Do you understand now why books are hated and feared? Because they reveal the pores on the face of life. The comfortable people want only the faces of the full moon, wax, faces without pores, hairless, expressionless. — Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
To read Ray Bradbury’s 1953 novel Fahrenheit 451 right now, in this day in age, is a chilling experience. It is almost hard to fathom that the author so eerily and accurately predicted a dystopian world of censorship, anti-intellectualism and mass media gone awry.
The plot centers around a fireman named Guy Montag, whose job is to burn forbidden books and the houses of those who dare to retain them. In this oppressive society, science, thought, logic and intellectualism are considered public threats. In their place, mindless entertainment transmitted through “seashell” earpieces and giant television “parlor walls” anesthetizes the uncultured and unenlightened populace. Ultimately, Montag flees the city (where everyone else is killed by bombs) and becomes the leader of a small community of survivors dedicated to memorizing books. The book ends with a quote from The Book of Revelations: “And on either side of the river was there a tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month; And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” Despite its grim portrayal of this cruel, ignorant society, the novel offers a final message of hope in the wisdom that history, books and art can provide.
Aquila Theatre’s Desiree Sanchez will use Bradbury’s own stage adaptation in a new production of Fahrenheit 451 that will deftly articulate just how pressing and prescient this cautionary tale is. Aquila’s productions are “beautifully spoken, dramatically revealing and crystalline in effect,” says The New Yorker, and their upcoming production of Fahrenheit 451 will offer audiences the opportunity to examine this timeless commentary on the indispensable and fragile nature of history and learning.
