Passion is the greatest of all virutes for the man who writes. Ray Bradbury displays pure unbridled passion in his words, whether they are spoken or written. His motive is firstly to be passionate, and then to be meaningful. His story about "Mr. Electrico" shows the second of these two motives, even the two are corollaries. Bradbury will live forever in the heart and soul of the one who is enlightened because he is passionate about the justice of literature. Because he feels passionate nothing will stand in his way on the road to this literary immortality.
As I've said befoe, Bradbury is about the individual overcoming his/her circumstances. True, society is not a Utopia. But it never will be. Bradbury's answer is sufficient: Rebel because you are passionate, and rebel even if it could cost you your life.
Monday, November 1, 2010
To Burn or Not to Burn?
As I finished the last few pages of Ray Bradbury's Farenheit 451 I began to think of how we as human beings burn things. The question came to me: "Have we burned society down to the ground?" Our society bears striking resemblances to Bradbury's, as we allow technology to do more and mor work and become less dependent on the "why" and are simply content with the "how". But ultimately we see that this adversity that we face is good. Societies have a tendency to become "soft", and Bradbury agrues that it is our job to rebuild them even better than before. Every adversity carries with it the seed of some equal or greater benefit. A tree must endure many thunderstorms, but it requires the rain to grow. The question is not "must we endure this calamity?", but rather "How shall we face it?" If we choose to be Mildred, then we are poor excuses for human beings and deserve to be hated. But if we choose to be a Montag, a Granger, or a Faber, then we are truly superior beings.
It matters not when we begin to overcome our adversity, but it is imperative that we begin. Faber realizes this te instant that he agrees to help Montag. This makes him a being who has overcome the power of a so-called "morality". He may have been a part of the herd for a time, but decided to take a stand and fight for a worthwhile ideal. As Nietzsche said "Morality is the best of all devices for leading man by the nose". The morality of this era has been realized by Faber as a detestable notion, and he utterly rejects it because it imprisons him.
Captain Beatty is the most detestable of creatures on Earth. He has the knowledge to rise above the rest,yet he would rather die with his knowledge than put it to use. Beatty is weak, and deserves to be destroyed because he not only is part of the tyranny, but he goes along willingly and of his own accord. I don't believe that it is healthy to empathizewith someone like Beatty because we run the risk of assimilating with him and become cowards ourselves. Bradbury says that our job is to overcome cowardice like Faber does.
We as human beings live in a type of cave, where we pretend to be "sivilized", as Mark Twain so aptly put it in Huck Finn. Montag is one of the few to step out of that cave into the light. At first the knowledge blinds him, but then he comes to understand. Ifhe were to try and teach the others in the cave though, he would be a laughingstock. But what is the ape to Man? A thing of amusement. So Man shall be to the one who conquers tyranny. Refuse to b a laughingstock. Bridge te gap in evolution and rebel. Today.
It matters not when we begin to overcome our adversity, but it is imperative that we begin. Faber realizes this te instant that he agrees to help Montag. This makes him a being who has overcome the power of a so-called "morality". He may have been a part of the herd for a time, but decided to take a stand and fight for a worthwhile ideal. As Nietzsche said "Morality is the best of all devices for leading man by the nose". The morality of this era has been realized by Faber as a detestable notion, and he utterly rejects it because it imprisons him.
Captain Beatty is the most detestable of creatures on Earth. He has the knowledge to rise above the rest,yet he would rather die with his knowledge than put it to use. Beatty is weak, and deserves to be destroyed because he not only is part of the tyranny, but he goes along willingly and of his own accord. I don't believe that it is healthy to empathizewith someone like Beatty because we run the risk of assimilating with him and become cowards ourselves. Bradbury says that our job is to overcome cowardice like Faber does.
We as human beings live in a type of cave, where we pretend to be "sivilized", as Mark Twain so aptly put it in Huck Finn. Montag is one of the few to step out of that cave into the light. At first the knowledge blinds him, but then he comes to understand. Ifhe were to try and teach the others in the cave though, he would be a laughingstock. But what is the ape to Man? A thing of amusement. So Man shall be to the one who conquers tyranny. Refuse to b a laughingstock. Bridge te gap in evolution and rebel. Today.
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