Theme Of Drug Addiction In Fahrenheit 451

Have you ever thought about how living in a dystopian society would influence your life? Well, the idea of censorship is used in the novel Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, to make an impact on the audience. Bradbury uses certain elements of dystopia in his novel to show censorship, which significantly effects the society in the novel. For example, Bradbury uses the dystopian element that says citizens live in a dehumanized state, to show that their society believes that curiosity is unacceptable. Next, he uses the idea that in a dystopian world, information, independent thought, and freedom is restricted, to show how books are bad in their society. Finally, he uses the element that citizens have a fear of the outside world; which, is shown by Montag’s wife Mildred, and Mildred’s friends. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury describes the theme, censorship, which causes limited power and freedom of thought in a society, through the different elements of a dystopian society.

          The opioid crisis has risen over the years here in America. The addiction to painkillers has caused many drug overdoses across America. According to the Vox," In 2015, more than 52,000 people have died from drug overdoses from linked to opioids such as Percocet, heroin, Oxycontin or even fentanyl. This problem did not become an overnight health crisis, but it has become quickly known in America.

Underlying Causes: The increase in the sale of opioids is considered to be the root of the opioid crisis, as the drugs have been proven to be highly addictive. An addiction to prescriptive opioids, however, can lead to an addiction to synthetic, illegal opioids, such as heroine or fentanyl, which are less expensive and easier to acquire. In fact, in their journal article, “Associations of nonmedical pain reliever use and initiation of heroin use in the United States” Pradip Muhuri and associates discovered that “the recent (12 months preceding interview) heroin incidence rate was 19 times higher among those who reported prior nonmedical prescription pain reliever (NMPR) use than among those who did not (0.39 vs. 0.02 percent)” (Muhuri et. al). In other words, abusing prescription opioids significantly raises the chances of abusing illicit drugs, such as heroin. Thus, the increased prescription of addictive opiates has also helped cause the increase in addiction to illegal

Bradbury uses Mildred, Montag’s wife, to show how everyone there is like robots. Montag starts arguing with Mildred about how she is acting. She is depressed and does not even know it. Mildred thinks that the voices in the walls are her family. Montag tries to get her to see what is really happening in society. She is so unaware of her actions that Montag has top tell her, “maybe you took two pills and forgot and took to more, and forgot again and took two more, and were so dopey you kept right on until you had thirty or forty of them in you” (Bradbury 17). Montag has to call the operators because she over dosed on the sleeping pills. The next morning she just thought she had a hangover. Montag had to tell her what really happened. Mildred was always with her television that, “no matter when

When Montag realized that Mildred had popped pills, he said, ‘“Maybe you took two pills and forgot and took two more...until you had thirty or forty of them in you’...’what would I go and do a silly thing like that for?’ (Bradbury 17). Mildred had irresponsibly forgotten about taking her pills until she overdosed. She didn’t even remember doing this. This overdose would’ve caused her to die if Montag hadn’t found her. Therefore, this memory loss can cause people to lose their lives very easily, like Mildred. She actually had a deep inner part of herself who wanted to die. This is the real reason she was popping pills. She wanted to die because she knew she wasn’t happy in life and she knew she never would be happy in life. Mildred never had any exciting thing to look forward to in her life nor did she have any memories that she could cherish. She wanted to die, like many others in her society. This was caused by the government’s control that’s being put on the citizens. This occurs very often in this society and she is also damaged like everyone else in her society. (STEWE 2) This inner feeling not only occurred in Mildred, but in others as

This paper will discuss the ensuing difficulties regarding teenage non-medical prescription drug use and the possible alternatives to reduce abuse in the youth population.

In Fahrenheit 451 suicide happens so often that people don’t really care they just come and replace their blood and then they leave. In Montag’s house his wife, Mildred took all of her sleeping pills and almost died. ‘’The small crystal Bottle of sleeping tablets which now lay uncapped and empty in the light of the tiny flare(Bradbury 11). Mildred took every pill in her bottle which

Ray Bradbury, the author of Fahrenheit 451, presents a society in which humans suffer from depression, fear, and loss of empathy which are the result of censorship of free thought and knowledge.Humans suffer from loss of empathy due to their lack of human interaction. People live in fear of the government as the dystopian society deprives the people of knowledge. Depression is evidenced by suicidal tendencies caused by hollow lives.

Prescription drug abuse in the United States has officially been declared an epidemic by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Prescription Drug Abuse Statistics, 2013). Due to the increase of prescription drug abuse, prescription narcotics have been considered the new “gateway” drug to heroin addiction. The prescription drug epidemic is being fueled by prescribers and physicians that are not utilizing proper guidelines when prescribing narcotics to patients. A major concern is that doctors are shying away from utilizing therapy and counseling, which could alleviate the use and abuse of prescription medication. With the increase of prescription medication flooding the population, this has lead to society’s concern that doctors are

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, is a uniquely shocking and provocative novel about a dystopian society set in a future where reading is outlawed, thinking is considered a sin, technology is at its prime, and human interaction is scarce. Through his main protagonist, Guy Montag, Bradbury brings attention to the dangers of a controlled society, and the problems that can arise from censorship. As a fireman, it is Guy's job to destroy books, and start fires rather than put them out. After meeting a series of unusual characters, a spark is ignited in Montag and he develops a desire for knowledge and a want to protect the books. Bradbury's novel teaches its readers how too much censorship and control can lead to further damage and the repetition of history’s mistakes through the use of symbolism, imagery, and motif.

Imagine a world where firemen start fires instead of putting them out. Fahrenheit 451 is set in a utopian, or dystopian to us, society, where books are burned and people rarely have real social interaction. Although Fahrenheit 451 seems nowhere close to our society, we are both alike and different to their world.

While death is permanent, life continues to change. In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag demonstrates this idea as each time the motif of death appears, Montag’s perception of the world is distorted. The deaths of three very influential figures in Montag’s life allow Bradbury to push Montag to his limits. On each occasion where death is present, a change occurs in the way Montag processes the intricate workings of society’s influences on his life; and he begins to become more rebellious and self-aware.

Sam Quinones’ Dreamland is a commentary about the opioid problem in America. Quinones draws attention to how in the twentieth century opioids were seen as addictive: “[D]octers treating the terminally ill faced attitudes that seemed medieval when it came to opiates” (184). In the 1970s, Purdue Pharma stated that opioids such as morphine were not addictive substances. After this study was released, many doctors began to view opioids as a viable option for pain relief. Throughout the rest of the book, Quinones explains the shift from doctors never prescribing opiates to prescription opiates being used to treat any sort of pain: chronic back pain, arthritis, severe headaches, etc. Pain became the “fifth vital sign” and with everyone wanting to

After Montag reads poetry to her and her friends, Mildred immediately rushes to the bathroom to take some pills. “Montag heard Mildred shake the sleeping tablets into her hand” (Bradbury 101). Mildred chooses not to face her problems with her husband’s behavior or the philosophical questions raised by what she heard and chooses the easy way out. She enjoys her carefree lifestyle supplemented by numerous forms of technology, so she uses the pills to ignore the aspects of life which threaten her ignorance towards the reality of

According to Michael Klein, “The most prescription drugs that are commonly misused are opioids, tranquillizers, sedatives, and hypnotics.” Unintentional overdose deaths involving opioid pain relievers have quadrupled since 1999 and have outnumbered those involving heroin and cocaine since 2002. (Klein). The reason some people abuse opioids is just to “get high”. Taking too many of these types of pills can really mess you up. Abusing opioids can really affect your body more than you think. Also getting addicted can tear families apart and you could lose a lot. Some people may think they are safe taking prescription drugs but in reality abusing them is not healthy at all.