Challenge 27: Book

63. Discuss an activity, interest, experience, or achievement in your life (this could be a book, movie, or an activity or experience at work, home, or at school) that has been particularly meaningful for you. (University of Florida)

They say don't judge a book by its cover. I tried not to when I first saw that book, but it had already grabbed my attention. The flames feeding on the paper, bright against dark background, with the title inscribed boldly onto the cover: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. It didn't take me very long to read that book; it was quite short. In the beginning, as in every other book I read, I was slightly distracted and confused, but as the plot and story line started falling into place, I understood the deeper, darker meaning of the book. The book is written during the Cold War, and Bradbury predicts state of the American society in the years to come. It is about firemen who, instead of putting out fire, light fire in order to burn books. The book also talks about technology taking over the everyday life of simple people. From the very beginning, I loved the book. The female character, named Clarisse McClellan, is my favorite. In the midst of all the chaos and destruction, she stands there, calm and collected, quite different from the world around her. She finds joy in little things that have no meaning to other people, but did otherwise. She is dreamy and creative and reminds me a bit of myself.

The book is harshly realistic. It talks about how humanity has destroyed literature and its values, forgotten all that gives true knowledge, and moved on to depend on something that can provide no true emotions: technology. I felt the shivers run down my spine when Bradbury described the blood being pumped out and replaced by mechanics from the body of the wife. It disturbed me to think that humanity could reach such a point. And throughout the book, the lives of the people are described as though these aren't humans living, but rather machines and robots trained to enjoy life the way society wants. Though the novel seems to carry a negative message, the ending states otherwise. In the end, the book-lovers gather and walk towards the destructed city in hopes of rebuilding what has been destroyed. This shows that although there are people in this world to whom the destruction of knowledge doesn't matter, there are others who is rise above and beyond and do everything in their power to mend what has been destroyed. And this is the kind of person I want to become too.

Books provide knowledge and wisdom. They consist of numerous works and creations that will be a loss to the world if ever destroyed. Therefore, after reading this book, the importance of books and their stories became clear in my head. I sometimes disregard books, leave them lying around, without giving much thought to their importance. After reading this book, I understood how much knowledge I could gain from it, and even when books are taken away from me, if ever, the knowledge and wisdom I have gained will rest with me for the rest of my life, in my tiny head. After all, the son who built a library lived the happiest life.