Written in 1953 during the McCarthy “reds under the beds” era, Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel about a future society where books are outlawed and “firemen” burn any found. One fireman, Guy Montag, becomes disillusioned with his role and begins to question the government’s control over thought and knowledge.

The Government’s justification is that thinking is dangerous and leads to unhappiness, so by removing the cause (books), and by filling leisure time with media, people have all they need to be happy.

“The important thing for you to remember, Montag, is we’re the Happiness Boys, the Dixie Duo, you and I and the others. We stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought.”

What is nots frightening about this book is how close to reality it is. Only the other day I read this article in the Sydney Morning Herald about how AI is allowing students to summarise books so they don’t need to read them.

This echoes just a tad too closely to what Montag’s chief, Beatty, tells him:

“There you have it, Montag. It didn’t come from the Government down. There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick, thank God. Today, thanks to them, you can stay happy all the time, you are allowed to read comics, the good old confessions, or trade journals.”

With themes of censorship, historical revision, conformity, the dangers of mass media and fake news, and the importance of critical thinking and intellectual freedom, this novel remains as relevant today (if not more so) than it was when first published.

Anyways, have a listen to our discussion.

Next month: The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

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