Okay, so has anyone read this book? I mean really read it, because a lot of the stuff in this book seems to be happening now. There is so much to talk about with this book, plot, characters, etc. To start things off, did anyone cry when Clarisse died? I am not afraid to say that I teared up. She was built up to be one of the main characters and Ray Bradbury just killed her off. He even said in his later years he regretted killing her and was even going to bring her back at the end but decided against it. I have thought about it a lot and it is just so depressing that in life this happens a lot. Several kids have died at my school in the past and everyone just goes on about there life. Sadly a friend died about a year back and I couldn't go to his funeral . . . I cried. Yet I look around and see how easily people move on in life. I figured this would be a good opening topic for the book. So what do you think? If you were Bradbury what would you have done? Was it the right choice? Do you think society is headed in that direction?
Actually, I saw the movie version and Bradbury redid the book later on to go with how the movie ended with Clarisse living with the book people. I even mentioned the book in my persuasive speech of censorship on reading. The book is about how books can confuse the mind, free thinking, and nowadays everyone turns to TV, computers or cell phones, which reading is no longer in used. In a interview, he explained how showed the alienation people have by media, abandoning books. With books being transferred or downloaded with electric devices, that is in a way 'burning books'. Bradbury even said this in the 1979 edition, about censorship and its relation to the book:
It's funny because just a few months ago we finished it for our English class. Plenty of things in it can be compared to the present day and there wouldn't be many differences... well... we don't burn books and our homes aren't fireproof or anything but you get the point. Clarisse's death was stupid and evil. It reflects the incompetence and overall lack of caution in that world. I'm kind of glad we see the idiots who did it, just for the sake of knowing the truth about what happened. If I were Bradbury I would've either made it a close call or broken an arm or leg, just to create a bit of suspense and show the ignorance of the youth in that society. Killing her was going too far in my opinion... Also, did anyone else resonate with the poem Montag read (Dover Beach)?
I found this book to be pretty interesting to read. One can tell that the writer just didn't write it, but wrote it with feeling. It was actually one of the first books that we read last school year in Junior English.
Dis book. <3 I read it in 10th grade for English. Overall, I thought it was pretty fantastic. Bradbury, to me, really captured the dystopian world in a similar fashion to Owell in 1984; everyone in this society had just been programmed to believe that books were evil. It's like the Forbidden Fruit for Adam and Eve. Because Guy started to read the books, he started to gain more and more awareness of the world, which in turn led to most, if not all, of his later problems within the novel. Also, I felt like Clarisse's death was necessary. If she didn't die, Guy wouldn't have begun his steps to getting the "awareness" that reading the books allowed him to possess. If anything, while her death may have been quick, but it was vital to Guy's growth as a character (and our protagonist).
i haven't read it in a while and my memory of the book isn't what it used to be but i do believe Clarisse's death was necessary. just the off hand manner in which her death was spoken of and treated spoke volumes about the society as a whole and the desensitization which had become the norm for the people in the society.
This essentially, I wasn't in love with Clarisse as a character so her death didn't affect me much, but her death was symbolic. I haven't read the book in years but I remember having mixed feelings about it. I think I kind of focused on the wrong bits? For me, the most tragic and interesting side of the story was the main character's wife (can't even remember names at this point, hah). I pitied her. It was quite gripping. The action in the middle of the book was really exciting, but it died down after a while and I found it was a bit of a chore to get to the end. But good book, all in all. I think I prefer Bradbury's short stories, though.
i think her name was Mildred? (not 100% sure) i personally think there are no wrong points in the story and that everything was writing in the a certain manner to further demonstrate what society had become. i can understand why her life can be in and of itself a pivotal point in the the story. her life was pitiful, but it wasn't her fault she was a creation of the society in which they lived in.
You are correct, it was Mildred. That whole thing gave the feeling of helplessness throughout. If I was in that situation with a world full of ignorant people, how could I fight that? It reminds me of "1984 by George Orwell" That feeling of hopelessness. Though you are right, she was there as an example of the "normal" of that day and age. To think that she was normal just sickens my brain.
Pls stop copying my life. We also watched the movie version at the same time. I...was kinda meh on this book. I didn't particularly want to read it at the time, I was juggling a few books in my spare time too and everything was just rolling into one. However, I did end up enjoying it as it went on. Bradbury's writing techniques are rather interesting at times too. Don't see too much of that. But enough from me. What do you think, Linda?
I remember reading this book in English in my Junior year. Didn't really care for it, I thought almost everyone in the book except Montog was an *******. At least it was better written than Twilight and Spoiler Fifty Shades of Gray
I read this book in my 8th grade year and absolutely loved it. I have always been fond of dystopian/utopian novels so it was easy for me to grab onto. You guys mentioned the book vs the movie and I must say I really hated the movie. Especially the ending. When the end of a book is supposed to take on a symbolic meaning and movies change it to make it more enjoyable to a watching audience just... ugh I mean, I would think it would be more enjoyable for an audience to watch an explosion at the end than a bunch of people walking around reading books out loud -_-
I really liked this book. Read for 9th grade, and it was just awesome. Havent read it since then. Should give it another go one of these days, though I don't really revisit books.
