Indifferences In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

Imagine a society where human beings kill each other solely for their own amusement. In “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury, human beings inhabit a world in which murder is pleasurable, and death is almost meaningless. Though there are many themes in this powerful story, the most apparent is the idea of people’s indifference towards others.

One such example of indifference in the story is the children in the utopian society who murder each other in order to entertain themselves. In the book, children attend a school is more interested in distracting the children instead of teaching them. They limit their ability to think for themselves, forcing them to conform to the traditional methods of their society. After school activities for the students include getting in car wrecks, breaking things, and hurting people, all for pure pleasure. Since none of them really feel any attachment to one another, they are able to commit violent crimes without a second thought or regret.

After inviting a few friends over to watch a screening of a TV program called “The White Clown”, Montag spends a few minutes attempting to eavesdrop on their conversation. While listening to them, he overhears a statement made from a woman whose husband had been chosen to serve in the war. Instead of feeling any sort of longing or remorse for her husband, she speaks of how her worries were non-existent. “It’s always somebody else’s husband who dies” (page 91). It’s as if these women and the rest of society feel no emotional attachment to anyone, which relates to the theme of indifference and lack of emotion or empathy for