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As I read through this, I'm most disappointed by the people claiming that Bradbury is wrong about the meaning of his book. The reasoning people are using seems
by bbrady1992 9y ago
As I read through this, I'm most disappointed by the people claiming that Bradbury is wrong about the meaning of his book. The reasoning people are using seems to be that it's wrong for the author to think that he has sole say on how his book should be interpreted. I agree with that in general, but that's not the case here. Those claiming the book is about censorship very clearly ignore major points in the story. In Montag's conversation with Captain Beatty, it's explained that the government only started burning because the people asked for it. Books made people uncomfortable, so they wanted them gone. They much preferred the intellectual comfort that came with the "family". Personally, I think those that claim he was wrong are exactly the people that Bradbury wrote about. They argue against his themes, going as far as to ignore very clear exposition, because they ring true and bring discomfort.
- abritinthebay 9y agoThey aren’t ignoring the themes, there is just and alternative cause and effect relationship possible. Nothing you point out changes this. It’s still perfectly valid to say that while TV in the book is their comfort space the situation is primarily driven by generalized censorship of uncomfortable views. In fact, if anything, your point about the conversation helps support this point.
- rumcajz 9y agoUmberto Eco defines a novel as a "machine to create interpretations".