Fahrenheit 451: The Reality Of Growing Technology In Society

Emma Ettinger
Professor Marafino
Humanities 200
March 18, 2023
The Reality of Growing Technology in Society As it takes place at an unreported time in the prospective future, the novel Fahrenheit 451 is a broad representation of our future. Ray Bradbury uses technology as a warning to readers. Technology is an encouragement for people to sit down in front of a television, indulge in social media, and tune out the real world. This in turn causes society to miss out on interactions with others along with becoming isolated. Focusing on Mildred we can see how society in the novel becomes increasingly selfish, disconnected, empty, and pleasure-seeking due to the futuristic technology being developed. . Mildred tends to bury her feelings deep

They are tiny radio devices that constantly broadcast information. Bradbury explains that these Seashells are used by almost everyone in Montag's world. Mildred often tends to use these Seashells to tune out the world and listen to “an electronic ocean of sound” (19), like one in the modern world would by listening to music through earbuds. As another way of escaping the real world and rather than being alone with her thoughts Mildred washes them all out with her Seashells. Bradbury shows this emptiness and disconnection Mildred creates with reality by honing in on her relationship with Montag, “Mildred watched the toast delivered to her plate. She had both ears plugged with electronic bees that were humming the hour away. She looked up suddenly, saw him and nodded. ‘You all right?’ he asked. She was an expert at lip reading from ten years of apprenticeship at Seashell ear-thimbles. She nodded again” (18). The Seashells cause Mildred to never actually pay attention to the real world. She has become so used to washing out everything happening around her that instead of listening to Montag’s words she only reads his lips. Mildred becomes selfish when it comes to technology not paying any piece of mind to the way it impacts others, especially Montag. If Mildred wants another wall television she doesn't care how much it costs or how much work it will be to put in. Bradbury describes a conversation Guy tries to have with Mildred after a night of work, “‘Aren’t you going to ask me about last night?’ he said. ‘What about it?’ ‘We burned a thousand books. We burned a woman.’ ‘Well?’” (47). Mildred is once again too tied into her parlor walls that she won’t give Guy any attention in a conversation. She is showing selfishness in the way she pays more attention to her parlor wall family than showing care for the woman that was