Fahrenheit 451 Uncanny Valley Analysis

A theory known as the uncanny valley blurs the lines between death and life, dipping into a sort of limbo in which one is never sure of what is in fact alive. Its focal point is on the familiarity of an object and how natural it seems in terms of human features and characteristics. This concept of the uncanny valley interconnects with several aspects of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. T hrough the lens of the uncanny valley, Clarisse’s character e xudes t he natural aspect of life while the Mechanical Hound deviates from viability entirely, portraying the disturbing facet of synthetic life.

The uncanny valley, coined by Masahiro Mori, displays the progression of human­like development in an object and how one reacts to it. For instance, a toy that starts off as pleasant due to human characteristics grows more and more eerie as it continues to gain

When Montag is running towards the river, he sees the Mechanical Hound on T.V. screens in homes as he passes and, “He could feel the Hound...like a wind that didn’t stir grass, that didn’t jar windows or disturb leaf shadows on the white sidewalks as it passed. The Hound did not touch the world” (137). Immediately, Montag notes the Hound’s abnormal detachment from its ambiance; it does not effect anything in this world from the leaves on the ground to the reflection and musings of humans. This disconnection is what places the Mechanical Hound at the bottom of the uncanny valley. It has a seemingly living demeanor but the fact that it lacks the temperament and depth that Clarisse harbors is what makes it so off­putting. It only exists for subservience. This slight difference is what drives the inevitable riftbetween Clarisse and the Hound, placing the machine right at the bottom of the uncanny valley with its artificial mien and raising Clarisse to the apex of the valley side with her natural