“See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories. Ask for no guarantees, ask for no security.” ― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
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“-Why aren't you in school? I see you every day wandering around.
-Oh, they don't miss me," she said. "I'm antisocial, they say. I don't mix. It's so strange. I'm very social indeed. It all depends on what you mean by social, doesn't it? Social to me means talking to you about things like this -she rattled* some chestnuts that had fallen off the tree in the front yard*-. Or talking about how strange the world is. Being with people is nice. But I don't think it's social to get a bunch of people together and then not let them talk, do you? An hour of TV class, an hour of basketball or baseball or running, another hour of transcription history or painting pictures, and more sports, but do you know, we never ask questions, or at least most don't; they just run the answers at you, bing, bing, bing, and us sitting there for four more hours of film-teacher. That's not social to me at all. It's a lot of funnels* and lot of water poured down the spout and out the bottom, and them telling us it's wine when it's not. They run us so ragged* by the end of the day we can't do anything but go to bed or head for a Fun Park to bully people around (...) I guess I'm everything they say I am, all right. I haven't any friends. That's supposed to prove I'm abnormal. But everyone I know is either shouting or dancing around like wild or beating up one another... Do you notice how people hurt each other nowadays?” ― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451*
Glossary:
*Rattle: shake and make noise.
*Yard: garden outside a house, esp. with lawn.
*Funnel: cone for pouring / figurative: channel.
*Run [sb] ragged: informal: exhaust (somebody)
*Fahrenheit 451: The temperature at which book paper catches fire, and burns.
Thanks for reading,
have a nice weekend.
Comments
Thanks Janeth!
Yes, actually is very easy to programm the way of thinkin' of a society, so is not so 'weird' reality.
I'm glad you liked it, thanks for dropping by!
Hi Mary
Thank you for this piece of writing from the book. It is pretty interesting! A society where you cannot "think" by yourself.....something that happens in many places nowadays. I have not read this book, but I will look it up.
Thanks for sharing and for the glossary (it was really useful). Have a great week in advance!
Hi Olga!
This is also the only book I've read by Bradbury atm, and I found it a couple of years ago just by chance in the library of a train station while I was waiting for my train to arrive; it was one of these wonderful serendipities.
You made a great recap in your comment, thanks for that! :)
And thanks for dropping in this little reading corner :))
Oporazita, how nice to see you around; I wish you could have more time to come more often, you're missed here! :)) Thanks a lot for your nice words and for dropping by!
Thank you so much, Mary, for "WEEKEND READING CLUB" & sharing your idea about some good books :) I'll try to find it and read :)
Oh my, what a weird society is described in that book!
Thank you for the explanation, Mary!
Roman, 'dystopian' is the opposite of 'utopian'. While in an utopian fiction the author shows an alternative reality that's all nice and 'perfect', a dystopian fiction tells a different reality where the author shows a society characterized by a focus on that which is contrary to the author's ethos.
This book, Fahrenheit 451, is a dystopian fiction that tells the story of an American society where books are outlawed and firemen have to burn any that are found.
Thanks for dropping by and reading!
Mhm, yeah Fizzy...
Thanks for dropping by.
Do you notice how people hurt each other nowadays?” <--- totally..
That sentence about "run us so ragged" is exactly what I used to feel sometimes.
I didn't even know about existence of such a word "dystopia"
Thank you for sharing those wise thoughts about the world!
Have a fascinating weekend, Mary!