What if we lived in a world where free will remains controlled and curiosity appears taboo? A world where media manipulates everything one can see, hear, and think. A world without relationship, without feelings, and without emotional sustenance. Ray Bradbury introduces the dystopian reality of Fahrenheit 451, where firemen burn houses instead of saving them, destroying knowledge through burning books. This novel depicts a world where society values happiness and entertainment as more important than knowledge and emotional connection. Guy Montag, a fireman, realizes the importance of knowledge through his curiosity for reading books, and tries to convince others to do the same. He begins as apathetic as everyone else in his life, but sparks with curiosity as he wonders if life appears more than material possessions and immediate pleasures. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 explores the ideas of censorship of knowledge in an acquisitive society to demonstrate the dangers of how technological addiction hinders relationships, which seems entirely possible in our era of technological advancement.
Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 during the Cold War, a time of distrust and tension. During this time, paranoia spread throughout the United States due to the conflict between the American and Soviet leaders. The possibility of a war between the two global superpowers grew as information was suppressed by both governments. Artists and writers were targeted on suspicion of spreading Communist propaganda.
The government of Fahrenheit 451 hides information from their society, not unlike the media regarding politics today. The influence of the Cold War on the novel demonstrates as Beatty, the captain of the firemen, talks about his political beliefs, explaining,
“If you don’t want a man unhappy politically, don’t give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none. Let him forget there is such a thing as war” (58).
Beatty’s beliefs represent what the American government did during the Cold War: censoring information about the war from the media and the public. This suppression of information reflects in our society, showing in the removal and redaction of public opinion apparent in our media today. With all the news and media outlets on the internet, nobody can tell what seems real and what has been manipulated to seem real. Nobody knows who to believe, leading to corrupt politicians and extreme accusations, such as the recent Kavanaugh versus Doctor Ford. Censorship of information leads to distrust and false information, which shows in our media today.
Our society has recently shown a lack of relationship, due to our dependence and addiction to technology. Bradbury predicted and conveyed this in the disconnected relationship between Montag and Mildred. She complains to Montag, asking him to buy a fourth television wall for talking to her artificially created “relatives”, although the cost one-third of Montag’s yearly salary:
“How long you figure before we save up and get the fourth wall torn out and a fourth wall-TV put in?’ … ‘It’s only two thousand dollars,’ she replied. ‘And I should think you’d consider me sometimes” (18).
Her selfish desire here contrasts her attitude later in the book, revealing that neither her nor Montag can recall when they first met. In the middle of the night, Montag questions Mildred:
“Can’t you remember?’ ‘It’s been so long.’ ‘Only ten years, that’s all, only ten!’… She laughed an odd little laugh that went up and up. ‘Funny, how funny, to not remember where or when you met your husband or wife” (40).
Neither Montag nor Mildred have put in effort into their relationship to remember a sentimental moment. Mildred finds more value in her ‘relatives’ than in her own husband, as her addiction to technology far outweighs her desire for relationship. Montag notices this and notes the negative effects of his technological world with his predicted apathy in the possibility of Mildred’s death:
“For it would be the dying of an unknown, a street face, a newspaper image, and it was suddenly so very wrong that he has begun to cry, not at death but at the thought of not crying at death…”(41).
As husband and wife, Montag and Mildred should have a closeness greater than anything else. The idea that Montag would not care if Mildred died is a staggering thought and shows the apathy of their relationship. Although as a society, we seem guilty of Mildred’s actions. Technology eliminates time with our loved ones, leading to a lack of connection. Ray Bradbury illustrates the dangers of technology by showing the wanting and desire for satisfaction in material items, which shows in our world today.
Advancements in technology has created a desire for instantaneous pleasure, shown both in our society today and in that of Fahrenheit 451. Beatty explains the state of their society to Montag, noting,
“Life is immediate, the job counts, pleasure lies all about after work” (53).
Society had become dedicated to pleasure and entertainment. The people’s acquisitiveness had increased through technological advances, shown in how Mildred wanted the fourth television screen. People now craved instantaneous entertainment, in lieu of commitment or long term pleasure. The effect of this desire is shown in Beatty’s comment:
“The zipper displaces a button and a man lacks just that much time to think while dressing at dawn, a philosophical hour, and thus a melancholy hour” (53).
Beatty addresses the small attention spans of society, noting that a man prefers zippers rather than buttons. Both of these require very minimal effort, but society has become so mentally inept that a man would prefer one over the other due to its ease of access. Society had become lazy due to the way they value practicality, not unlike our world today. We create new inventions to replace things we don’t need to replace and waste money on things we don’t need. In the end, everything we buy is material and leads us wanting more and buying more.
We all know that person who constantly uses their phone. The one that always seems disconnected from the conversation, off in their own digital reality. Technology seems increasingly appealing in our reality, especially because of all the new devices and gadgets. This fictional reality remains a possibility for the future of our society, especially in our era of great ideas and technological advancement. The addiction to technology grows in our society, shown in the youth of today, who appear seemingly always on their phones. As a result, we can easily be misinformed due to the mass amounts of dishonesty on the internet. Being born into a world of technology creates a laziness that disregards relationships for entertainment. By valuing instant gratification, we fail to experience a huge part of life. We lose the experience of having relationships. The feeling of loving, laughing, and crying with others is something one cannot obtain with another television or the newest video game. This novel shows how we might fall into an empty, emotionless society if we start focusing more on material subsistence over emotional subsistence. If we lived in a world like the one in Fahrenheit 451, valuing entertainment over emotion, we would lose a part of what it feels like to be human. In a broken world full of bigotry and discrimination, we could use some emotion and empathy.
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