Lisinicchia 1

Melanie Lisinicchia
Ms. Vanstraten
November 14, 2015
To Fear or Not To Fear?
Do you know why books are so important? Because they have quality.
(Bradbury 79). Think about that for just a second. When Faber said this to Montag, he
goes on to say that the word quality means texture and compares the books features to
the pours of the face of life. But what does this mean to readers and how does this relate
to the current books today? Does the most accessible information to the people today
have texture; is it really quality information? There is no information with texture that is
so easy to reach and have with the flick of a switch or the press of a button. We have
drifted so far away from quality. That is why one of Bradburys many fears, that modern
technology would replace books, is on its way to being completely true. He was correct
to fear technology changing at such a vicious pace. Who knows what will happen in the
future? All that people on Bradburys side can do is hope that it wont turn out the way it
did in his book, Fahrenheit 451.
When there is a book in our hand, with texture and pores, we remember it. The
brain regards letters as physical objects; it learns to recognize letters The brain also
perceives the entirety of a text as a physical landscape. As we read we make mental maps
like we do when we drive around town or take a walk in the woods we construct the
terrain of a book (Stefanie). Readers can remember in roughly what section in the book
that something happens; sometimes remembering if it happened on the left or right page,
and even where it is in terms of paragraphs. It is kind of like in Fahrenheit 451 when

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Granger mentions, Simmons here has worked on it for twenty years and now weve got
a method down so we can recall anything thats been read once (Bradbury 144). Granger
suggests that everyone really has photographic memory, but spend a lifetime learning
how to block off the things that are really in there (144). Readers definitely benefit from
reading real paper books, but eBooks and online pdfs seem to be taking over. For
example, many schools have iPads, laptops, or other devices for every student in the
school. These devices keep loads of information, some of these schools are so engulfed in
the technology, that they only allow digital access to the textbooks, and dont even own
the hard copy textbooks anymore.
According to Kaiser Family Foundation, young people now spend an average of
seven hours and 38 minutes on daily media use, or about 53 hours a week (Rubin). Much
of this time spent on media is due textbooks being replaced by iPads in many schools.
Since the books are available in a digital form, Bradburys fear has only partly been
realized. Hard copy books are being replaced by digital books; however, the information
is still available. The large amount of time people spend on devices is also a large
problem, and contributes to his fear becoming reality. People may become so engulfed in
reality TV shows and video games, that they know nothing else in life. People may
become like Mildred, who calls the parlor walls her family. When Montag asks Mildred
a simple task of turning the TVs off, she responds with, Thats my family (Bradbury
46). She is so much immersed with the TV people, that she calls them family, even when
the people on the TV have no clue of who she is or that she thinks of them in that way.
Although, how can you blame people who love technology so much? Even Faber
says, you cant argue with the four-wall televisor. Why? The televisor is real. It is

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immediate, it has dimension. It tells you what to think and blasts it in. It must be right. It
seems so right. It rushes you so quickly to its own conclusion your mind hasnt time to
protest, What nonsense! (Bradbury 80). People react to things that are more
immediate, more real, they dont necessarily want the truth, but they have the urge to
know something along those lines, anything, for that matter. The real, truly good
information can open your thought and imagination to new levels and heights where new
thoughts and ideas are produced, keeping the cycle going. However, with this technology
overtake; the information being fed to us is limiting us to thinking at full potential. When
faced with a screen full of information or reading material, readers cannot create metal
maps in their mind as well as they can with hard copy books that are have tremendous
quality. Society doesnt realize the difference between fake, spoon-fed information, and
real quality information with texture.
Playwright Sir Tom Stoppard said that we live "in a world of technology" where
"the moving image" takes precedence in children's lives over "the printed page". He said,
"I think that's to the detriment" (Kershaw). Stoppards feeling that technology is taking
over is similar to how Montag feels about his wife, Mildred, spending her days immersed
in technology watching the parlor walls. Montag is overwhelmed with thoughts of his
not-so-loving marriage with Mildred and the modern technology that his wife spends
most of her time engrossed in. His eyes are slightly opened through his friendship with
Clarisse, Montag gains great curiosity and a want and thirst for knowledge that he never
knew. Through Clarisse first, then he found that through books, there is a road to freedom
and happiness.

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Society is not yet at the point where we burn books and books on end in fear of
the knowledge and wisdom they bestow upon us, but in the scheme of things, the
suggestions isnt that far of a stretch. Many people of this world enjoy and love books,
but is what they are reading quality? Are they really absorbing any knowledge
whatsoever? Is Beatty correct to some people in this world? books say nothing!
Nothing you can teach or believe (Bradbury 59). Perhaps some people believe those
words, and perhaps or world will turn out to be something thats never hoped for. The
people of this time will surely be long gone by then, right? Timing is unpredictable, but
anything is possible. One day this society will die and will rise from the ashes again as
something completely new, and it could quite possibly be similar to the dystopian society
that takes part in Fahrenheit 451.

Bibliography

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Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. [Book Club Ed. New York: Simon and Schuster,
1967. Print. 15 Nov. 2015
Kershaw, Alison. "Technology 'is Replacing Reading'" The Independent.
Independent Digital News and Media, 23 Oct. 2011. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
Stefanie. "The Reading Brain: Differences between Digital and Print." So Many
Books. N.p., 25 Apr. 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.
Rubin, Bonnie Miller. "Young People Spend 7 Hours, 38 Minutes a Day on TV,
Video Games, Computer." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2010. Web. 14
Nov. 2015.