this is so much better than i remembered. i harbored so much hatred for this as a kid (mostly since it was assigned). but reading it now it’s terrifying how its themes of anti-intellectualism remain prevalent. even the idea of “sea shells” in peoples ears sounds like a not too far off description of airpods. the history is warped and dictated by the dominant class. the firemen are relegated as nothing more than agents of policing for reenforcement of the status quo

on this read, I did pick up it is undoubtedly misogynistic. theres not one but two instances of fridging. there’s a line when a man says to the protag “Survival is our ticket. Forget the poor, silly women…” regarding his wife. of course, because survival does not include women. and certainly wouldn’t be helmed by them

it lost me a little bit there at the end. gets a bit too fantastical and unbelievable. the 

manhunt

for montag feels particularly ridiculous when the

police ask citizens to look out their windows

. and the ending involving

“people as books”  feels unsustainable when knowing the fallibility of human memory

. but I suppose that’s the point. certainly something I can see myself reading again to glean more still.