Distracted Happiness
“Ignorance is a virtue”
This saying is known far and wide by people of all ages, and all over, yet we rarely stop to wonder the meaning in it. Is is saying that we should strive for ignorance, that we shouldn’t try to know all that we can, or is it simply stating that we don’t always need to know everything? For the society in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, ignorance and distraction is a way of life. They are constantly distracted by their “family” and never look out the window to see the miserable state their country is in. The people of Montag’s society don’t know what true happiness is because they believe that they are happy in their distracted lives with “families”, and fail to differentiate real world problems and
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Mildred is ignorant to the fullest extent, yet she believes that her life is perfectly swell and happy, just her and her parlor: “‘My ‘family’ is my people. They tell me things; I laugh, they laugh! And the colors!’”(69). Mildred has never ventured into the deeper thoughts of books. Subsequently, she only knows the superficial happiness of laughing with her parlor walls, and seeing the brilliant colors of this fake reality. She doesn’t know the happiness of true depth of knowledge of the world. Mildred doesn’t see her unhappiness because she hasn’t known any other, deeper, kind of happiness. She doesn’t seem to see the difference between reality and fictitious stories. Maybe it’s because she wishes to have the seemingly perfect lives of those TV stars she sees, or maybe she can’t differentiate simply because she is so used to the fake reality that she spends all of her life in. Yet unlike Mildred, Montag discovers that there is more to happiness than just thinking you have it after meeting Clarisse. Montag finds that “He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl ran off across the lawn with the mask”(9). Montag discovers that even though he thought he was happy, he really wasn’t. He might of believed that his happiness was true, but this belief was shattered when he realized that the world that he lived in was deeper than
Knowledge is Greater Then Ignorance In the distant future people are punished for reading books. In Fahrenheit 451 by ray Bradbury, the author portrays such a society. Captain Beatty is the Captain of the squadron 451, he once read books, and rejected them because he didn't trust what was in between the pages.
Fahrenheit 451 created many ideas, such as true quality of books, purpose of why reading book are important, and if we stopped reading then the children from new generation will never read as well. Even though the internet and social media replaced our need of information, entertainment, and the books, the books shall be required to be read by everyone. Books have power, should be for everyone because books promotes knowledge to people, creates wider worldview, and keeps culture living through generation. In Fahrenheit 451, the people who never read book knew nothing.
Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451 conveys that knowledge is important and that books are an essential part of life, and should not be put to waste. Ray Bradbury conveys to us in his book that Knowledge cannot be achieved by listening to other’s ideas and being told what to think, but by reading books and finding our own knowledge and creating our own thoughts. The text stated “Ah, love, let us be true to one another! For the world, which seems to lie before us like a land of dreams, so various, so beautiful, so new, Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light, nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain; And we are here as a darkling plain swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, where ignorant armies clash by night.” (Bradbury 100)
For a thousand years, theater was stripped away. Theater was supposedly controlled by Satan. Medieval churches decided to ban playwrights because they claimed it was deceitful, and put sinful ideas into people's minds. The church's authority suppressed the people, which therefore led to the banning of theaters and plays. Similarly, Ray Bradbury's societal depiction in Fahrenheit 451 describes a world where literature is illegal.
He was not happy. He said the words to himself. He wore his happiness like a mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back" (Bradbury 9). Here, Montag realizes the fictitious illusion of happiness that society has put him under, thanks to Clarisse’s inquisitions.(STEWE-2) When Montag meets with Clarisse again, he continues to wonder about his previous thoughts and his beliefs.
He knows he will face a huge challenge while seeking a chance at happiness because he surrounds himself with people who believe that “each man [should be] the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against.” While this standardized way of living creates fewer conflicts, Montag recognizes he has simply existed alongside the rest of his brainwashed acquaintances as opposed to actually living. The rest of the population puts up a great fight, but Montag’s only alternative is a mindless void - hardly worth living
The concept of anti-intellectualism is to eliminate opportunities to acquire knowledge. In the society created by Ray Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451, the capacity for higher level thinking is destroyed. Schools are shallow because they do not focus on higher level thinking in academics. Instead, there is a focus on recreation such as sports and television. This society burns books because their content is troublesome.
People can rely on literacy and social awareness to help them be better aware and more thoughtful. But when people have neither of these skills it can harm the view they have of their surroundings. Fahrenheit 451 is an example of what would happen if social awareness and literacy were looked down on. Over time in the society where everything takes place in, not many are socially aware or can read, resulting to people going to great lengths for their beliefs and wants that they don 't really think through. In the novel Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury shows that literacy and social awareness are important for society through the use of characterization and symbolism in the story.
This is the moment when Montag's mask of happiness drowns in itself, he is now depressed, and wants to move on. In conclusion, Montag fell into a deep depression, which caused him to be irrational. The moment he became irrational is when Montag stole a book from the house of a female librarian. The first paragraph explains how Montag realized he wasn't happy, the second is when he becomes irrational, and the third is when he drowns himself in depression.
Knowledge and Ignorance in Fahrenheit 451 Imagine a society where all books are banned from the public and if any are found they are burned into ashes. This is a reality in the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, which delves deep into problems a society becoming more and more dependant on technology may face. In Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury shows many problems which range from technology to violence, one important topic that is discussed is knowledge and the theme that a society cannot function without knowledge You can clearly see this idea starting to form within the first few pages of the novel, when the protagonist Guy Montag has an interaction with a girl named Clarisse. As they are talking Guy Montag says “You think too many things”(pg 9).
Is ignorance bliss, or do knowledge and learning provide true happiness? The book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury depicts a dystopian society, the main character in the novel Guy Montag is a fireman, in his society books have been banned by the government in fear of independent-thinking by their citizen. Montag starts to question the government and whether the government 's motives behind books are just. In the story Fahrenheit 451 the main character, Montag is constantly questioning his decisions, ideas, and what is wrong and what is right. In Fahrenheit 451 Montag 's encounters, the parlor walls, books, and people whom he meets reveal the idea that knowledge leads to happiness and that, with ignorance, you only wear a mask of happiness.
Bombs, guns, suicides, homicides, and murders won’t destroy a society, ignorance will. Guy Montag lives in a technology filled dystopian future where they burn books and knowledge. As one of the book burning fireman Montag starts to question his beliefs and how everyone act the same. He ends up stealing books and killing his old friend and runs away into the woods, just before his old world gets bombed. In the novel Fahrenheit 451 author Ray Bradbury exposes the idea that ignorance and lack of knowledge lead to violence and destruction; this becomes clear when burning of books start a war and end up destroying the civilization without the people even realizing.
(Bradbury 8). Montag is faced, for the first time, with having to examine his life and if he is actually happy. It destroys his “mask”, allowing him to see the problems of his life, and, more importantly, society. The new perspective “kills” a part of him, the part that was content with his perfect life (having a good,
Society features creates ignorance and intelligence. To be intelligent you have to realize how ignorant you are. There are two definitions from ignorance. Ignorance can mean in a rude. Ignorance can mean rudeness or lack of knowledge.
Audiences learn that Montag doesn’t have the knowledge to have choices or excitement so he is depressed. Because Montag is living a simple life controlled by the government, he doesn’t have any uniqueness. To conclude, without choices created by gaining knowledge, life is boring and