“Do you ever read any of the books you burn?”--young neighbor, Clarisse
“That’s against the law.”--Guy Montag
Join Kate and Sheila as they dive into Ray Bradbury’s classic, Fahrenheit 451.
Guy Montag is a fireman in the future whose job is to burn books and houses in which the books are found. He begins to wonder how life got so empty after his wife, Mildred, emptied a bottle of sleeping pills. The pump snake guys come and ‘save’ her, then head off to their next disillusioned resident.. Guy wants to help Millie, but she tells him, “Let me alone” to which he replies, “We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while.” This book will bother you and challenge you too.
Guy’s boss, Firechief Beatty quips, “People want to be happy, isn't that right?...They live for pleasure…” And as Dr. Phil always asks, “How’s that working for you?” Sadly, TVs take up entire walls of the houses. Mildred has a three wall TVs, which is not enough; she needs four. She refers to the shows as her family…’her family’ is on all the time.
Guy has kept some books instead of burning them. When he tries to read Ecclesiastes 3, he struggles to get meaning from the text. He pays a visit to Faber, a retired English professor he met by chance in the park a year ago who had told him, “I don’t talk things, sir, I talk the meaning of things. I sit here and know I’m alive.”
Are you ready to turn up the heat and read Fahrenheit 451? “To everything there is a season. A time to break down and time to build up. A time to keep silent and a time to speak…”