Why should you read “Fahrenheit 451”? - Iseult Gillespie

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Ivana Krivokuća

“It was a pleasure to burn.

„Voleo je da spaljuje.

It was a special pleasure to see things eaten,

Posebno je voleo da gleda kako stvari bivaju prožderane,

to see things blackened and changed.”

kako stvari crne i menjaju se.“

Fahrenheit 451 opens in a blissful blaze - and before long,

„Farenhajt 451“ počinje blaženim bleskom - i uskoro

we learn what’s going up in flames.

saznajemo šta nestaje u plamenu.

Ray Bradbury’s novel imagines a world

Roman Reja Bredberija zamišlja svet

where books are banned from all areas of life -

u kome su knjige zabranjene u svim oblastima života -

and possessing, let alone reading them, is forbidden.

i posedovanje, a kamoli čitanje knjiga je zabranjeno.

The protagonist, Montag, is a fireman responsible for destroying what remains.

Glavni lik, Montag, je požarni brigadir zadužen da uništi one koje su preostale.

But as his pleasure gives way to doubt,

Međutim, kako užitak ustupa mesto sumnji,

the story raises critical questions of how to preserve one’s mind in a society

priča postavlja ključna pitanja o tome kako sačuvati razum u društvu

where free will, self-expression, and curiosity are under fire.

u kome su slobodna volja, samoizražavanje i znatiželja pod vatrom.

In Montag’s world, mass media has a monopoly on information,

U Montagovom svetu, masovni mediji imaju monopol nad informacijama,

erasing almost all ability for independent thought.

brišući gotovo u potpunosti sposobnost nezavisnog razmišljanja.

On the subway, ads blast out of the walls.

U podzemnoj železnici, reklame sevaju sa zidova.

At home, Montag’s wife Mildred listens to the radio around the clock,

Kod kuće, Montagova supruga Mildred po ceo dan sluša radio,

and three of their parlor walls are plastered with screens.

a tri zida u njihovom salonu su prekrivena ekranima.

At work, the smell of kerosene hangs over Montag’s colleagues,

Na poslu, miris kerozina lebdi iznad Montagovih kolega,

who smoke and set their mechanical hound after rats to pass the time.

koji puše i, da bi prekratili vreme, huškaju mehaničke kerove na pacove.

When the alarm sounds they surge out in salamander-shaped vehicles,

Kada se alarm začuje, svi izjure u vozilima u obliku salamandera,

sometimes to burn whole libraries to the ground.

ponekad kako bi čitave biblioteke spalili do temelja.

But as he sets tomes ablaze day after day like “black butterflies,”

Međutim, dok dan za danom spaljuje tomove poput „crnih leptira“,

Montag’s mind occasionally wanders to the contraband that lies hidden in his home.

Montagov um povremeno luta do prokrijumčarene robe

skrivene u njegovom domu.

Gradually, he begins to question the basis of his work.

Vremenom, počinje da preispituje suštinu svoga posla.

Montag realizes he’s always felt uneasy -

Montag shvata da je oduvek osećao nelagodu -

but has lacked the descriptive words to express his feelings in a society

ali da mu je nedostajalo opisnih reči da izrazi svoja osećanja u društvu

where even uttering the phrase “once upon a time” can be fatal.

u kom i puko izgovaranje fraze „bilo jednom“ može da bude smrtonosno.

Fahrenheit 451 depicts a world governed

„Farenhajt 451“ oslikava svet kojim vladaju

by surveillance, robotics, and virtual reality-

nadzor, robotika i virtuelna stvarnost -

a vision that proved remarkably prescient, but also spoke to the concerns of the time.

što se ispostavilo kao veoma proročanska vizija,

ali koja je izražavala i strepnje tog vremena.

The novel was published in 1953, at the height of the Cold War.

Roman je objavljen 1953. godine, na vrhuncu Hladnog rata.

This era kindled widespread paranoia and fear

Ovo razdoblje je rasplamsalo rasporastranjenu paranoju i strah

throughout Bradbury’s home country of the United States,

širom Bredberijeve domovine Sjedinjenih Država,

amplified by the suppression of information and brutal government investigations.

naglašene gušenjem informacija i brutalnim vladinim istragama.

In particular, this witch hunt mentality

Mentalitet lova na veštice je naročito

targeted artists and writers who were suspected of Communist sympathies.

ciljao na umetnike i pisce pod sumnjom da imaju naklonost ka komunizmu.

Bradbury was alarmed at this cultural crackdown.

Bredberija su uzbunile ove kulturološke restrikcije.

He believed it set a dangerous precedent for further censorship,

Verovao je kako predstavljaju opasne presedane za buduće cenzure

and was reminded of the destruction of the Library of Alexandria

i to ga je podsetilo na uništenje Aleksandrijske biblioteke,

and the book-burning of Fascist regimes.

kao i na spaljivanje knjiga u fašističkim režimima.

He explored these chilling connections in Fahrenheit 451,

Istraživao je ove jezive veze u romanu „Farenhajt 451“,

titled after the temperature at which paper burns.

naslovljenom prema temperaturi na kojoj papir gori.

The accuracy of that temperature has been called into question,

Preciznost te temperature je dovođena u pitanje,

but that doesn’t diminish the novel’s standing

međutim, to ne umanjuje status romana

as a masterpiece of dystopian fiction.

kao remek-dela distopijske fikcije.

Dystopian fiction as a genre amplifies troubling features of the world around us

Distopijska fikcija kao žanr naglašava uznemirujuće odlike sveta oko nas

and imagines the consequences of taking them to an extreme.

i zamišlja posledice kada se one dovedu u krajnost.

In many dystopian stories,

U mnogim distopijskim pričama,

the government imposes constrictions onto unwilling subjects.

vlada nameće ograničenja nevoljnim subjektima.

But in Fahrenheit 451,

Međutim, u „Farenhajtu 451“,

Montag learns that it was the apathy of the masses

Montag saznaje da je apatija masa

that gave rise to the current regime.

ta koja je omogućila uspon trenutnom režimu.

The government merely capitalized on short attention spans

Vlada se tek okoristila kratkim rasponom pažnje

and the appetite for mindless entertainment,

i apetitom za plitku zabavu, a to je svelo kruženje ideja u prah.

reducing the circulation of ideas to ash.

As culture disappears, imagination and self-expression follow.

Kako kultura nestaje, nestaju i mašta i samoizražavanje.

Even the way people talk is short-circuited

Čak je i način na koji ljudi govore sveden -

- such as when Montag’s boss Captain Beatty describes the acceleration of mass culture:

kao kad Montagov šef, kapetan Biti, objašnjava ubrzanje masovne kulture:

"Speed up the film, Montag, quick. Click? Pic? Look, Eye, Now, Flick, Here,

„Ubrzaj film, Montaže, hitro. Klik? Pik? Vidi, Gle, Sad, Pljus, Ovamo,

There, Swift, Pace, Up, Down, In, Out, Why, How, Who, What, Where, Eh? Uh!

Onamo, Brzo, Kas, Gore, Dole, Unutra, Van, Zašto, Kako, Ko, Šta, Gde, Eh? Uh!

Bang! Smack! Wallop, Bing, Bong, Boom! Digest-digests, digest-digest-digests.

Bam! Tres! Bljuf, Bing, Beng, Bum! sažeci sažetaka, sažeci sažetaka sažetaka.

Politics? One column, two sentences, a headline! Then, in mid-air, all vanishes!"

Politika? Jedan stupac, dve rečenice, naslov! A onda, odjednom, sve nestaje!“

In this barren world, Montag learns how difficult it is to resist when

U ovom opustošenom svetu, Montag shvata koliko je teško odupreti se

there's nothing left to hold on to.

kada ne postoji ništa za šta možete da se držite.

Altogether, Fahrenheit 451 is a portrait of independent thought

Sveukupno, „Farenhajt 451“ je portret nezavisnog razmišljanja

on the brink of extinction -

na ivici izumiranja -

and a parable about a society which is complicit

kao i parabola o društvu koje saučestvuje

in its own combustion.

u sopstvenom sagorevanju.