The Price of Knowledge

In today’s society there is an ongoing struggle between technology and the positive aspects of reading a book. Today, the majority of individuals would rather sit in front of mindless television for an hour rather than read an interesting story. In the words of Harry Wormwood from Matilda, “There’s nothing you can get from a book that you can’t get from a television faster.” But is this true? Ray Bradbury doesn’t seem to think so and neither do I. If you’ve read any of my previous posts you’ll know by now that I am a fan of old technology or lack there of. I will more often than not choose the older version of a product rather than the latest due to either sheer technological confusion or because I am a huge fan of the phrase “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it,” and it’s the same with books.

In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury goes into detail on how society has become this lazy enigma of intolerance. Bradbury thinks that books trump television because they are “quality (Bradbury 83).” Unlike a television show, a book makes you think and put some effort into the topic that you are reading about, and I completely agree. Books stimulate the brain and imagination. They are more of a challenge than television. When I was a kid, my parents would make me turn off the television and go and read a book. I didn’t understand why until I was older and that’s because they didn’t want me turning into a vegetable. It is evident through the characters that Bradbury has created that the ones who read are intellectual and have much more to say. Let’s compare Faber and Montag’s wife, Mildred. Mildred rarely has anything significant to say. She just watches her programs every day and that’s all she has to comment on. Faber, a man who loves books, has opinions and is not afraid to voice those opinions. One could even argue that through Bradbury’s descriptions of his characters, knowledge gives you confidence. Mildred is afraid to go against the law because she figures whatever they tell her must be true. Faber believes what the law enforcement is doing is wrong because he doesn’t wait around to be told information. He goes and finds it in books.

What would Ray Bradbury think of the Kindle? I, personally, would rather hold a book. I like the smell, the feel, and the warmth I get from reading an actual book. One of the main reasons why I dislike computers is because I have to read off of a screen. My eyes get blurry, my mind wanders, and I don’t absorb the information.

But putting my own biases aside, I think Bradbury would probably support the Kindle. If the Kindle were brought into the story of Fahrenheit 451 in some sort of fan fiction story, I think it would be a positive attribute to the given society for because it is technology, the majority of society would accept it as a sort of television upgrade and the book lovers would still be able to read and increase their knowledge which was so harshly taken away from them.

The Kindle allows you to take thousands of books around with you in a very small package. For constant readers it is a great thing, while riding the bus, subway, sitting on a park bench etc. Having a Kindle also saves time. You can download your new book with the click of a button. It is also environmentally sound because the sooner we all run out and buy Kindles, trees can be saved and paper stop being made.

So although I personally would never want a Kindle because I prefer to live in the past, they are a good idea for a society such as today’s. If Ray Bradbury had written in the invention of the Kindle, it is possible that knowledge wouldn’t have been so frowned upon and that woman would not have had to die in her house along with her precious books.