In the world we live in a lot of things happen, there are events that can change history or make history. Things that happen may change how the society would react. The Society can really be controlled by the government because the government can say tell the people false information and people would believe it. Another thing would be that both our societies would depend on technology so much we would forget the good things in life such as stories. Mildred would be a good example for this because he is always watching T.V and listening to the radio, she did nothing else. Our society is similar to the society depicted in the novel.
Today, we do have technology everywhere, and it would be hard for many of us to survive without it. We rely on things like the TV and the computer to provide us entertainment, and most people today say reading as "boring" or "a waste of time".
Oskar Werner as Guy Montag in the 1966 film versio...
Ray Bradbury
Photo of Ray Bradbury.Although our technology today is not as complicated as it is in Bradbury's novel, we do have many of the items mentioned. We have radio's , and you can find a television set in almost every household. People in Fahrenheit 451 would define luxury as 4 or more wall-circuits (TV's that take up entire walls). They would watch TV or listen to the radio all day, without having to interact with anyone or do any work. That is kind of true for the world of today because we all love to just stay home and do whatever we like. I know many people who would love to stay home and do whatever they want. People today do spend a lot of money on technology, but most people would want to go outside eventually. Mildred Montag listens to the radio and watches the TV all day. She loves it, and begs Montag to get the 4th wall installed, even though it costs 1/3 of his yearly pay. She does not realize how big of a chunk that is, she just wants more. The people in Bradbury's futuristic world do not realize how unhappy they are, because they are too absorbed in their technology. They think that they are happy, but are ignorant to the loneliness and insipidness their lives consist of. That could also hold true for the people of today. Many people are content with what they have, but it is not always good to be content.
"Happy! Of all the nonsense." (pg 10) Clarisse, had a conversation with Montag, and ended with her asking him if he was truly happy. At first, he considers it as a stupid question, because of course he was happy. But, the question makes him think and wonder "am I truly happy?" He tells himself he is happy, but he starts to realize that he is actually not. He is discontent with his life, and with Clarisse opening his mind, he becomes knowing of that fact that he's not happy. He finally sees the blindness of society, and is uncomfortable with it. Even though they only had a quick conversation, it affects him in many ways. Her strange and new nature sharpened Montag's view of the government and society he lived in. He knows it is strange, but cannot help but to think about it all and ask questions. That could be a familiar predicament for many people today. People like to think and tell themselves along with others that they are happy, but are they really? It is easy to say, but not necessarily easy to achieve. Some people may be able to be happy more often than others, and quality of life may vary from place to place, but it is looked down upon if you are a generally unhappy person. People also have conversations that show them the truth every day, because it may have been something they previously overlooked, or were just told to believe.
The women in the novel Fahrenheit 451 are dependent of their husbands. I think this was because that how women were back then, They would just stay home and be housewives. He probably assumed that women would remain housewives. For example, Mildred, Mrs. Bowles, and Mrs. Phelps all are housewives. They stay at home have technology to attain joy. Their live as if they were losers that has no friends, and yet none of them realize it. Montag realizes that he does not really love Mildred anymore, because of her lack of emotion to the world. Today, lots women do have jobs, there may still be some housewives but, there are more women working nowdays. Montag, who began to steal books, once read a poem to Mildred and her friends. It shocked them, and Mrs. Phelps becomes overwhelmed with a feeling that she had never experienced before. That displays how their lives are so restrained by technology, that they do not really experience the awesomeness of life. It opened their eyes to the censorship and things that have been concealed, which makes them feel quite strange"The search is over, Montag is dead; a crime against society has been revenged." (Pg 149) In the novel, revenge is the solution to crime. Comparing that to our society can be very destructive. Imagine everyone who has been harmed, think of what they can and would do to that person. Sooner or later, every person that was convicted will cause destruction in order to get revenge. Instead of creating peace, we might even created another war, possibly World War III. We cannot follow what would happen in the novel.
"To everything there is a season. Yes. A time to break down, and a time to build up. Yes. A time to keep silence and a time to speak." (Pg.165). Patience is the key for a significant outcome. Rushing things isn't always the best thing to do. Take a relationship for example; if you rush with your girlfriend or boyfriend and he or she feels uncomfortable then it can turn out bad. It may lead to a break up or if you're lucky then you might get a second chance to slow things down. If you're patient then things can turn out good for you. This example is related to our society because we can never rush things to get a better environment. When we are patient, we learn a lot more and we understood much more.
Fahrenheit 451 was a futuristic novel that was a trend-setter in many ways. It has inspired hundreds of stories, and has been shown in everything from games, movies to TV shows. Society today shares many of the shown disabilities in his book. Both worlds are obsessed with technology, and the ultimate goal in life is still to be happy. People do lie to themselves, because they want to act like they are happy when they sometimes aren't. They could be scared to realize the truth, and just plain do not want to know. Even if we do not really burn books and fireman FIGHT fires instead of starting them, we undoubtedly share many characteristics with Ray Bradbury's world in Fahrenheit 451.
Bibliography:"Bradbury, R. (n.d.). Fahrenheit 451 Study Guide | About Fahrenheit 451 | GradeSaver. Retrieved May 15, 2009, from http://www.gradesaver.com/fahrenheit-451/study-guide/about/""Bradbury, R. (1987). Fahrenheit 451. New York: Del Rey.""Fahrenheit 451 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved May 15, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_451""Fahrenheit 451 Essays. (n.d.). Retrieved May 15, 2009, from http://www.bookrags.com/essay/Fahrenheit_451""SparkNotes: Fahrenheit 451. (n.d.). Retrieved May 15, 2009, from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/451/"
Fahrenheit 451 (1966 film)
Ray Bradbury
Fahrenheit (1994 video game)