Category: Fahrenheit 451

Having just read Fahrenheit 451 in my Language and Literature class, there is quite a lot on my mind regarding the novel. There are many concepts and ideas that Bradbury mentions and references throughout the three different sections, such as the main message, which is to value the power of thought and knowledge. Bradbury also places quite a lot of importance on the fact that censorship limits freedom of speech and thought to a great extent. However, one of these ideas that stuck out was the idea of morals. Having morals is essential to find yourself as a person, and there are many different debatable morals that characters have in this novel that not all readers may agree with.

During Part One of Fahrenheit 451, “The Hearth and the Salamander,” Montag’s love of burning books is shown in the very first few sentences of the book on page 1 when Bradbury states “It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed.” Although Montag did not question his profession at the beginning of the novel, he would start to have second thoughts after he meets a girl named Clarisse, among other influences to his thoughts and morals. Montag does get angry with Clarisse at some points and questions her quite a lot because he is not used to people expressing their thoughts like this, whether they are negative or positive thoughts. One example of this is on page 21 when Clarisse states “That’s why I think it’s strange you’re a fireman, it just doesn’t seem right for you, somehow.” This agitates Montag, who then responds “You’d better run off to your appointment.” He has never had anybody question his profession, because firemen are largely respected in the city, and they have quite a lot of power.

Later in the novel, during Part Two, “The Sieve and the Sand,” Montag steals books from houses while he is burning them down, and reads them in his spare time. He picks up many ideas from literature, although is somewhat challenged because he has not read in quite a long time. He then remembers somebody that he ran into around a year ago in a city park. It was a man named Faber, who is a retired English professor that taught at a liberal arts college. Montag placed Faber on the investigation list but, surprisingly, did not turn him in. Montag calls Faber on a secondary phone, on page 71, asking him “How many copies of the bible are left in this country?” As would be expected, Faber got quite nervous, thinking that it was a trap. He hung up the phone after refusing to answer the question. Montag then decides to visit Faber’s house and brings with him one of the last remaining copies of the bible left in the United States. He is hoping that Faber can help him understand the messages and thoughts in books, and Faber tells him the three main things that are missing in society. One of the quotes from Faber in this instance that is very meaningful is when, on page 82, he tells Faber that “we do need a breather. We do need knowledge. And perhaps in a thousand years, we might pick cliffs to jump off. The books are to remind us what asses and fools we are.” I think this quote represents why Montag’s mindset and morals shift so quickly in the novel. He is a very curious person, and he needs a break from all of the censorship that is occurring in society. He needs real knowledge, and his morals shift from burning books to trying to preserve books.

Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel that reminded me of many other novels, but it connected well with another dystopian novel, which is A Wrinkle In Time By Madeleine L’Engle. This is because the protagonists in each novel are trying to save something worth preserving, and have to deal with unnecessary censorship in society as they try to achieve this goal. In A Wrinkle In Time, there are many references that L’Engle uses that remind me of what Ray Bradbury does, which is to reference society in the real world in the book, and expressing their fears of the future.

Something else that the book reminded me of was the protests that are currently occurring in Hong Kong, the place that I call home. Thinking about this connection links to an even larger debatable concept, which is breaking the law or societal norms to achieve a larger goal. In the protests, Hong Kong citizens are breaking laws to fight for their freedom and to achieve their five demands. In Fahrenheit 451, Montag, Faber, and others are breaking the to preserve history and freedom of speech and thought.

This concept can be applied to so many different events and people, such as Colin Kaepernick or even Rosa Parks. Breaking the law is always questionable, but is doing so to achieve what you believe is right okay? This all links to Fahrenheit 451, and Montag’s morals. Montag thought that books were not valuable at the start of the novel, but would do quite a lot to protect them near the end of the novel. Montag himself seems to believe that breaking the law is justified to preserve books, history, ideas, concepts, and morals.

Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian sci-fi novel written by American screenwriter and author, Ray Bradbury. It tells the story of Guy Montag, a ‘fireman’ who, brought up against books, slowly learns the issues with his society and the power of knowledge and literature. Although written in the 1950s and set in 2053, the novel continues to be relevant in today’s society due to the messages and ideas communicated throughout. Good morning, class. Today we will be going over the connections we can make between certain themes communicated in the novel over time and their relevancy to today’s world. First of all, let’s discuss the importance of context in a novel like this.

Context is defined as the environment, circumstances, and situations in which the text was written, set, and read in. It influences the message that the author aims to communicate in the novel. In this case, it was written in the 1950s, set in the 2050s and we are reading it in 2020. At the time of writing the novel, Bradbury had to take ideas relevant to his society and apply them to how he would imagine the world would be after developing for 100 years. In 2020, we see this process slowly occurring, where themes depicted in the novel such as the power of technology and the impact of censorship still remain relevant.

Ray Bradbury describes the idea of the negative, destructive power of technology throughout his novel. At the introduction of technology such as the television during his time, Bradbury expressed his fear of what it may become in the book. His concern was that books would no longer be required in our lives, that they would rather be seen as useless, or as he illustrates in Fahrenheit 451, dangerous. This is suggested on page 72 of the novel, when Beatty tells Montag that, ‘Classics cut to fifteen-minute radio shows, then cut again to fill a two-minute book column, winding up at last as a ten- or twelve-line dictionary resume.’ This not only describes cutting down on words and the length of texts over time, but also works as a metaphor for knowledge, and how society has gradually declined in intelligence and is no longer able to think for themselves.

The novel is also thought-provoking and confronting for us as readers. We can see this already beginning to occur in our contemporary age, with the introduction of hundreds of social media applications, constant upgrading and inventing of technologies, some that have increased in danger too, and a transfer from information being traditionally printed to finding everything with a browse online. For example, nuclear energy was created with the intention of using it as an electricity source. Instead, countries such as North Korea and the US have further developed this technology over time as a powerful weapon. In the novel, people have become desensitized to even the most dangerous of technologies. Fires lit by incredibly powerful technologies occur every day, but the people watch it as if it was a beautiful sight to see these inventions work. The people are told that no one dies in war so they would not worry but don’t mind if they had instead jumped off buildings or committed suicide. Helicopters and bombers fly sky high, but to the citizens, this is a part of daily life. On page 22, it reads, ‘the jet-bombs going over, going over, one two, one two, one two, six of them, nine of them, twelve of them, one and one and one and another and another and another, did all the screaming for him.’ The use of repetition in this quote accentuates the number of jet bombs above and the incredible noise and disruption created. But still, no neighbors emerge from their houses in shock. Bradbury wrote this book as a warning to us of the possibilities of technology. This makes us question whether the unnerving depiction described in the novel is truly fiction after all.

Another main idea presented in the novel is that of the unjustifiable reasons behind the occurrence of censorship. Knowledge can be seen as more powerful than physical strength. The more knowledge someone gains, the more powerful they become. (Beatty tell this to Montag on the page) Bradbury was influenced to write about this in his novel after the WWII Nazi Book Burning in the 40s, where the German government would burn anything that could potentially stray a citizen’s mind away from the goal of purely German society, as well as the rise of McCarthyism in the 50s, where false judgments were made without evidence. He illustrates a society where the government will go to any extent to maintain peace and equality among citizens, and where they fear knowledge growing in the people. The greatest fear of the society in Fahrenheit 451 is for the people to believe that life isn’t perfect and that they are not really living in a utopia, but in a world where so much is hidden from them. They also fear individuality and freedom of thought. In order to control this, their supposed only option is to destroy anything that could alter a person’s thinking or make them think about anything they shouldn’t be thinking about, which in this case is anything that could disrupt peace or make one man more intelligent than another – books.

Since the 50s, censorship hasn’t ceased. We still see this recurring idea of the fear of knowledge rising throughout modern history, and it is unlikely that it will stop anytime in the near future, just as it continues in Bradbury’s novel. An example of this is the Tiananmen Square Massacre, where student-led protests and riots were held against the censorship and communist ways of the Chinese Government. This video from The Guardian depicts the famous Tank-Man, a man who stood in defiance of the government and had the power to stop tanks so much larger than him. And why was this hidden by the government after the massacre? Because they didn’t want citizens to believe they had any power or knowledge above the government. To them, there was nothing above their rule, which is clearly depicted in Fahrenheit 451. Anything against the government’s plans is destroyed, including a human life such as Clarisse. They didn’t agree with her curiosity and had the ability to murder her and plant it as an accident, and so they did.

Even though the novel, Fahrenheit 451 was written over 60 years ago, this story can still be used to warn our society about how bad our society can potentially become. One way is by letting technology distract us from being curious and from seeking more knowledge. According to the novel on page 16 Mildred, “was an expert at lip reading from ten years of apprenticeship at Seashell ear-thimbles.” This quote discusses how Mildred is used to getting on her technology and not do any other activity. Also in the book, Mildred shows that she is not willing to read books with Montag to gain knowledge. The actions of Mildred show that people in a society can get so focused on their technology that they become too busy to take time and learn something new.

The novel also convinces us that focusing on technology can also make us humans become distant from each other and eventually not communicate with one another. For instance, on page 39 Midred’s, “Seashell was tamped in her ear again and she was listening to far people in far places.” Throughout the book, Mildred is mainly listening to what is being said through her Seashells or watching her family on the T.V. This implies that Mildred doesn’t take the time to talk and interact with others in her society. Over the course of the book, Mildred rarely talks to Montag. And when she does, she frequently converses with Montag about paying for another wall-T.V. to be installed in their house or to talk about her family on the T.V. This warns our society concentrating on our technology can make us not communicate our feelings to even the people closest to us.

Additionally, the book suggests that relying on technology for everything can make us not use or sense of imagination in order to think critically. On page 6 it says that, “You laugh when I haven’t been funny and you answer right off. You never stop to think what I’ve asked you.” It is important to state that Montag answered Clarisse’s questions based off what he has been told. Montag never stops and fully thinks about the questions that Clarisse was asking. Further into the story, Montag starts to think about the authors that wrote the books that he has burned. These events from the novel can make people realize that doing everything through technology can make us not think deeply about certain things like how we do today.

Fahrenheit 451 can also make us realize that we will have no quiet time and time where we can do what makes us truly happy. For example, page 6 states, “Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner, burn’em to ashes, then burn the ashes. “This quote tells you that Montag doesn’t do anything else other than burn books. Furthermore, the novel explains how Mildred did no other activities throughout the day other than watch T.V. and listen to her Seashells. This shows that Mildred prefers technology over anything else. The daily routines of Montag and Mildred convey that people who prioritize technology and their “obligations” won’t find any time to dedicate to themselves.

Based off the novel, people that distract themselves through technology won’t be able to change their society for the better. According to page 145 it says, “We read the books and burnt them afraid they’d be found.” This quotation talks about the old men that Montag meets in the forest who memorize books. The novel also tells that the old men memorize books in order to gain knowledge. The knowledge that Montag and these old men have can be used to build a new society and make it better than what it was before. By the knowledge that Montag and the old men get from books, the author warns readers that focusing on technology can distract people in making their society a better place.

Ray Bradbury once said, “There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them”. This relates to his novel Fahrenheit 451 because people in the society portrayed in the novel do not read books causing the society great unpleasantness and misery. No other style of fiction encompasses the qualities of dystopian literature better than Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451. A strong oppressor, citizens living in fear and paranoia, and the dehumanization of technological advances clearly help depict the novel as a piece of dystopian literature. By analyzing the characteristics of Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 readers will gain knowledge of what may come if humankind does not proceed with caution and learn the terrors of society. In analyzing this novel as a dystopian work, students become more aware of their own personal views on reading as well as knowledge; it will leave them reflecting on how all types of literature contribute to society. Dystopian literature often portrays the characteristic of the oppressor having dominance over the rebel.

Oppressed by their superiors, the ordinary people in the novel become unaware of their subjugation. Captain Beatty, the oppressor, illustrates oppression over Montag, the rebel, when the firemen have gathered together at the fire station, playing a game of cards. He also displays the characteristic of oppression over Montag by visiting his residence and checking up on him when he was sick even though Montag had not called in sick yet and when Montag comes into work the next time. Captain Beatty and Montag clearly demonstrate this characteristic of dystopian literature when Captain Beatty states, “Well.” said Beatty, “Now you did it. Old Montag wanted to fly near the sun and now that he’s burnt his damn wings, he wonders why. Didn’t I hint enough when I sent the Hound around your place?” (107). This quote shows that Fahrenheit 451 classifies as a dystopian novel because it exhibits the characteristic of the oppressor being stronger than the rebel, a characteristic typically exhibited in dystopian novels. Captain Beatty exhibits unjust treatment towards Montag by sending the Mechanical Hound after him.

Captain Beatty also exhibits control over Montag when he visits Montag’s home and gives him a huge convoluted speech about books, the burning of books, and the need for firemen. This entire sequence shows that Beatty exerts control over Montag because he gives a lecture to Montag instead of an equal conversation between two intellectuals. Beatty’s lecture jumps around and much of it causes confusion to deliberately confuse Montag or he cannot connect it together coherently. When Montag shows up for work the next time, Beatty greets him, “Well,” he said to the men playing cards, “here comes a very strange beast which in all tongues is called a fool.” (101). After Beatty states this, he begins to string together a bunch of contradicting quotes from literature to further confuse Montag. This shows Captain Beatty manipulating and exerting control over Montag by using insults and confusion. Captain Beatty abuses his power causing him to inflict fear on Montag and that fear then translates to other people in the society.

Fear has a great impact on Fahrenheit 451. The characteristic of citizens living in fear and paranoia has been used effectively throughout the novel to help classify the novel as a dystopian piece of literature. Montag is often very fearful of his situation and the people around him, such as Captain Beatty. His boos as well, the mechanical hound and the constant fear of being caught all equate to the characteristic of citizens living in fear and paranoia. An example of this characteristic has been shown when Montag arrives at work. Ray Bradbury writes, “In Beatty’s sight, Montag felt the guilt of his hands. His fingers were like ferret’s that had done some evil and now never rested, always stirred and picked and hid in pockets, moving from Beatty’s alcohol flamed state. Montag felt his hands might wither, turn over on their sides and never be shocked to life again, they would be buried the rest of his life in his coat sleeves, forgotten. For these were hands that acted on their own” (101). This quote shows that fear runs rampant throughout the novel. The people of this world fear knowledge, each other, and the idea of intellectual though. Any kind of knowledge that the government deems unfit gets burned. For example, if one person knows one thing another should not know, they get killed. That fear constitutes throughout the entire novel and makes a statement about the people in it.

Montag also exhibits the characteristic of citizens living in fear and paranoia when the mechanical pursues or threatens him. People in this society, described in Fahrenheit 451, fear the mechanical hound because it has the ability to target a person and kill them. Montag demonstrates this characteristic with the mechanical hound; Ray Bradbury states, “Montag touched the muzzle. The Hound growled. Montag jumped back… He stepped off in the half-lit deck of the upper level. He was trembling and his face was green-white” (23). Montag demonstrates the characteristics of people leaving in fear and paranoia because the mechanical hound inflicts fear in people. It inflicts fear into Montag because it can kill him or alert the other firefighters about his strange behavior and illegal activity. Though people leave in fear and paranoia, technological advances have dehumanized people throughout the society portrayed in the novel.

Technology dominates the futuristic society in Fahrenheit 451. The role of entertainment technology, specifically society’s obsession with televisions show dehumanization through technological advances. Montag’s wife, Mildred, has dedicated an entire room in their home to wall-sized television screens. Ray Bradbury writes, “He states at the parlor that was dead and gray as the water of an ocean that might teem with life if they switched on the electronic sun. “Now,” said Mildred, “my ‘family’ is people. They tell me things; I laugh, they laugh! And the colors!” (69). This quote shows that TV’s work to dehumanize Mildred and the other people in the society who engage in such behaviors because the TV’s pull them out of reality and places them in a constructed fantasy world where they are physically and mentally surrounded by a manufactured life. Mildred says that the people on the TV are her ‘family’ when they are not, they are just made up characters displayed on a screen. Since Mildred has conjured up a fantasy life, she has cut off all connections to their own lives and interpersonal relationships because she shows no interest in Montag, even though they are married.

Another example that shows the use of technology dehumanizing society is medical technology, specifically the machines that were used on Mildred when she overdosed on sleeping pills. To illustrate, Ray Bradbury writes, “They had this machine. They had two machines, really. One of them slide down into your stomach like a black cobra down an echoing well looking for the old water and the told time gathered there” (12). The machines that the medical professionals used to cleanse her body completely dehumanizer her because the machine treats Mildred as if she was an object that needed to be cleaned out. The tubes suck the poison out of her stomach and another machine literally drains all of the blood out of her body and replaces it with fresh blood. The operators state “Got to clean ‘em out both ways” (12). This shows that Mildred has been reduced to something of a machine.

In conclusion, Ray Brady’s novel Fahrenheit 451 classifies as a dystopian novel. The novel fulfills the characteristics of the oppressor being stronger than the rebel when Captain Beatty shows up to Montag’s residence unannounced and when he intimidates Montag when they went to his house to burn it down. Fahrenheit 451 classifies as a dystopian novel when the Mechanical Hound inflicts fear into the people of the society and when Captain Beatty subtly interrogates Montag about his illegal activities, showing the citizens live in fear and paranoia. Finally, Fahrenheit 451 classifies as a dystopian when the characteristic of dehumanization through technological advances is displayed when Mildred claims her family is the people shown on the wall-sized televisions and when the medical machines treat her as an object that needs to be cleaned out. The reader finally becomes more aware of their own personal views and they will leave having reflected on how all types of literature contribute to society.

The story ‘Fahrenheit 451′ is set at a time where the whole population is controlled by the government, and this society has a law that says books are treated as being illegal to have. The main character of the story, Guy Montag is a fireman in charge of burning any book that is found at the locations he is sent to. The novel is divided into three sections, the first “The Hearth and the Salamander,’ the second ‘The Sieve and the Sand’ and the third ‘Burning Bright.’ Each of these sections is a major turning point in the novel and helps to transform Montag’s view of things around him.

Now, the director of the movie, Ramin Bahrani wanted to make a modern version of the 50’s Fahrenheit 451 movie’s version of the future. For instance, they added to the movie modern technology like computers and hard drives instead of the big interactive screens in the novel. These big screens are similar to social media which makes the people of their world addicted to them. With this change, there could be more of an importance on parts where some characters interacted with physical books.

Another difference between the novel and the movie is that unlike in the novel, Montag isn’t married in the movie. In the novel, Montag is married to Mildred, who is introduced at the very beginning of the novel when she overdosed on sleeping pills. She was then found by Montag which then called an ambulance, who removed all the bad stuff from her system with a big tube and when the next day came she didn’t remember anything that occurred the previous night. Now the reason she was removed was that she wasn’t that important and the movie’s main mission was to get their point across the audience. As a result, the movie only keeps the old woman whom Montag met which was an important character in his transformation in the movie.

Next, in the novel and movie, there is a character called Clarisse, but she plays different roles in each. In the novel, she plays as Montag’s neighbor, who’s a teenager which knows a lot of information on how the world was before the big TVs and laws were made, thanks to her family. For the movie version, Clarisse plays a woman who is older than Montag with a lot of experience in how the world works. One important point is that she dies in a car accident in the novel while in the movie she lives at the end of the film.

Another person that was changed was Beatty, Montag’s captain in the fire department who was also his mentor. Beatty was a character that contradicts himself with his view on books. In both the novel and the movie he is shown to know a lot about books whenever he talks with Montag like famous quotes. However, there is a difference in how he is portrayed in each one. In the novel, Beatty is shown to have read books because in a conversation with Montag he recites sentences from a that he gave Montag to look at during one of their jobs that were in progress.

Now, in the movie Beatty is shown in a scene where he takes out a pen and paper, then starts to write things down that would only appear inside books. Beatty is someone who is shown to be strong, but that is only a mask he puts on to live in this society. This is depicted in the end were he and Montag face off. Beatty tries to manipulate Montag to kill him but doesn’t succeed.

Finally, we go on with describing Montag’s differences both in the novel and movie. The biggest change that happened was how the main characters’ fate was changed. In the novel, Montag kills Beatty because Beatty tells him he wants to die so he can end his suffering. The story continues in the novel after Montag kills Beatty. Now for the movie instead of Beatty dying, Montag commits suicide by walking into the burning flames which shows that Montag had the resolve to die by his hand unlike how Beatty acted in the novel.

Overall, there are a lot of major differences between the novel and the movie and this is something that happens with almost every book that is made into a movie. There are also other reasons why the directors of movies change some events. Like one reason is that they can’t add all of the information from the book into a two-hour movie if they did it would be very long. The point of movies is to convey the main point of the book in a shorter period. Even though some events were changed the movie expresses how the director prefers to portray the novel with his way of thinking that is special to him.

According to NASA, since 1967, scientists have intensively studied the Earth’s future state of habitability. From extensive analysis of the Sun comparted to other similar astrological bodies, the Earth has only three-hundred million years or fewer before becoming inhospitable for life to continue. Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Walker’s The Age of Miracles both present futuristic circumstances where society is on the brink of disappearing. In Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag lives in a society where books are heavily restricted, and people do not think independently or spend time by themselves. Montag works as a fireman who burns books for the Ministry, the government. His faith in his profession and the Ministry’s propagandic hatred for books declines and he turns against his society. Montag aligns with a group of roaming book-intellectuals who plan on rebuilding a new society. In The Age of Miracles, Julia struggles with coming of age while the world around her deteriorates. The whole world panics when scientists announced, “the slowing,” the Earth’s gradual rotational deceleration. At the start of “the slowing,” marital problems build between Julia’s secretive father and ignorant mother. As “the slowing” progressives, the Earth’s movement lessens, and the days elongate. Society is divided up between the majority “real-timers” and the outcast “clock-timers”. Julia loses all the people who were close to her; she reflects on the past and longs that her world will be remembered in the future. Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 proposes a more relevant and applicable progressively problematic scenario for our society than does Walker’s The Age of Miracles due to Bradbury’s more realistic depiction of the ominous interaction between societal repression and mindless amusements.

Although climate change and other environmental crises are prevalent in society today, Walker presents a physically impossible and oversimplified condition of the Earth. As it makes one rotation every twenty-four hours, the Earth spins approximately a thousand miles per hour. Julia remarks about “the slowing,” “We didn’t notice it right away. We couldn’t feel it,” that later sends her mother frantically preparing resources for the unknown future (Walker 3). This humanity faces severe environmental issues caused by increased daylight stretches. For an unexplained phenomenon to slow down the Earth’s rotation suddenly seems far-fetched and almost laughable for a scientifically savvy audience. Furthermore, the outcomes of “the slowing” are unexplainable and trivial to caution today’s society. As “the slowing” noticeably develops more, the change in the Earth’s rotation catastrophically affects gravity. Julia records the permanent affects caused by this. “After the slowing, every action required a little more force than it used to. The physics had changed.” (83). Physical actions now take more energy to complete and are notably more difficult. The laws of physics are defied, and science has become counterproductive. As a byproduct, humans physiologically experience more dizziness, pains, and symptoms of “gravity sickness.” Birds inexplicably fall from the sky. “The slowing” withered Earth’s magnetic field and humans are more exposed to the sun’s rays and extreme radiation. The output of “the slowing” remains frivolous and has no aspects or hints of realism. Today’s society will more likely be adversely exacerbated by repressive political structures than a malicious deus ex machina.

The Ministry’s censorship and suppression of somewhat reflects today’s broadcast of selective information. In Fahrenheit 451, Beatty backs the Ministry’s alienation of books by explaining to Montag the idea of pleasing everyone. “Colored people don’t like Little Black Sambo. Burn it. White people don’t feel good about Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Burn it. Someone’s written a book on tobacco and cancer of the lungs? The cigarette people are weeping? Burn the book.” (Bradbury 57) For a long period of time, Beatty remembers the conflicts and discord books initiated. He reasons everyone needs to be satisfied and that the reading contained inside of books cannot accomplish this. Likewise in today’s society, the widespread “political correctness” culture attempts to make everyone content. Like the restrictions of books, it hinders our development as a society by overprioritizing happiness and esteem.

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. If the government is inefficient, top-heavy, and tax-mad, better it be all those than that people worry over it. … Cram them full of noncombustible data, chock them so damned full of ‘facts’ they feel stuffed, but absolutely ‘brilliant’ with information. Then they’ll feel they’re thinking, they’ll get a sense of motion without moving. And they’ll be happy, because facts of that sort don’t change. (58)

Beatty ultimately explains the Ministry’s undisputed power stems from society’s ignorance. The Ministry obscure the people from seeing their failings by distracting them with meaningless facts. In turn, the people believe they are advocating for a better world when in truth, they are blindly thinking without any real motive. In the new Anti-Information Age, misinformation boarding on censorship has become a growing problem in the United States. Evidence by schools’ Banned Books lists, authorities may suppress publications and philosophies that they consider encourage uncivil behavior. The US government and the Ministry withhold specific information in order to exert dominant control over the populace. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury warns of the possible harm to intelligence and critical thinking by giving the government too much power over information.

With the new digital age and people pushing for technology advancement, Bradbury cautions of the harmful effects of the frequent practice of mindless activities. Every home contains exorbitant interactive televisions, which take up entire walls of a house known as “parlor walls.” Montag has three parlor walls installed with Mildred pestering him for a fourth. The parlor walls display shows with fast-moving colors, massive explosions, and a myriad of senseless babbles to keep the viewer engaged.

“Abruptly the room took off on a rocket flight into the clouds; it plunged into a lime-green sea where blue fish ate red and yellow fish. A minute later, three White Cartoon Clowns chopped off each other’s limbs to the accompaniment of immense incoming tides of laughter. Two minutes more and the room whipped out of town to the jet cars wildly circling an arena, bashing and backing up and bashing each other again. Montag saw a number of bodies fly in the air.” (90)

Upon returning home, Montag watches The White Clown Cartoon with Mildred and her friends. Mildred and her friends intensely engage with the clowns endlessly attacking each other while Montag watches in disgust and confusion. The White Clown serves as society’s cheap amusement and unsophisticated humor. The show airs episodes of clowns who do silly and violent things, such as chop off each other’s limbs. The clowns have nurtured society’s frivolous superficial attitude towards violence and normalized perpetual warfare. With an ongoing war and jet planes flying across the city repeatedly, the women discuss their family’s involvement as if it is a ordinary civic job. The husbands fight on the weekdays and return on the weekends, only to go back to the battlefield on Monday. Society views acts such as driving racecars unreasonably fast on local roads, burning houses, and killing people as entertainment. With today’s vast array of electronic devices, scientists and pediatricians worry about the negative effects technology and video games can cause for children. Countless studies have shown that too much screen time aggravate obesity, sleep problems, behavioral issues, and childhood retrogression. All of the negative stigmas around phones and electronics have forced some of the biggest technological companies, such as Apple, to introduce a screen time timer to its products. Ultimately, Bradbury illustrates the increasingly problematic technology overuse with Montag’s society’s enjoyment of mindless activities.

In both Fahrenheit 451 and The Age of Miracles, Bradbury and Walker both warn of the future nature of however, Fahrenheit 451 more realistically treats problems suited pertinent to political and cultural issues. The Age of Miracles presents a scientific dystopian world forced by an unexpected slowing of the Earth. This premiere can be better treated as a science fantasy book than an allegorical caution. Fahrenheit 451 introduces a futuristic American world where society becomes increasingly dysfunctional due to the restrictions put on books. The subsequent societal regression and mindless activities demonstrated in Fahrenheit 451 may closely pertain to issues prevalent in today’s society. Like any warning, its helpfulness and effect will only come from whether heeded or not.

Companies can play a repetitive tune that will easily get stuck in people’s heads. That is an example of how companies sell their products to people without them even realizing it. Then people are humming that tune in their head for the rest of the day, and then they have the urge to buy the product that people don’t even need. The media uses this method too. ​In the science-fiction novel ​Fahrenheit 451, ​Ray Bradbury explores the risk of uneducated and unaware people falling for media or advertising.

In ​Fahrenheit 451​, Ray Bradbury shows a dystopian future where the government controls its citizens by using media. The article “Heinrich Heine on the burning of books.”, by Austin Cline, tells about Nazi, Germany and burning people and books. The Nazis burned books that disagreed with what they were doing and that could potentially lead to a problem for them. This is what the government was doing in Ray Bradbury’s book ​Fahrenheit 451​. The government wanted to hide the things that would make people object to them. In this part of the book in this passage, there are two women talking to each other about their views on wars; they think wars are harmless and don’t affect anybody. In reality, they are unaware of how the world outside of where they live is in ruins and people are starving and suffering from this, “It’s always someone else’s husband dies they say.”

“I’ve heard that, too. I’ve never known any dead man killed in a war. Killed from jumping off buildings, yes, like Gloria’s husband last week, but from wars? No”​(Bradbury 91). Ray Bradbury wrote this to show how current media is not showing the full picture of both sides and sometimes they can hide information to a situation. The benefit of having opposing opinions and both sides to an argument is letting the citizens decide on their own what is right or wrong.

In this next part of the book Montag, who is trying to get answers to what is happening, goes to Faber for help seeking answers to what is going on. Faber says this to him, “…​but who has ever torn himself from the claw that encloses you when you drop a seed in a TV parlor? It grows you any shape it wishes! It becomes and is the truth”​(80). This scene is an example of how some people can be unaware that they are addicted to the media or TV. Sometimes media can take control of that ignorance and make you think what the media wants you to think. People should be thinking about the current situation and decide on their own what they think. The article “Heinrich Heine on the burning of books.”, by Austin Cline, tells about Nazi, Germany and burning people and books. The Nazis burned books that disagreed with what they were doing and that could potentially lead to a problem for them. This is what the government was doing in Ray Bradbury’s book ​Fahrenheit 451​. The government wanted to hide the things that would make people object to them.

In the article “Editorial:Compain against the press”, the article talks about how the media can use ignorance and uneducated people to support them. The article says while there are valid and unbiased sources there are also bad sources or ​“shameful press”​ explaining it as press that takes control of some people’s independent thinking: “​The problem that some have with the professional media is a result of lack of awareness or the cultivation of ignorance.”​ it says,​ “rote learning and brainwashing have the power to shape a widespread ‘unawareness’ that renders people incapable of thinking clearly​” (“Editorial: Campain against the press”).

Some press is taking control of people’s cluelessness of current situations or arguments and is only showing them the media’s side of the argument. This is so that people take their side of the argument without seeing the other sides. That makes it so some people can’t think for themselves, and then they don’t have their own opinion because they don’t know the whole situation. The benefits of having two sides to an argument or a topic are the ability to let people see the whole situation. Media needs to allow people to have their own opinions and think to themselves by showing all of the details of a situation in an unbiased way.

Some media is using uneducated people to fall for their opinions so that people are oblivious of the full situation when the media should be providing all of the information and both sides of an argument in an unbiased way. ​ ​Throughout the passages in ​Fahrenheit 451​, you could see how Ray Bradbury is relating to the media today and foreshadowing what could happen in the future. Not all media is biased media but people need to be conscious of their own decisions and that sometimes you might not be hearing the full story. So when people are watching the news they should be aware that it might be a biased source and that they need to make their own decisions on what they think is right or wrong.

Works Cited

1. Bradbury, Ray. ​Fahrenheit 451​. Simon & Shuster Paperbacks. 1951.
2. Cline, Austin. “Heinrich Heine on the burning of books.” Learn Religions, Apr. 17, 2019,learnreligions.com/heinich-hiene-on-burning-books-251009
3. ‘Editorial: Campaign against the press.’ ​Al-Ahram Weekly​, 10 May 2016. ​Gale In Context: Global Issues​, ​https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A452227613/GIC?u=gree98068&sid=GIC&xid=fb64fd2a​.Accessed 28 Oct. 2019.
4. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A452227613/GIC?u=gree98068&sid=GIC&xid=fb64fd2a
5. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A452227613/GIC?u=gree98068&sid=GIC&xid=fb64fd2a

In this novel Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury the book portrays the danger of technology, the danger of lack of education and the danger of ignorance. This book anticipates society future as it has already predicted events and circumstances domestically, politically, and globally in our world today.

In the beginning of this novel we are introduced to a character named Montag who is a firefighter in a futuristic society. In this society instead of putting out fires they start fires they burn any book that’s seen on sight. This is significant because it shows what kind of society this is the government keeps its citizens from reading books this indicates that they aren’t allowed to think, have their own perception of things, and discover more knowledge. Technology is their way of entertainment instead of books they have television and radio which is controlled by the government. This furthermore shows that the government what to have the influence on the people they want to be able to control what they see and learn therefore think for them. In this novel Montag encounters a seventeen-year-old girl Clarisse McClellan who happens to be his neighbor during this encounter we learn that Clarisse loves nature and thinks its stupid to burn books without even reading them. This is crucial for Montag because this affects his way of thinking in the beginning of the novel, he just enjoys his job and burning things, but this changed.

In the novel Clarisse represents free-will when she is first introduced, we learn she loves nature and doesn’t understand the concept of burning something without thinking or understanding it. Further into the novel Clarisse says she most see her psychiatrist because “they” want to know why she spends so much thinking and enjoying nature rather than watching tv and doing other mindless activities. This shows how Clarisse differs from her society and her danger to a society where you’re not taught to think freely. Society views her as a threat and think she needs help because you shouldn’t have your own thoughts. As Montag interaction with Clarisse grows, we learn she doesn’t go to school anymore because all they do is watch tv and never have real interaction. This is important because this is predicted in today’s society it’s signifying the danger of technology in our society and how there isn’t real interaction with kids in these schools within their own society because of technology. This connections to present day today because in high schools and colleges nothing is how it used to be their getting rid of books and textbooks and making everything digital putting everything online. In todays day they even provide you with the devices you need iPads, laptops, and teenagers can’t even listen in class because they are wearing wireless air pods. Not only is technology a distraction but also a threat because technology is becoming so advanced that the government is constantly tracking their citizens on apps such as Life360 and Find my Friends and privacy almost doesn’t exist. Just like in the society of Fahrenheit 451 the government controls everything we see and knows everything we search and if you start becoming a threat, they remove that threat.

In the novel the firefighters alarm goes off at the fire house as they rush to the scene and into the house Beatty demands the women to tell him where the books are even though he had already been informed where he can find them. During this time Montag is frustrated because he has never looked at books as anything but things while burning the books in the attic. As he’s burning the books one book falls open then he sneaks it in his jacket. This is important because since Clarisse disappearance it shows the impact she has had on Montag. The next day Montag is sick and tries to explain to his wife what has happen, but his wife doesn’t care because she’s so into her tv shows and when Montag tells her to turn it off, she says she can’t its her family. This shows her addicted to her tv she doesn’t know what to do without it and doesn’t even care what are husband has to say. This was predicted to todays day in the way students in college won’t even pay attention in class because they are on their phones. Todays day people are so addicted to their phones they can’t sleep without them, shower without them and even go a day without them. The author of this book predicted so many circumstances domestically, politically, and globally for example in North Korea.

In North Korea the people are completely controlled by the government which consist on very few leaders in the sense of technology it’s the opposite but with the same goals. The people don’t really have access too the internet because the government want to give the people a false belief and they are brainwash into thinking whatever the government tells them is true. In this sense no access to the outside world means they don’t know anything but what they are told this goes back to the danger of technology what they watch on tv is controlled by their government and what is in their history books is also controlled by their government. These Northern Koreans aren’t allowed to travel freely and have been taught false beliefs such as their country being the strongest, the people are forced into a life of torment, and don’t even have access to the freedoms the U.S. has. For a citizen to try and fee would be send to a prison camp similar in how a person reading books in Fahrenheit 451 would be considered a fugitive.

The American culture is known to function as “The land of the free”. A land where it is possible for adjustment when it seems needed by the people. In Fahrenheit 451 It seems that it is embedded in the heads of Americans, that the outcome of tasks citizens want to achieve are more attainable if stuck to the program, and adapt America’s cultural and social norms. Nevertheless, there is no room for an impactive change without conflict. Ray Bradburry in “Fahrenheit 451”, displays this compatibility of free speech creating an open door for a better lifestyle; with the main character, Guy Montag. Montag becomes committed to this illiterate and nieve lifestyle , basically expected from society. Through dreadful courses and an eye opening conversation with Clarisse (a neighborhood encounter), Montag reveals that he feels unsatisfied with the milk and water world around him. With the urgency in thought, it galvanized Montag into taking action to change for the better. Ray Bradbury illustrates that if people do not absorb their freedom of speech, a society is only doomed to deteriorate itself, and get taken advantage of by others.

The government in Fahrenheit 451 has spoonfed and brainwashed the civilians. A city of people who live with what they are told with no understanding of who, why, what or when. Metaphorically,the government basically puts foggy goggles on the people to filter what they see, ensuring minimal thought to the fibs they have installed in the civilians minds. The government knew this would also establish everyone to be unsympathetic to each other. This lack of attention entertains them, as the government creates an uneducated controlling system. “ If you don’t want a house built, hide the nails and wood. If you don’t want a man to be unhappy politically, don’t give him to sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none.”(Bradburry 89). Captain Beatty exploits to Montag as another reason why books belong in the fire. Government officials and firemen have been basically trained to use censorship to maintain the citizens. By annihilating any contact and or aspects on the topic, forcing people to only perceive information through the television. With no information to explain with, Beatty just plain out says “Not having to worry about two sides of the story will make people happier.” Though it should be noted that throughout the story it becomes obvious that the population is not particularly happy with this limited lifestyle, including no freedom of speech. With this guillibille society the government has completely trampled over them and has them right where they want them.

Despite Montags new unusual outburst of rebellion, he was not the one who truly engaged his behavior. Ray Bradburry uses Clarisse Mccallen to ignite Montag’s aspect.Clarisse, a neighborhood encounter to Montag, is a young 17 year old girl, with no filter or anything holding her back. She views the government as it truly is, a lying system. She engages conversation with Montag with a series of rapid fire questions, that truly display her true colors. While Montag retorts that she “thinks too much”, it is obvious that her thought process ignites something in Montag. “I’m antisocial they say. I don’t mix. It’s so strange. I am very social indeed. It all depends on what you mean by social, doesn’t it? Social to me means talking to you about things like this.”(Bradburry 18). It becomes evident that Clarisse is a pretty wise kid for her age of seventeen. Illustrating that she finds a strong need for things such as freedom of speech. She defines quite everything and finds definition to everything; as well as growing strong opinions and believes what she wants to believe. Her unorthodox lifestyle sets her apart from the screen-addicted world she breathes in. It becomes transparent that Clarrise understands this life she lives must change. She can not go on in a world where she can’t express the atrocious mold they must stick to. With an unexpected death from a car crash, and her brief appearance in the novel, her death is what truly spun Montag into self realization.iIntriguing him to investigate.

It may be considered that when freedom of speech is taken away, it will eliminate any other possibilities of doubt and/or question in a person. Which is reasonable, if one understands the consequences to extending thought, it will control the population into a maintained society. Some see this way of life beneficial. If only one person is allowed to control and take charge of important decisions, it allows people to dedicate more time to other things occurring in ones life. It is also mentionable that freedom of speech may cause false information to spread and occur among the people, can cause an uprising of violence among everyone, and may negatively impact the desire to compromise.

It may be considered that when freedom of speech is taken away, it will eliminate any other possibilities of doubt and/or question in a person. Which is reasonable, if one understands the consequences to extending thought, it will control the population into a maintained society. Some see this way of life beneficial. If only one person is allowed to control and take charge of important decisions, it allows people to dedicate more time to other things occurring in ones life. It is also mentionable that freedom of speech may cause false information to spread and occur among the people, can cause an uprising of violence among everyone, and may negatively impact the desire to compromise.

Though it should be considered prominent, if freedom of speech was eliminated and allowed the people more free time, isn’t it too obvious that the citizens may adopt that time to concentrate on why they can’t think freely, or basically disagree with what they are taught? Such as Montag in this book. Once allowed time to think about his surroundings, look how he spiraled. In addition, if one person is thinking it he or she can not be the only one, the groups of people who think alike may clearly express their ideas to opposing sides, and fall in agreement somewhere.

As expressed through this paper it is distinct that Ray Bradburry advocates that freedom of speech is neither a want, a privilege or a thought. It is a right and a need to stabilize the world. Though a very expensive right, this ability has saved the lives of many in multiple ways. Ray Bradburry campaigns freedom of speech for the sake of others that can’t.

Ray Bradbury uses a lot of futuristic things in the story but there is a possibility that he really did tell the future in his book. Fahrenheit 451 Ray BradBury Ray Bradbury told the future in his Fahrenheit 451. The wall-sized TVs, the green bullet, the censored doors, The suicid rate, communication, and how people avoid the unhappy things to be happy even though people are angry and sad and very unhappy.

One way Ray Bradbury is predictive of our time with the use of technology. His wall-sized TVs are reminiscent of our TVs today. The parlor walls captivate Mildred to the point that she asks Montag to complete her parlor with a fourth wall. Mildred states, “it’ll be even more fun when we can afford to have the fourth wall installed. How long you figure before we save up and get the fourth wall torn out and a fourth wall-TV put in?” (Bradbury 18). She says this because she is upset by the fact that, instead of four, there are only three wall televisions. She thinks it’s going to be more fun because that means she can interact with four people instead of three. Though, the catch here is that it costs too much to buy the fourth TV wall, by buying that wall it will take a quarter of Montag’s annual salary. Montag doesn’t seem satisfied. This ties into our society today because people also seem to want a TV as much as Mildred but they do not care about the price. His ̈green bullets ̈ are similar to our Bluetooth or airpods of today. ¨Faber tells Montag ‘My cowardice is of such a passion, complementing the revolutionary spirit that lives in its shadow, I was forced to design this.’He picked up a small green object no larger than a .22 bullet.’It looks like a seashell radio.’ ‘And something more! It listens! If you put it in your ear, Montag, I can sit comfortably home, warming my frightened bones, and hear and analyze the firemen’s world, find its weaknesses, without danger. I’m the queen bee, safe in the hive. You will be the drone, the traveling ear…’He will connect with Faber when Montag puts the green bullet in his ear, who listens at a safe distance on the other end. This goes with airpod form this generation because with airpods anyone can communicate from a distance with anyone. The censored doors with the handprint recognition which is similar to Alexa or cameras at the front door. When Montag goes to his house needs his hand to get in ‘He put his hand into the glove-hole of his front door and let it know his touch. The front door slid open.’ (Bradbury) A glove fitted to Montag’s own personal specifications opens the front door. It seems almost like a fingerprint, but it uses the whole hand which is like the security nowadays or how to unlock peoples phone with their fingerprint to not type in the password. Given these points with the use of his technology it ties in with the future like the handprints,airpods and also the TVs. Bradbury did a good job of telling the future in his book about technology.

Another way Bradbury is predictive of our time is his depiction of society. How similar the suicide rate in the book goes with the rate in real life. While Montag was with Mildred cleaning out her stomach the operators said ̈We get these cases nine or ten at night. Got so many, starting a few years ago, we had the special machines built. ̈ People are unhappy and they do not have the freedom to do what they want they also feel controlled and which is reminiscent of real-life because there are people who feel trapped like in the book. Not only but also the communication between people in the book and people in real like is similar. Montag told Faber ‘Nobody listens anymore. 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. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough, it’ll make sense. And I want you to teach me to understand what I read.’Montag believes that no one listens to him because they’re so caught up in the walls and what they are telling them. Most of the interaction in the book is about technology in the same way it ties in with the present because many people do not talk anymore they either text or post it all in social media. People in the book avoid their issues which is similar to real life. Montag is telling Mildred ‘I don’t know what it is. I’m so damned unhappy, I’m so mad, and I don’t know why I feel like I’m putting on weight. I feel fat. I feel like I’ve been saving up a lot of things, and don’t know what. I might even start reading books. […] Before I hurt someone. Did you hear Beatty? Did you listen to [Beatty]? He knows all the answers. He’s right. Happiness is important. Fun is everything. And yet I kept sitting there saying to myself, I’m not happy, I’m not happy.¨ (BradBury) In this case, they avoid all the unhappy things like funerals, book etc to make people happy because that’s their ̈goal ̈ in life just like in our generation we all want to be happy so that means we avoid the things that make us unhappy and do not go through the stages of grief. Generally Speaking, Bradbury was predictive of how their society went and how they wanted to be happy while they were very unhappy.

In the book Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury told the future. Furthermore in the book the wall-sized televisions, the gren bullet, the censored doors, the suicide rate, cummunication, and how people avoid being unhappy.There are many ways Bradbury told the future in his book with technology and how people talk to each other. While most would say that Ray Ray BradBury’s world is a fairly accurate prediction,, some would say that he missed the mark. The naysayers could point out that in AMerican society we still publish books and have the freedom to read whenever we want. Although this is true, technology has replaced the skill of book reading for more and more Americans. People will choose just about any technology to occupy themselves such as listening to music,streaming shows, scrolling through social media,playing video games, and surfing the web. In the book Captain Beatty revealed that it was people not the government or firemen, that first stopped their reading, and that is exactly what is happening in today’s society.