Laws In Fahrenheit 451

Kahlil Gibran once said, “A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.” Knowledge is something that needs to be used. If you’ve amassed a large amount of information, but don’t use it, it doesn’t have any worth. This is ever so apparent to Guy Montag, who must use the little knowledge he has to face the laws banning free thinking. The dystopian society of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury has many laws and standards that are completely different from those of our world. The laws and expectations of the society in Fahrenheit 451 are very different from ours. To start off, the most obvious difference between our laws is the ban against books and common knowledge. This is evident even

In Montag’s society, emotions aren’t exactly real. People say that they love their spouses, or they have conversations with their friends, but they never actually mean anything. “‘What a shame,’ she said. ‘You’re not in love with anyone.’... ‘ I am, very much in love!’ He tried to conjure up a face to fit the words, but there was no face,” (22). Clarisse has awakened emotions. She can tell when someone is lying about their feelings. When she tested if Montag was in love with anyone, he was lying about loving his wife. This was a pivotal point for Montag, where he started to realize that his emotions and everything he’s ever known has been fake. Emotions aren’t the only fake thing in the society either. Social interaction is also a major point of difference. You see this when Montag’s wife, Mildred, and her friends are talking. They say things, but the never actually mean anything. Words come out of their mouth,but they have no meaning. “‘Doesn’t everyone look nice!’ … ‘Swell!’ … Montag reached inside the parlor wall and pulled the main switch… The three women turned slowly and looked with unconcealed irritation and then dislike at Montag,” (93-94). Socializing in that society only goes to the extent of one person saying one thing,and the others repeating it. Their life is fueled by the “parlor walls” which are wall-sized TV screens that are on all sides of a room. They are always so absorbed in their programs that they don’t know how to ever really talk to each other. When they don’t have their programs, they don’t know what to do, so their first action is to be upset at the disruption. The way they speak to each other throughout the novel makes it obvious that their sense of conversation is very different from ours. They say little meaningless things, and the only thing they do after that is just repeat it over and over again. Their sense of socialization and