I think one of the bigger ideas in this novel is whether or not ignorance is bliss. In this society, reading books is against the law, and no one disobeys the law. People don't even try to read books anymore, and it seems that no one really thinks for themselves, and everyone does what they are told.
Beatty says something about why books are banned. His explanation for it is that they want people to be happy, and not know about the outside world, and the problems that the rest of the world has. They also want equality amongst all the people. Instead of reading books, people just watch TV all the time. The people in this society are very uneducated. Beatty explains that they are happy because they are ignorant. But are they really happy? I don't think that keeping people uneducated makes them happier. The people in this dystopian society aren't even happy. Maybe there is another reason that people can't read books that hasn't been revealed in the story yet?
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5 comments:
this is horrible!!
Dominique,
I agree with what you said about why they don't read books. I think the government burns the books to keep everyone at an equal level of intelligence. I think they do this so that there isn't a person who is smarter than another. But, I don't think this makes people happy either. The people in this community are not truely happy. I think they are just somehow told or put into a situation where they have a job and a spouse and they think this is what happiness is. They don't seem to know the purpose of their jobs or, from what Montag and Mildred's marriages seems like, what love is. I believe that the government is controlling the limits on the people's minds so that they pretty much don't think on their own or question things.
Nicole
Interesting thoughts about happiness and who is happy.
Nicole you say "I think they are just somehow told or put into a situation where they have a job and a spouse and they think this is what happiness is."
If the people think they are happy, isn't that all that matters? And if they think they are happy, then arent' they happy?
Keep reading.
ps - not sure what happened with those first two comments on this thread. ??
I agree with what you posted because I feel as well a little confused as to is Mildred and Montag really happy. In the book it feels to be that know one does anything on their own it is all done as to what the society does. Everything thing is done in a certain way, reading books seems like such a horrible thing to do but I still don't understand either as to why they can't read any of the books?
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