Fahrenheit 451 Comparison Essay

People have different opinions on what a utopia is and a dystopia is. In Fahrenheit 451 some of the characters think of the world as a utopia, while others think of it as a dystopia. I think the same applies to our modern day world. There are many similarities and differences between Montag’s world and our world.
Both of our worlds have many differences. The first difference is shown when Beatty starts to explain the current school system by saying “ School is shortened; discipline relaxed; philosophies, histories, language dropped. English and spelling gradually neglected.” In Montag’s world, school is not as important to kids or adults. This is very different from our world because we consider school a number priority in every person’s life.

This is one reason our two worlds are very different. The second reason our worlds are so different is because one of the main points of the book is that Montag is a fireman and instead of putting out fires, he starts them.

We know this because at the very beginning of the book he states, “ I loved to see them burn.” Not only that but they burn books too and they are against the law. We see this when they say things such as “… burn books…” “…Read in private…” “…Against the law…” In Montag’s society they don’t help put out fires, they create them and only because they are trying to burn books because they’re against the law. This is very different compared to our world because we not only hire firefighters to put out fires but we try and get kids to read books and value them. We assign them for a homework assignment and try and encourage kids to read them. This is another reason our two worlds are so different. The last piece of evidence that supports the claim is when Montag starts to talk to Mrs. About each other’s families. She talks about her family like it is something she can easily replace. His reaction to this is “Go home and think of your first husband who died by a jet, go home and

think of your second divorced husband, and go home and think of your third husband who will die in battle. Go home and think of the many abortions you’ve had. Go home and think of your cesarean children that hate you.” She has spoken of her family as if they are dolls she can throw out and replace with new versions. In modern day world we value our families and care for them like they are the only things we need. Although there are many differences, there are also some similarities.
There are many similarities between our world and Montag’s world.

The first similarity is shown when Montag Looks at Mildred and “Sees the empty pill bottle next to her bed.” This relates because in this moment Mildred was attempting to commit suicide where in our world the same thing happens. People are unhappy and don’t know how to solve their problems so they think suicide it the only way out. The second piece of evidence states, “I always wanted something I can talk to, something very small, something I can relate to …” Although this does not seem to support the idea through further research I concluded that he was afraid of technology. I think this relates to our modern day world because we are so addicted to electronics and social media, and everyday new robots are coming out, eventually we will be overrun by electronics. They will consume us. The last piece of evidence pulled from the text was when Clarisse states “ I’m afraid of kids my age… they’re killing each other.” In Montag’s world kids are harming each other. In our modern day world I believe that many kids have turned to a life of crime because they don’t have anything else in life to live

for.
Throughout the book Fahrenheit 451 there are many similarities and differences to our modern day world.
In Montag’s world there are many differences and similarities to our modern day world. This is surprising considering this book was written 60 years ago.