Many older people that live within our community often joke about the role that television plays in the lives of the younger folks of the town, mostly teenagers. It is true that the world today is greatly influenced by what is seen on television, but in the stories of Fahrenheit 451, The Veldt, and Harrison Bergeron the role of the television in the home is dramatically different than in our society. The people in these communities rarely leave the rooms in which their television is located. People are able to interact with their televisions, which places them even closer to the heart of the characters because their televisions can be seen as friends. In these futuristic societies, television and technology dictate the behaviors that are acceptable of the inhabitants, resulting in destructive actions.
Fahrenheit 451's Mildred, along with the normal people in the novel, take their frustrations out by driving fast down long roads and occasionally hitting a small innocent creatures, such as dogs, with their cars.
Oskar Werner as Guy Montag in the 1966 film versio...
Ray Bradbury
Photo of Ray Bradbury.Other people in their society have fun by creating violence or going to fun parks. "I'm afraid of children my own age. They kill each other" (Bradbury 30). Violence is also very apparent in The Veldt, where the children own a nursery that displays anything that their minds wishes on the walls and make it near reality. The children imagine lions in Africa which they watch tear animals apart, as well as their parents. This violence is created by the role which technology plays in their lives. Bradbury's Mildred, for instance, spends the majority of her time watching something on the television or she has a radio plugged into her ears, which decreases her chance to interact with other people. To attempt to compensate for the lack of human interaction, Mildred...