Forgetting Rekindles

In Bradbury’s Pages, Memory Endures

22 August 2025 marked what would have been Ray Bradbury's 105th birthday. He was a giant in the worlds of science fiction and literature. This year, I wanted to commemorate the author who inspired my passion for reading and writing. On this occasion, I would like to touch upon an experience we all frequently encounter: forgetting. Bradbury powerfully conveyed that books and stories mirror the human soul and that burning or forgetting them can destroy a civilisation's soul. However, there is a reality we all face in daily life: the words of the books we read and the scenes of the films we watch can fade from our memory.

Most of us find it frustrating when things slip our minds. We can't remember that name when we need it most. We are surprised and even saddened by this. Yet this situation also contains a blessing. Thankfully, it is this fading that leaves painful memories in the past.

In this article, I want to focus not on life in general, but on the works we consume. I am talking about being unable to remember the name of the main character in a TV series we enjoyed watching, and feeling disappointed about it. Or perhaps I am talking about the names or striking words in a novel we have read several times that we thought we would never forget, but which have flown out of our minds.

I understand why people get frustrated when they can't remember the titles of books or the names of their favourite authors. I am stunned when I can't remember the author of a novel that I am holding. Sometimes, I test myself: I close the cover and try to recall the author's name. But sometimes I get so stuck that it feels as though the simplest word has been erased from my mind when learning a new language. It's a mixture of confusion, frustration and sadness.

Some character names are like a puzzle, aren't they? I struggle to remember Russian or Korean names, for example, and I imagine this situation is familiar to you, too. So, I try to remember them through associations. For instance, I code the name 'Youngju' as 'Yonca'. Of course, it doesn't always work. Nevertheless, I prefer to use people's names rather than referring to them as 'the girl at the café' or 'the boy who goes to school'. In such moments, I try to recall names using amusing associations. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Photo by Freddy Kearney on Unsplash

I often hear my friends complaining about this, too. Sometimes it gets so bad that we forget the whole book! I'm sure you've experienced this situation, too. When I was younger, I used to cry about it because I felt inadequate and stupid. None of the world classics I read at primary school ever stuck in my memory. I thought reading was all about finishing a book: "You read it; you finish it. Even if you don't remember it, you've experienced it, and that's that."

In my opinion, Bradbury’s most striking warning about memory is hidden in Fahrenheit 451. That's why Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451, and its protagonist, Guy Montag, will never be erased from my mind. I have read this work many times at different points in my life, thought about it a lot, discussed it with friends and encountered it frequently due to its popularity. It has found a permanent place in my mind. I suppose the secret to remembering things lies in repetition, just as with learning a new language.

In this dystopian era, firefighters work in a system designed to destroy books and the ideas they contain. New, thought-provoking works that encourage individual reflection and creativity are incompatible with this system because they represent a loss of control. Therefore, written works are seen as threats and destroyed. Guy Montag is one of these firefighters.

However, as you know, life is full of twists and turns; Montag finds himself in the very situation he feared; he becomes captivated by certain people and their ideas.

Montag doesn't want to lose anything: the pain of the books he burned, the traces of lost words and the smiles of people he has lost. Yet sometimes he feels that forgetting would be good for him. He wants to leave his old identity behind and open the pages of a new life. He is searching for a way out of this sad and painful dilemma.

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Sometimes, forgetting enables us to start again. Although the thought of losing beautiful memories may initially be saddening, doesn't losing them make room for new experiences and thereby enrich life? A fading memory of a novel can awaken our curiosity to revisit it, allowing us to reflect on it and recall the passages we highlighted. We can even compare it with other works. It's a wonderful opportunity to notice the traces it has left behind! This allows us to rediscover works at different times and experience them through different emotions, ways of thinking, and perspectives. In my opinion, this is a great joy. It is a gift that should be appreciated. This means that a work evolves alongside us.

I believe Bradbury has achieved this in most of his works. I see him as a literary bridge between forgetting and remembering. Do you remember the ending of Fahrenheit 451? If not, you can interpret it however you like. Nevertheless, let me help you.

Forgetting occurs when our minds eliminate unnecessary details to make room for new information. We know that this process also enables us to remember things. So, rather than lamenting what we have forgotten, we should take pleasure in reviving those memories. Just like Montag and the people he meets.

He escapes in order to change his destiny, and finds himself among a unique group of people with a special purpose. They give his life a whole new meaning, making him realise that he wants to forget the life he left behind. Works that were once consigned to the flames echo in these people's minds. Thoughts that were believed to have been burned and inks that were believed to have dried are transformed into words once more. None of them have forgotten these works, and they constantly remind each other of them.

“Books were only one type of receptacle where we stored a lot of things we were afraid we might forget.”