The Hollow Society
The Hollow Society
As technology and social networking become increasingly dominant in our society, our lives grow less and less personal at an alarming rate. If such a transformation continues to occur, we could find our world completely dysfunctional and without necessary social skills, within a matter of years. This technology-based, socially flawed community would not be unlike that of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, where individuals are unable to obtain true happiness due to the deficiency in their quality of life. Although some might say that the society in Fahrenheit 451 is filled with and based upon constant happiness, it is truly a place that is plagued with numerous defects, and void of certain proper characteristics. A few of these unfulfilled characteristics include relationships, emotions, and curiosity. An obvious lack of strong, meaningful relationships is a major contributor to the hollowness in Montag’s society. Evidence of these poor quality relationships becomes visible when Mildred cannot remember where she and Montag met, when we see superficial friendship, and when Mrs. Bowles speaks of her children. To begin, one can see how lost relationships have become when Mildred is unable to recall the place where she and Montag first met. When asked when and where her original meeting place with Montag was, Mildred replies, “I don’t know [. . .] Funny, how funny, not to remember where or when you met your husband or wife.” (Bradbury 40). In modern society, marriage is one of the most cherished, meaningful bonds; however, in Montag’s society, it has deteriorated into a loveless joke, a mere title rather than a lifelong relationship. Next, shallowness of friendship in Fahrenheit 451 is an effective display of how the quality of relationships has made a steep decline. When Mildred invites her friends over one evening, they converse during a program being displayed on the parlor walls:
“Doesn’t everyone look nice?”
“Nice.”
“You look fine, Millie!”
As technology and social networking become increasingly dominant in our society, our lives grow less and less personal at an alarming rate. If such a transformation continues to occur, we could find our world completely dysfunctional and without necessary social skills, within a matter of years. This technology-based, socially flawed community would not be unlike that of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, where individuals are unable to obtain true happiness due to the deficiency in their quality of life. Although some might say that the society in Fahrenheit 451 is filled with and based upon constant happiness, it is truly a place that is plagued with numerous defects, and void of certain proper characteristics. A few of these unfulfilled characteristics include relationships, emotions, and curiosity. An obvious lack of strong, meaningful relationships is a major contributor to the hollowness in Montag’s society. Evidence of these poor quality relationships becomes visible when Mildred cannot remember where she and Montag met, when we see superficial friendship, and when Mrs. Bowles speaks of her children. To begin, one can see how lost relationships have become when Mildred is unable to recall the place where she and Montag first met. When asked when and where her original meeting place with Montag was, Mildred replies, “I don’t know [. . .] Funny, how funny, not to remember where or when you met your husband or wife.” (Bradbury 40). In modern society, marriage is one of the most cherished, meaningful bonds; however, in Montag’s society, it has deteriorated into a loveless joke, a mere title rather than a lifelong relationship. Next, shallowness of friendship in Fahrenheit 451 is an effective display of how the quality of relationships has made a steep decline. When Mildred invites her friends over one evening, they converse during a program being displayed on the parlor walls:
“Doesn’t everyone look nice?”
“Nice.”
“You look fine, Millie!”