and how it can be solved. So, let’s start.
Fahrenheit 451 starts with Montag, a fireman who was supposed to control massive fires, but instead made the burning of books look like an accident. People weren’t allowed to read, absolutely no one could read a book, because it was banned by the government. The only books that the government kept were the ones who made people think and relate their world to the world they live in. So, one day Montag decided to read the books instead of burning them, and guided by his wife, he became more critical and didn’t fit anymore in the government’s ideology. This demonstrated the strongest point of the book: As long as you remain ignorant, the government will approve you. Montag got out of the box, and he was censored, silenced, and tortured. How can we think by ourselves if we’re judged by it? Is there any freedom?
By: Fiorella Almanza.
Amenidades
Comic: André Leonardo
Diseño: Ariana Falen