Fahrenheit 451 Identity Diversity Analysis

Complexity, Identity, Diversity

What would happen if people were all the same? Seems convenient, right? More like dangerous. In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the world is deprived of books. Society is glued to technology, and personalities are monotonous. Montag, a firefighter who burns down houses with books, struggles to find himself after meeting teenager Clarisse who makes him question his ideals. Suddenly, Clarisse disappears, and Montag is lost. He feels tension at his job, and seemingly everyone turns against him. Beatty, Montag’s boss, persecutes him for having books. Montag retaliates and kills Beatty, and running becomes the only option. Fahrenheit 451 teaches many compelling messages for readers today because it poses a warning

In Fahrenheit 451, most of the citizens watch the same television shows and own the same types of technology. Parents use it as a way to entertain kids, get rid of their kids, and also entertain themselves: “’You heave them into the ‘parlor’ and turn on the switch. It’s like washing clothes: stuff laundry in and slam the lid’” (Bradbury 96). The use of technology in their society has become so monotonous that the people are instantly glued to the screen no matter what is playing. This is dangerous to their culture because the lack of technological distinction limits opinions and ultimately makes society tediously boring. Some may argue that watching the same television shows and using the same technology would be beneficial because people would be more likely to agree on tricky subjects, this, though, is not true because if everyone agrees the monotony will be agonizing. Mass media can also override people’s memory and decision-making skills. Montag and Mildred (Montag’s wife) have a heated conversation over a touchy

Citizens in the Fahrenheit 451 have a difficult time with critical thinking because they have simply been taught to spit out answers and move on. The central authorities change their rules to make critical thinking a taboo: “It’s a lot of funnels and a lot of water poured down the spout and out the bottom and them telling us it’s wine when it’s not” (Bradbury 29-30). Clarisse struggles with her peer’s lack of critical thinking, and being taught things but not learning their meaning. Without training to think outside the box, students are left with training only to find stale words that are the answer, but have no meaning to them. This in turn leaves society without problem solving skills. Montag also observes Mildred’s friends’ blank minds: “So it was now, in his own parlor, with these women twisting in their chairs under his gaze, lighting cigarettes, blowing smoke, touching their sun-fired hair and examining their blazing fingernails as if they had caught fire from his look” (Bradbury 95). Montag finds the lack of thought in the women to be astonishing. They simply exist, and run through their daily routines without questioning anything. They are nearly clueless without the ability to think critically. Their society lacks depth in different opinions and invention due to their deficiency in critical thinking. Some argue that if we’re all clueless and do not question