Ray Bradbury, though primarily a prose writer, is a poet at heart, and this is evident in his ability to coin sayings capable of carrying the sublimest emotions and very profound wisdom. That he can do this is also related to his passion for life, which shines through in his writing. Below are some of his best quotes:
Carpe Diem
‘Carpe diem’ is a Latin term meaning ‘seize the day’. It nods to a philosophy of life that encourages taking chances with life and grabbing opportunities as they come. In his work and life, Ray Bradbury showed great energy and enthusiasm, and he captured this love of life in pithy and dramatic quotes.
Stuff your eyes with wonder, he said, live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories. -‘Fahrenheit 451‘
In the world of ‘Fahrenheit 451’, the citizens of that world lived a life where processed mindless entertainment substituted for meaningful living and self-directed exploration. Ray Bradbury condemns this sort of existence as subhuman and demeaning to the human spirit and an affront to our natural thirst for adventure.
“If we listened to our intellect we’d never have a love affair. We’d never have a friendship. We’d never go in business because we’d be cynical: “It’s gonna go wrong.” Or “She’s going to hurt me.” Or, “I’ve had a couple of bad love affairs, so therefore…” Well, that’s nonsense. You’re going to miss life. You’ve got to jump off the cliff all the time and build your wings on the way down.” -Ray Bradbury, speech to Brown University
While Bradbury’s work shows evidence of a great intellect at work, he always emphasized the power of the heart in engaging life. He suggests that the essence of life is in its living and not the thinking about living, or in complicated considerations of pitfalls and advantages. Even when a person feels inadequate in a situation, it sometimes happens that they become fit and better equipped in the process of engaging with the situation.
“Changing size doesn’t change the brain. If I made you twenty-five tomorrow, Jim, your thoughts would still be boy thoughts, and it’d show! Or if they turned me into a boy of ten this instant, my brain would still be fifty and that boy would act funnier and older and weirder than any boy ever.” -‘Something Wicked This Way Comes‘
This quote suggests that we embrace the life that we find. There is no need or benefit in wishing to be something else. Everything belongs to its place and time, with its peculiarities and opportunities.
“So there they go, Jim running slower to stay with Will, Will running faster to stay with Jim, Jim breaking two windows in a haunted house because Will’s along, Will breaking one window instead of none, because Jim’s watching. God, how we get our fingers in each other’s clay. That’s friendship, each playing the potter to see what shape we can make of the other.” -‘Something Wicked This Way Comes‘.
This quote paints the picture of friendship as a relationship where each partner influences the other, stimulates their growth, and impacts them in a significant way.
Literacy
All through his life, Bradbury campaigned strongly both in his fiction and in his life for education and literacy. He firmly believed in the power of books and that civilization and culture are restored through reading. This is a theme he revisited in many of his works.
“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” -1993 Seattle Times interview
In ‘Fahrenheit 451’, Ray Bradbury imagines a society where books are banned and the authorities burn books. Here, however, he points out that it isn’t necessary to burn books to render them ineffective. To be brought to life, the ideas in books must be engaged intimately and with interest. At the point when people no longer read, no matter how many books are in circulation, they are as good as non-existent, and culture dies as a result.
“Libraries raised me. I don’t believe in colleges and universities. I believe in libraries because most students don’t have any money. When I graduated from high school, it was during the Depression and we had no money. I couldn’t go to college, so I went to the library three days a week for 10 years.” -Ray Bradbury, speaking to The New York Times
For such a rich and imaginative output, it is surprising that Ray Bradbury did not attend college. He challenges a common impression that an intellectual life must go through the university and shares his faith that an enthusiastic reader has the capacity to educate himself through the resources in libraries.
“You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” –Zen in the Art of Writing
Speaking about his long and rich writing career, Bradbury advises that every writer must love the work of writing. This is because writing is a difficult and often obstacle-ridden process. It takes a special love to overcome these hardships to bring the work to maturity and completion.
The Future and Possibilities
One can easily think of Bradbury as a seer or prophet for his prescient imagination displayed in his works. In his speculative fiction, he usually features technological advancements that become realities years into the future.
“People ask me to predict the future, when all I want to do is prevent it. Better yet, build it. Predicting the future is much too easy, anyway. You look at the people around you, the street you stand on, the visible air you breathe, and predict more of the same. To hell with more. I want better.” – “Beyond 1984: The People Machine“
Bradbury here denies being a prophet, placing himself in the role of one who warns against possible catastrophes that lie in the path of current trends. In that way, he sees himself more as an agent of prevention rather than an agent of prediction.
“When you look around at some of the new developments, the architecture of so many of our cities is so dreadful, and they sort of plan people out of existence. There’s no place to sit down, there’s no place to eat outdoors, all the things that make living…so beautiful.” -Ray Bradbury, in an interview with Tangent
Ray Bradbury’s ardent humanism shaped his critique of progress. He abhorred progress and technological advancement that did not prioritize human well-being and treated human concerns casually.
FAQs
Why is Ray Bradbury remembered?
Bradbury is most fondly remembered as the author of imaginative fantasy novels and short stories.
How did Ray Bradbury change the world?
Ray Bradbury redefined the genre of science fiction, bringing it to mainstream attention. Many writers have based their works on ideas derived from his stories.
How is Ray Bradbury’s writing unique?
Ray Bradbury uses a vividly descriptive style and narrates his stories in a poetic style. His language appeals to the senses in a way that draws the reader into the setting of the story.
Who did Ray Bradbury inspire?
Ray Bradbury inspired several writers such as Scott William Carter, Stephen King, and Neil Gaiman, as well as the filmmaker Stephen Spielberg.
What event inspired Ray Bradbury to become a writer?
Bradbury credits his inspiration to become a writer to an encounter with a carnival magician who pointed an electrically charged sword and said to him, “Live forever!”