Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, is written in 1953 and is set in Bradbury’s take on a cold, dystopian future. Many war related events like bombs and destruction can be found throughout the novel as World War II had just ended. The aftermath of the war in 1945 inspired Ray Bradbury to write Fahrenheit 451 and about how pursuing happiness can lead to many disadvantageous effects. The adverse effects of society’s pursuit of happiness is the central theme in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. The theme is conveyed in three ways, technology and its impact on the protagonist’s wife, the way the education system includes violence and lack of human interaction, and the society’s shallow thoughts and actions due to censorship in texts.
In Fahrenheit 451, Mildred’s addiction to technology can be seen as an adverse effect of society’s pursuit of happiness. Montag, who is a fireman, goes home to his wife, Mildred, who is addicted to watching tv and using technology, and asks her a shocking question with her response in the line
“When did we meet? And where?”
“When did we meet for what?” she asked.”
“I mean– originally.”
“Why, it was at–” she stopped.
“I don’t know,” she said.” (Bradbury, 40).
The surprising discovery of them not knowing where they met each other shows how Mildred is pursuing happiness too much by being addicted to new technologies because she thinks that is what will make her happy. Furthermore, Montag goes to see a professor named Faber, who used to teach at a liberal arts college until it shut down due to lack of students and patronage, in hopes that Faber would teach him more about books. He also rants to Faber about Mildred ““Nobody listens to me any more. I can’t talk to the walls because they’re yelling at me. I can’t talk to my wife; she listens to the walls.”” (Bradbury, 78) This demonstrates that Mildred is consumed by the walls, because she thinks that the walls are her family and that only her family can make her happy. She won’t listen to even her own husband which then proves the disadvantageous effects of society’s pursuit of happiness. Additionally, Mildred exposes Montag for Montag owning books and sets the fire alarm, Mildred then goes on to leave Montag and says
“Poor family, poor family, oh everything gone, everything, everything gone now.” (Bradbury, 108)
Mildred is leaving her husband but she is only concerned about her ‘family’ in the walls because she thinks her ‘family can only make her happy which is an example of an adverse effect of society’s pursuit of happiness.
In addition, the adverse effects of society’s pursuit of happiness is also shown through the education system which lacks human interaction and encourages violence. Clarisse, a girl Montag meets on the street, tells Montag about her school and how students beat each other up in the line ““But everyone I know is either shouting or dancing around like wild or beating up one another. Do you notice how people hurt each other nowadays?”” (Bradbury, 27). This demonstrates how violence is very much supported in her school and how often it can be seen in their current society because letting students beat up one another will allow them to be ‘happy’. However, the system does not realize that violence is actually an inimical effect of society’s pursuit of happiness. Furthermore, Clarisse then goes on to say ““I’m afraid of children my own age. They kill each other. Did it always use to be that way?”” (Bradbury, 27). Clarisse is only seventeen years old but describes the students in her school as if they were part of a gang since she states that they kill one another. This proves that the education system thinks that happiness is all that matters and the students are willing kill each other and go that far just to become happy. Additionally, Clarisse gives Montag a whole speech about her school and how the students rarely interact with each other in the line ““But I don’t think it’s social to get a bunch of people together and then not let them talk, do you?”” (Bradbury, 27). It is revealed that the education system does not encourage human interaction because they are afraid that the students will start to have original thoughts and ideas. The schools think that by having the students not communicate with one another, the students won’t have any opposing ideas which will then lead to happiness. However the system does not realize that students not interacting with each other is actually miserable. This point is also shown through another line in Clarisse’s speech “We never ask questions, or at least most don’t; they just run the answers at you,”” (Bradbury, 27). Teachers in Clarisse’s school seem to forbid the freedom of expression and any sort of critical thinking in the students so that the students won’t have any genuine thoughts of their own. The system is so mainly focused on everyone being happy until the point where they won’t accept any new ideas, which is an adverse effect of society’s pursuit of happiness.
Finally, the society’s insubstantial thoughts and actions due to the extreme level of censorship can be observed as an adverse effect of society’s pursuit of happiness. Beatty, the person in charge of the firemen, goes over to Montag’s house and gives him a long speech to explain why firemen started to burn books. He goes to explain about censorship in the line ““Hamlet was a one-page digest in a book that claimed: now at last you can read all the classics; keep up with your neighbours.”” (Bradbury, 52). Hamlet is Shakespeare’s longest play at four thousand lines. The fact that it was shortened down to only one page so that the readers could ‘keep up with their neighbours’ demonstrates how the society thinks the shortening of information would only provide the citizens with happiness. Beatty goes on to say ‘“Do you see? Out of the nursery into the college and back to the nursery; there’s your intellectual pattern for the past five centuries or more.”” (Bradbury, 52). Beatty explains how you only need a nursery level of intelligence to read classics so that you can go on with your life and do things that makes you happy. Beatty doesn’t realize that even though censorship will allow one to be happy, it will also make one unable to critically think. Similarly, Beatty says ““Politics? One column, two sentences, a headline! Then, in mid-air, all vanishes! Whirl man’s mind around about so fast under the pumping hands of publishers, exploiters, broadcasters that the centrifuge flings off all unnecessary, time-wasting thought!”” (Bradbury, 52). It is clear that Beatty thinks having expressive thoughts are ‘time-wasting’ so by shortening down all forms of texts, life would be easier for for the society because people wouldn’t have to think for themselves. However, shortening useful pieces of information is also dumbing down the society which leads them to having shallow thoughts with ideas of no-depth. Censorship doesn’t truly create happiness within the society but instead, the illusion of it.
In conclusion, the theme of Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, is the society’s pursuit of happiness and its everlasting inauspicious effects. The theme is demonstrated in the story in three main ways, by technology and its negative effect on Mildred as she values her parlour walls more than her own husband, how schools in this novel discourage the freedom of expression but instead, encourage violence as students beat up each other and don’t answer questions, and lastly, the theme is shown through censorship in texts which leads to the society’s shallow thoughts because censoring ideas lead to the lack of critical thinking. Fahrenheit 451 is a novel that should be looked at as a warning to our modern society. Mildred should be seen as what the average person in the current world could potentially become if they continue to value technology over human interaction.
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