Fahrenheit 451 takes place in a dystopia where the use of technology has completely displaced the use of books and all things traditional. A group of government employed citizens, known as the Firemen, are tasked with burning the banned books, and keeping their ideas from being known to the public. As a result, everywhere there’s a human being, some form of technology is seen as well, whether it be advanced auto-mobiles, headphones, or television screens the size of an entire wall. Most people’s lives revolve entirely around technology, something Bradbury openly criticizes. Because of this, most people have become ignorant and bland, with each person no different than the last. This allows the author to show his evaluation of the importance …show more content…
All throughout the story those who use different forms of technology appear ignorant, and almost inhuman. In the story, the protagonist Guy Montag discovers his wife unconscious next to an empty bottle of pills. After he calls the emergency hospital for help, to be met with two mere operators in this state of emergency stunned him. As they use the machines to prevent any harm to his wife, they stand there, carelessly, smoking cigarettes. “They stood with the cigarette smoke curling around their noses and into their eyes without making them blink or squint. ‘That’s fifty bucks.”’ (Page 13) Shockingly, the two men show no concern, and make no attempt to console Montag, despite his obvious discomfort. Even as they stand over a woman being brought back from the brinks of death, they don’t even wince. The once meaningful tasks such as these have now …show more content…
They strive for a society where everyone’s content, and there’s absolutely no unhappy minorities disrupting people’s lives. Consequently, the government inadvertently created an environment where intelligence and individualism is no longer valued, only happiness. Ray Bradbury uses the seemingly ignorant society to shine a light on the legitimate importance of leading a unique life. An exact reflection of this claim would be Clarisse, a seventeen year-old whom Montag crosses paths with. Accordingly, Bradbury uses descriptive imagery in order to depict Clarisse’s elegant person. As Montag initially meets Clarisse, every sentence with her as the subject is illustrated in a positive manner, demonstrating how her unique, refreshing personality is a result of her intelligence and individualistic nature. Moreover, Montag’s encounter with Clarisse reshapes his entire thought process, implying a correlation between intelligence and emotion. After Clarisse returns home, there is a distinct change in Montag’s mindset that is brought to the reader’s attention through a change in syntax. Montag begins to wonder, “‘Of course I’m happy. What does she think? I’m not?” (Page 8) At first glance, these thoughts don’t appear as though they matter, but as the plot advances it’s discovered that for an average member of this
Other than Clarisse, he had never met anyone who talked about non-materialistic things. As Clarisse said, “They name a lot of cars or clothes or swimming-pools mostly and say how swell! But they all say the same things and nobody says anything different from anyone else.” After meeting Clarisse and hearing her wise words, her cavalier feelings towards the government made Montag realize his true thoughts about his job and his “happiness mask” had been taken away after realizing this.
They start to walk together to his house, and before she leaves, she asks “are you happy?” (Bradbury 7) and leaves. This causes Montag to think deeply until he finally concludes that “he [has] wore his happiness like a mask” (Bradbury 9) for all his years. Clarisse's questioning nature challenges Montag's beliefs and opens his eyes to the flaws in himself and society. It causes Montag to realize that society, including himself, is incomplete, and has put on a fake facade that everything was fine.
Although the advancement of technology can lead to a greater efficiency, it can also lead people to rely on these technological advances too much that can cause them to become “brainless”. Technology plays a very important aspect in the world of Fahrenheit 451. People in their society has little or no interactions with others, and can barely have a thoughtful conversation. This is seen when Mildred tells Montag, “I went to to Helen’s last night”(Bradbury 50). Montag then asks her , “Couldn’t you get the shows in your own parlor?”
Montag originally embraces the routine of his dull life, until Clarisse and Faber open up his mind about the possibilities in the future. To break away from his deteriorating society to live a life worth living, Montag escapes the city to the peaceful country. Montag realizes that his departure was necessary, since his society “‘tells you what to think and blasts it in’” without allowing individuals to control their own thoughts (Bradbury 84). Montag transitions from his monotonous life in the city to one where he can freely live and express his thoughts. By using Montag’s experience with life and death in his society, Bradbury warn others not to fall victim to the mindlessness of the future.
Clarisse helped Montag realize there was so much knowledge in the world that he did consider. Montag sees the
Montag is confused. He tried talking to Captain Beatty while having Faber listening and talking into his ear. He didn’t know who to believe. “Montag’s head whirled sickeningly. He felt beaten unmercifully…”(103).
The doctors no longer operate on those who attempt suicide. They built a machine that can do everything quickly and efficiently. Montag was not initially aware of this, so when strange men arrive in workers uniforms he becomes upset. However, when the men begin to talk about how suicide attempts occur nine to ten times a night (13), he begins to understand why the machine is necessary. Instead of them trying to make everyone happier, they decide to temporarily fix the issue by building a machine that makes it impossible for them to kill themselves.
Fahrenheit 451 Theme Essay Imagine living in a world where reading books is a sin, a crime. If you had a book, you would be burned right with it. Fahrenheit 451 , written by Ray Bradbury, told us a story about a world where books actually were a crime. Not just another world but our own Earth in the future.
(Bradbury, P. 9) Clarisse’s family is different than the normal family; they talk to each other, and let Clarisse be herself. Therefore, Clarisse never lost her childhood ideals. She is still free the think for herself, be kind, and be curious. When Montag meets Clarisse, the two clash in an interesting way.
When Bradbury employs symbolism, certain characters convey hidden meanings which help to further clarify the important themes in the story. As Montag is walking home from work one night, he runs into a young woman, Clarisse. Montag quickly discovers that Clarisse is not the average citizen and that she does not fall into the stereotype created by the censored community. Clarisse is a stark contrast to Montag who does his
The author states, “He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back” (Bradbury, 9). The quote transfers readers into the mind of Montag, and if he is going to take action to fix his happiness. He realizes that talking to Clarisse sparked a little bit of joy in his heart that he had not felt for years. After Clarisse departed, Montag is left with the notion that he is not happy and may need to change his life for the better before it is too late. The peculiarity of Clarisse’s mind changes Montag’s awareness of the world as well as the way he receives happiness in his own
Faced with the realization that he carries a false image of happiness, Montag falls into a confused state of mind. Suddenly, his understanding of a basic necessity of human life is blown
From one of his first experiences with Clarisse, Montag feels something that he realizes he never felt before in his daily life. He ponders to himself, "How rarely did other people's faces take of you and throw back to your own expression, your own innermost trembling thought?" (Bradbury 8). What Montag is pondering about is how she behaved so attentive and natural towards
From one of his first experiences with Clarisse, Montag feels something that he realizes he never felt before in his daily life. He ponders to himself, "How rarely did other people's faces take of you and throw back to your own expression, your own innermost trembling thought?" (Bradbury 8). What Montag is pondering about is how she behaved so attentive and natural towards him when they interacted, which was in fact, genuine social behavior.
Clarisse sparked new ideas in Montag’s head because of her uncommon thoughts that made her unique. At the beginning, he believed that nothing was wrong with his job because it is a normal occupation in his society. His reoccurring thoughts were, “Of course I am happy. What does she think I’m not?”