Question 1: Fahrenheit 451

* what is the major theme of this novel? why is this theme important to a teenager living in 2007?

The major theme of this novel that Ray Bradbury is trying to convey is that no one should prevent learning about, or understanding, truth in the world. Also, censorship is a main idea in the novel Fahrenheit 451. In the world that Ray Bradbury portrays, books are burned because they contain ideas that contradict the government, and they can trigger discontent. Beatty explains to Montag that they burn books because the ideas in the books offend "minorities." The word "minorities" refers to any group of people with a common interest or background. Another smaller idea in this novel is happiness. Faber listed three things a person needs for true hapiness. They are 1)quality information with depth 2)leisure time to comput information and think 3)the right to carry out actions based on what we learn from the interaction of the first two.
The idea of happiness in the novel also ties in with entertainment. People in Fahrenheit 451 love to entertain themselves by interacting with characters from TV shows in their living room "saloons". This can make us think questions like: are we really happy with what we are watching on TV? Do these things really make us happy/fullfilled? Are we really happy when we are kept occupied or when we are "sucked into" the media?
Censorship continues to be part of our lives, but in 2007 it is not as extensive as in the novel. Schools are regularly censored for what is read and taught. In this time and age techonology has come a long way and has even come to control people. (Example: video games.) Many people in today's world do not look for happiness according to the three ways that Faber listed in the novel. Many people now are fulfullied by what the world around them offers, things that aren't meaningful such as money, fashion and entertainment. Instead we should be trying to be fulfullied by what Faber lists here.