Worth it all?

With the introduction of the “book people” that Guy Montag meets by the railroad tracks, a reader is brought to wonder quite a few things. One prominent question left in your mind is whether or not the efforts of Granger, the leader of the “book people,” and his crew are in vain. Granger tells Montag “Right now we have a horrible job; we're waiting for the war to begin and, as quickly, end...When the war's over, perhaps we can be of some use in the world.”

They feel that without these records of history, civilization will lose the lessons and stories learned through the years. This is the idea that drives the group of "book people" by the railroad tracks to protect at all costs the knowledge they have gained from books.

As they talk of their plan to rewrite the books after the war is over, their passing on of stories and knowledge from person to person bears a striking resemblance to civilization before the idea the writing of records was taking place. They feel that although it is not the most fortunate situation, memorizing and passing on the books from person to person is worth it in the end if they are to keep culture from regressing with the loss of knowledge.

Their motivation shows just how clearly they understand the value of the knowledge contained in books. Granger tells Montage of their intentions, saying “All we want to do is keep the knowledge we think we will need intact and safe. We’re not out to incite or anger anyone yet, for if we are destroyed, the knowledge is dead, perhaps for good.”(152)

We believe that by doing this they are helping preserve the wisdom that humanity has gained over the course of time. The loss of hundreds years of writings would be one of the greatest tragedies of our time, because as Granger tells Montag, once the knowledge is lost, it cannot be recovered.