Fahrenheit 451: Importance of Books

Montag describes why he became interested in reading books by saying, "I don't know. We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren't happy.  Something's missing. I looked around. The only thing I positively knew was gone was the books I'd burned in ten or twelve years. So I thought books might help." (Bradbury 38)  Faber informs Montag that what was missing from his life that he was longing for was not books themselves, but rather quality.  This quality could come from almost anywhere, he says, “Take it where you can find it, in old phonograph records, old motion pictures, and in old friends; look for it in nature and look for it in yourself.” (Bradbury 38)  The problem with the culture that Montag was living in is that it had taken all of the quality away from life.  He could find some of this quality in books, sure, but they are not the only way to attain it.   Books are a way to let people explore new ideas, envision faraway places that they are not able to go to themselves, or go back in time to a different world.  Books are meant to be thought-provoking and to have purpose.  The shows that Mildred plays on the family about clown chopping each other’s’ limbs off does not count as quality by Faber’s standards.  There is nothing to be learned from watching it.  It does not give the audience a feeling of serenity or meaning.  If I was Montag watching the show, the only thing that it would possibly give me is a headache.  Faber further defines quality as texture and texture as having pores (Bradbury 38).  The concepts in books are real because they can be understood and likely something will apply to the reader’s own life.   How often do you see clown running around chopping each other’s limbs off?  I don’t know about you, but that is something that I have never seen (and am glad that I haven’t).  Watching fake shows may be okay once in a while, but after so long a person, like Montag, will probably feel like something is missing.   Some books were meant to be an inspiration in the lives of people.  Others tell accounts from the past.  Others still give advice on how to live a better life.  It all depends on what type of quality the reader is interested in.  Just as there are movies with no quality, there are also books with little or no quality.  Basically, the value of a book is based on how it touches your life, its message, and how real the ideas in it are. 

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. Print.