In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, he is convinced that we can learn more from books than the media. He wants to prove to a biased society, that books can actually help us be happy instead of getting in our way. In the beginning of the book, he goes around and burns books because he was raised to think that books were only used to teach bad things. He was taught that you can not gain anything positive or profit from reading books. Then later in the story, he decides to read a book for himself and learns that books are full of knowledge and that the ideas you learn in books make him feel alive. Bradbury wants to convince readers that they can not live off the information learned just through the media; people need books.

     Books are important because they encourage you to use your own imagination and share your ideas with your peers. People too often rely on their TV screens instead of their peers for happiness. For example, early in the story we see Mildred’s desire to be close to the TV. The day after her near death experience, she asks, “It’ll be even more fun when we can afford to have the fourth wall installed. How long you figure before we save up and get the fourth wall torn out and a fourth wall-TV out in? It’s only two thousand dollars” (18). This quote is a great example because it shows that Mildred is acting selfish, caring more about “The Family” and purchasing another TV then about her marriage. When Mildred asks her husband if they can afford the TV, she was not only asking for money, but more importantly, hurting her marriage. $2,000 dollars in 1951 is a lot of money. She wants to invest in a selfish purchase when she could instead choose to improve the home, take a vacation, or do something with her husband. She should invest in her marriage and their family and less on “The Family” TV show. Bradbury was trying to get this point across to the readers because we could all end up like Mildred, obsessed with the TV, married to a person that we don’t know a thing about, and don’t show that we care about them. It was so important that Bradbury gets this point across that he made this point so extreme within the story. He did this to encourage books and relationships so that our future does not end up with a lot of media and little socializing.

     Next, books are essential in society because they can help stimulate your brain by learning and gaining more knowledge compared to the media. It is proven that you lose brain cells when you stare at a screen but you gain brain cells when your read or write. For example, in the story, inside of Faber’s apartment, Montag tells Faber, "I don't know. We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren't happy. Something’s missing. I looked around. The only thing I positively knew was gone was the books I'd burned in ten or twelve years. So I thought books might help" (82) (emphasis added). This example makes it very clear that Montag is realizing and stating that books are the things missing in his life. This could be the missing piece that finally gives his life meaning.

     In our current life, it is a lot easier to just sit in front of the TV and have it watch you, but Bradbury is trying to tell us in this story. Taking the easy way out, and just sitting around watching TV, is going to lead us to a terrible future. Bradbury is trying to tell his readers to take life head on, face it, get involved and socialize with your peers. We see an example of this in Chapter Two "Silly words, silly words, silly awful hurting words," admits Mrs. Bowles. Clara replies, "Why do people want to hurt people? Not enough hurt in the world, you've got to tease people with stuff like that!". Mildred to Clara: "Come on, let's be cheery, you turn the `family' on, now. Go ahead. Let's laugh and be happy, now, stop crying, we'll have a party!" (101). This shows that the girls are so scared to address the sadness that they have to distract Clara with “The Family” TV show instead of dealing with Clara’s true feelings. It shows clearly that without books, imagination and socialization, people will become so scarred of life and will begin to bury themselves in media, not get involved in life itself or better yet, take life head on.

     Bradbury wants to show that the absence of books can lead to social problems. He shows us through out the story that including books in our lives can lead us to great things and to a great future. He shows us that just using media will lead us to failure and nonsense. He clearly wants us to stay true to books, not give up on them, and not let media take over our future.

     Finally, I think Ray Bradbury was trying to convey to the readers throughout the story, that books have so much more value than TV or media. There are so many reasons why this is true and Bradbury does a great job of explaining all of them. I think his story really shows why books, socializing with your peers, and interacting with life is so important. His story really makes you think why we need books. It gives great examples of what would happen if we don't do the right thing or take the easy way out. It shows that making these kind of choices can lead to bad people, bad relationships, and a bad future in general.