"Every hour so many damn things in the sky! How in hell did those bombers get up there every single second of our lives! Why doesn't someone want to talk about it? We've started and won two atomic wars since 1990! Is it because we're having too much fun at home we've forgotten the world? Is it because we're rich and the rest of the world's so poor and we don't even care if they are? I've heard rumors; the world is starving, but we're well fed..." -Montag (p. 73)
From what I have read so far in Fahrenheit 451, I believe that this quote most powerfully displays Montag's newly discovered curiosity towards the world. I'm well aware that when you're writing, you should abbreviate long passages with an ellipses; however, I felt that if I was to leave out any portion of Montag's quote, I would take away from its deeper meaning and powerfulness. The passage above was spoken by Guy after reading his first few books. What I found amazing was how only a handful of books could effect a person's point of view towards the world. Now I can understand why the dictatorial government that rules Montag's society would want to ban the possession of books. Books stimulate our minds; they're what make us think. We take for granted what we read on a daily basis. Between newspapers, magazines, and novels, what we read becomes a part of us in one way or another. Without books, we could very well become the mindless, thoughtless society that Montag lives in...
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Matt, I agree about the power of books and reading. One reason I became an English teacher.
Let me ask you this, which books have influenced you? Which books do you think everyone should read so we don't become "the mindless, thoughtless society that Montag lives in"?
You do some excellent thinking and writing here...
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