If you could save just one book from being burned, what book would you choose and why?
Saturday, July 2, 2011
What book would you save?
"Montag's hand closed like a mouth, crushed the book with wild devotion, with an insanity of mindlessness to his chest...Montag had done nothing. His hand had done it all, his hand, with a brain of its own, with a conscience and a curiosity in each trembling finger, had turned thief. Now it plunged the book back under his arm, pressed it tight to sweating armpit, rushed out empty, with a magician's flourish!" -page 38
If you could save just one book from being burned, what book would you choose and why?
If you could save just one book from being burned, what book would you choose and why?
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My first impulse is to save the whole Harry Potter series as it inspired so many young readers and could spark a whole new generation if need be, but then I think about the perfection of The Book Thief and how its lesson on the power of the written word would be helpful to hold on to. And then, of course, I am struck down with my sentimental attachment to my all time favorite novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I have read this book at least 10 times and every time I find something more beautiful hidden in the pages. This would have to be my final choice of books to save from being burned. Would I risk my life to do it? I'm not so sure, but I would definitely roam the railroad tracks with Montag and his band of book brothers quoting Scout, Jem, Atticus, and Miss Maudie happily through my days.
ReplyDeleteThe Dictionary.It has all other books within it!
ReplyDelete-Alex Bailey, class of 2013
Personally I would save the Bible. Enough people will remember all the words to recreate the Dictionary and certainly many other books as well. But the Bible was comprised of so many more details and could not be replecated simply by memory. Also, it has much more weight and significance than any other book, magazine, manuscript or other form of writing in existance.
ReplyDelete-Josh Sogolow, Class of 2013
Growth of the Soil...Knut Hamsun
ReplyDeleteThe Percy Jackson Series : Rick Riordan
ReplyDelete"The Ground Beneath Her Feet" by Salman Rushdie
ReplyDeleteIf I were to save a book, I would like to save one of the Spanish classics, since most of you have already saved some of the best English works. That book would be Don Quijote de la Mancha. I have had the opportunity to read an adaptation and some chapters of the original work in a Spanish literature class last fall. I got engaged first with the humor, the absurd and the irony but I realized later that Cervantes uses them to highlight the values that he is laughing at, such as honor, fidelity, the defense of the weak, courage and the importance of hard work above success. Written around 1600, Don Quijote is still helping us think about these values in our everyday life with a very unique style.
ReplyDeletePablo Ferreyra
Class of 2015
If I was given the option of just saving one book from being burnt, I would have to choose one of the classical epic poems. A book like The Odyssey or The Aeneid, even Dante's Inferno. These books are the foundation of Western literature, and by saving one of these, you would save the basis of all important books written after these classics.
ReplyDeleteMatthew Luongo , Class of 2013
Personally I don't think saving just one book is possible. Some people are choosing their favorite books but books like Harry Potter may not hold any significance in the future. If we are talking about classics than the bible would seem obvious but to people who don't have a christian community the bible is just stories. I think the best choice would be a book that shows the faults of an ignorant society but I cant think of any other than Fahrenheit 451. So perhaps a book that shows realistic struggles towards revolution such as The Hunger Games series?
ReplyDeleteThese are great responses from some extremely eloquent young men and teachers. I love Pablo's post about Don Quijote. I haven't read that one for years, but he is absolutely right it is a story of both humor and humanity and one that begs to be read. Beautiful choice, thanks for sharing with us.
ReplyDeleteI would save Gray's Anatomy. Not only is it a good book, the uses of that book are so vast and expansive.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I would save the dictionary only because the english language has been around for so long and is fully developed. It's not like we would forget our language. I would save encyclopedias because they contain the history of our world, and without knowing history, we wouldn't know much other than to talk, read, or write.
ReplyDelete