Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 Modern Dystopia Warnings
In the future, the job of firemen morphs from putting fires out to burning books. The story Fahrenheit 451 revolves around this issue of book burning, but there is a deeper meaning to the book. Bradbury is warning that the monopolizing effect of social media will transform generations to come into a society with no genuine connections, no distinctive thoughts, and excessive reliance on technology. This book was written in 1951, and today, the propositions are no longer fiction, but are becoming a reality. Connections between individuals are fading away. At one point, Montag asks Clarisse, “Why is it, I feel like I’ve known you so many years?” (Bradbury 32). It’s because the two of them had a tie to each other they had built over time, through trust and truthful actions. This was a rarity, since Montag hadn’t even sustained a bond with his wife. Montag thought to himself, “And suddenly [Mildred] was so strange he couldn’t believe he knew her at all” (Bradbury 46). Later, after Mildred put the alarm to the firemen about Montag and his books, she did not care about her husband. Mildred’s final words were, “Poor family, poor family, oh everything gone, everything, everything gone now…” (Bradbury 116). She couldn’t have disregarded her husband any more, but she was devastated for the televisions. Montag had realized this before when he said, “Well, wasn’t there a wall between him and Mildred, when you came down to it? Literally not just one wall butt, so far, three!” (Bradbury 41). He knew that there was nothing special between him and his wife. The married couple had no connection. When Montag reminisced on the events when his wife overdosed, he began to think about Clarisse and the dandelion (Bradbury 19). According to Clarisse, Montag was not in love. At first he was in denial, but as he pondered over it one night, he realized that Clarisse was right. Montag knew that if his wife had died, he would not have cried (Bradbury 41). He did not love her, and they had no
Cited: Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. Dallas: McDougal Littell, 1998. Gordon, Serena. “Social Media Has Good and Bad Effects on Kids: Experts.” Healthday. 28 March 2011. 18 September 2012.