What Is The Society Of The Future In Fahrenheit 451

Burning books and houses are commonplace in the novel Fahrenheit 451, where firefighters start fires and citizens sit drawn to their TVs like moths to a glorious flame. In his novel, Ray Bradbury tells of a future in which books are illegal, their knowledge rarely appreciated, and the townspeople wondrously ignorant to all but the screens of their television sets. Through each clearly stated example, Ray Bradbury effectively warns modern society of the future. One outcome Ray Bradbury warns future societies of is the loss of personalities. Clarisse proves that people are losing their personalities when she states, “‘You laugh when I haven’t been funny and you answer right off. You never stop to think what I’ve asked you’” (Bradbury 8). By saying this, Clarisse points out that the main character and fireman, Montag, does not stop to question what she is saying or form his own opinion. Instead, Montag spits out either generic responses or the general point of view almost every citizen possesses in this society. This shows that without the knowledge from books, people become gullible, and take on the opinions that have been taught to them, as they have no other

For example, Mildred’s dependency on technology is evident when Montag asked her to turn the parlor off and she responded, “‘That’s my family’” (Bradbury 49). Mildred’s referral to the show as ‘her family’ makes the situation incredibly more personal. A family provides love, support, food, and shelter to a person; by calling the show her family, Mildred has shown that it is not just something she cares about deeply, but it is something she needs to have in her life. A dependence such as this could even be described as an addiction. A New York Times reviewer also noticed the addiction, and mentioned it in his review of the book by referring to Mildred as “Montag’s anesthetized, media-addicted wife”