Fahrenheit 451 essay
The book Fahrenheit 451 can be considered as a futuristic novel that tells about the future and how various aspects such as technological developments have had an impact on society. The author observes that people in the futuristic society are lazy and do not read books, spend quality time alone or even think as independent minds and do not have conversations that are considered meaningful , in other words they are so caught up in the tangible part of society and have long slipped passed the intangible part. It is a society of people that watch too much television that tends to take up most of their time. Based on the views of the author , It can be concluded that technological advancements have had adverse effects on the human race.
Ray Bradbury shines light on the negatives of extreme technological abuse and depicts what happens when we get too reliant on them to do our thinking rather than us doing so ourselves. In an article written by Douglas Todd titled surviving toxic technology, it states that The use of technological devices has caused many people to become “isolated from other people, their communities, the rhythms of their own bodies and nature”. It is apparent throughout the novel that technology has a massive grip on the lives of the people living in it , for example Mildred , who is portrayed always having a shell in her ear is always stuck within her parlour walls engaging with her “family”. Although the article was written in 2001 , it still to this day has significance and can be applied to our society . Throughout the novel , there are two important characters that play a heavy role in Montag’s heroic journey , the first character is Clarisse McLellan , Montag’s seventeen-year-old neighbor, who befriends him early in the novel. Though she presents herself as “crazy”, she is one of the sanest characters in the book. Clarisse comes from a freethinking family, and is associated consistently with nature imagery. She is also the catalyst for Montag’s change of thinking. Clarisse is killed early in the work—hit by a speeding car piloted by children—but that does not diminish her significance to the story. If not for her, Montag might have kept on impulsively burning books without ever giving thought to why he was doing so. The second character in the story is Mildred , Montag’s “wife”. Mildred represents the majority of the population. She is constantly watching her parlor walls and interacting with them as if they were real people. When she’s not watching her “family”, she’s listening to tiny radios clamped in her ears. She is so overwhelmed by the media that her “family” becomes more important to her than actual people (for example, she forgets for days to tell Montag Clarisse was hit by a car.) She doesn’t really love Montag, and eventually betrays him, showing only concern for her virtual “family” when she does. She is so depressed from this lack of a quality interior life that she almost kills herself with sleeping pills without even realizing it. It is through her behavior that Bradbury shows how ignorant/unaware the population has become. Just as a compass has opposite poles, Mildred and Clarisse are total opposites of each other . One plays an important role progressing Montag to find his true self , while Mildred does nothing but hinder Montag and his progress.
Mildred and Clarisse are foil characters in this novel. Foil characters are used in a story to emphasize the differences in characters and exaggerate certain traits. Clarisse is a young girl that sees the world around her what it is and enjoys thinking (p 23). Through her deep and profound thoughts she strikes Montag as being ancient and someone that he has known for a long time (p 23). Mildred on the other hand can only keep her attention on her television (p 20). She hardly talks to Montag and when she does its to whine about not having a fourth television like a child (p20). The author used the age difference to show how much mature Clarisse is compared to Mildred. Clarisse is just a teenager and seems to be ancient and wise while Mildred is an adult but still comes off as a spoiled child. This shows how much more Clarisse has mentally developed compared to Mildred due to thought. Despite Clarisse living for such a small part of the novel , she has a long lasting impact on Montag , and without her Montag would still be out blindly burning books. Mildred on the other hand, has been married to Montag for 10 years and does not even recall where they met. It is ironic, because even though they are married and live under one roof , they both seem to be leading very different and extremely separate lives , each in their own bubble not asking about one another. Montag’s disconnection with Mildred represents how our society does little to maintain relationships nowadays and our obsession with ourselves. Even though the novel was written fifty some years ago with Bradbury having a very different scope of views on society back then than now , it almost seems that he has gotten a preview of our present day society. Censorship is heavily focused upon in the novel , Bradbury shows how censorship has negatively impacted the society’s mentality and way of thinking. This can be seen in our modern day society , for example in the United States , journalists are facing more scrutiny over reporting actual news , to which they are later in danger of being arrested and stripped of their jobs for actually doing what they are supposed to do . Bradbury’s “satire” is slowly beginning to morph into our present day lives . Clarisse symbolizes life before censorship. This is evident thorough her care-free and rebel like character .She spends her days pursuing her own interests and allows her mind to ponder a wide range of topics, as she tells Montag: “I like to smell things and look at things, and sometimes stay up all night walking and watch the sun rise.”(p11) This again , is supporting evidence to show how Clarisse stands out and is unique , unlike Mildred. Mildred on the other hand , symbolizes the average Jane in her society. Her naïve and careless personality is what lands Montag in trouble. Her obedient-like and easily influenced character can be linked to how people spare no time thinking for themselves, blindly following the other person , just as sheep follow their shepherds. “Bet I know something else you don’t. There’s dew on the grass in the morning.”(p7) Clarisse invites Montag to think for himself instead of telling him what to think which reinforces the fact that Mildred is a foil of Clarisse .Both Mildred and Clarisse are integral to the conflict of the novel and especially Montag’s journey to his newer self. They both helped in a way or another, whether positively or negatively, influence the rebirth of the new Montag.
Overall , the novel provides insight to a possible dystopian scenario that looks like our society is nearing close to day by day. Bradbury’s insight may be our warning that we approaching an iceberg that is to be the downfall of society as we know it , but it is not too late to change course . The novel shows the negative consequences of excess consumerism and self centered state that is hinted to be similar to those of North America’s standards. Despite being written more than fifty years ago , Fahrenheit 451’s theme can be still applied to our society’ habits and way of thinking. It is through Bradbury’s lens at the time , that we have become acquainted to the negative consequences of excessive consumerism , technological abuse , and selfishness
work cited: 1)Todd, D. (Ed.). (2001). Surviving Toxic Technology