A World Without Knowledge

634 Words3 Pages
Imagine a world where books are forbidden; a world where knowledge is not desired, but prohibited. Think of a world where firemen are not trained to stop fires, but to start them in houses full of books. Fahrenheit 451 is a fiction written by Ray Bradbury that takes place in this chaotic, out of whack world. The main character, Montag, is an ordinary fireman. He lives his whole life without questioning his job or the society he lives in. Until one day he meets a young girl that changes it all by asking him a simple question: are you happy? Prior to exploring this new world, I thought of reading as a burden. However, the simple question that the girl asked Montag is one of the things that really started to get me thinking. Slowly, as the book progressed, I began to understand more and more why reading and the never-ending quest for knowledge is so important. The quote “There must be something in books, things we cannot imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house. You cant stay for nothing” made me ask myself this simple yet important question: “why would a woman stay and burn with her books instead of running for her life?” Just as the girl and this woman changed Montag, I felt that they were changing me as well. After meeting the young girl, Montag started to understand the extend of the corruption in his society. Suddenly, he saw how empty the people around him were - caring only for superficial happiness that comes from long hours in front of the TV or shallow conversations about hair salons. As a girl who moved to Tenafly, from a different country, and grew up in a different environment, I also often feel like the society I live in is some sort of a big bubble that will pop any minute. Just like Montag, I feel surrounded by empty people; a people who put too much value in the bill in their pocket rather than the love in their hearts. When Montag
Open Document