Fahrenheit 451 Impact On Society

Many people have tried to predict the future, but only few got remotely close. Ray Bradbury was very accurate with the society he described in his book Fahrenheit 451. He predicted a city that we can learn very much from. In this city, almost everyone had a piece of the latest technology. From parlor walls to the Hound, all of the technology served a purpose, which was to distract everyone from the real and very violent world around them. The government was able to regulate the media through technology because of all of the propaganda and direct control. The world that Ray Bradbury portrayed is very similar to the world we live in today. Fahrenheit 451 should have a big impact on society because of the similarities between the book and today’s

world.
Fahrenheit 451 is similar to today because most people are wrapped up in the technology we have created, offering a valid warning about how it interacts with our society. In the book, the parlor walls basically entrance Mildred to the point where she believes that the show is her reality. This is like the virtual reality headsets that have become popular over the last two years. Many actually predict that soon, we will not be able to tell the difference between reality and virtual reality. This is not directly what Bradbury was warning about, but he was trying to convey the message to be careful how much time you spend around technology, like cell phones and television. He talks about new technology having a main reason to exist, which is to distract people from their harsh reality. “‘Then—motion pictures in the early twentieth century. Radio. Television. Things began to have mass.’” (Bradbury 58). This is the section of the book where Beatty visits Montag and explains to him why people hate books and rely on technology so much. Most people nowadays own a cell phone and a television. Some spend their entire days relying on the internet to perform their jobs, and some use the internet to stream movies and other recreational activities. This is what Beatty is talking about when he says that things began to have mass. More and more people needed technology to help them in their everyday lives, either escaping reality like Mildred, or using it for firemen work, like the Hound. The Mechanical Hound is an example of the technology in the books’ world that “has mass”. The Hound is a hunting machine that tracks down books and people for the firemen. It is an ultimate weapon that they use to find houses where books are being shoved away. Also used for combat in Fahrenheit 451 and current society is nuclear bombs. After Montag escapes from his city and the Hound, he sees a nuclear bomb dropped on his former home. Throughout the book, there is fighter jets that fly overhead as well. This directly relates to today and the constant threat of nuclear warfare. The threat of North Korea and America turning to nuclear warfare is growing and becoming more widespread. Also in today’s world, there are many potentially dangerous advancements being made to the functions of robots, like the Hound in the book. Some are being modified to do different daily tasks, while others are being fixed to be able to aid soldiers in combat. In Russia, scientists have made a robot that holds guns and other firearms like humans would. There is a possible threat of it turning on its creators, or the creators using it for their own advantage. Other robots are being programmed to do the similar things, and the book gives fair warning to this. Bradbury wanted us to understand that people will soon be relying on technology to helps us in good and bad ways. He was trying to teach and caution us about the similarities of technology between the book and our world.
Just like in today’s world, there is ongoing wars in Fahrenheit 451, which is another credible warning sign of people turning to violence and the downfall to society. Although it is not revealed who the war is between in the book, people still do not know what is happening around them in the war. ”’Every hour so many damn things in the sky! How in hell did those bombers get up there every single second of our lives! Why doesn't someone want to talk about it! We've started and won two atomic wars since 1990! Is it because we're having so much fun at home we've forgotten the world?’” (Bradbury 75). After Montag speaks to Mildred about the war and the surrounding impacts to their world, she dismisses him and picks up her phone. This shows that they are fed shows on television so that they don’t pay attention to the jets constantly flying overhead, or any other flaws in their world. The bombings are another similarity between the two societies. In the book, a gigantic bomb is dropped over Montag’s city. This causes total destruction of everything in his home town. The secrecy of war is much like in modern society. We are kept in the dark about what is happening across the sea in countries like Iraq, and only rarely are we shown commercials that display the poor parts of the world. Today, there has also been constant threat of terrorist attacks and bombings. There are a lot of organized groups that set up events such as 9/11 or the Boston Bombing to try to scare people. North Korea, along with many other countries, claim to have nuclear weapons that they plan to use. In the book, the cities don’t know much about the power of the enemy, much like today. The nuclear bomb dropped on Montag’s city is a warning for what could potentially happen if the world is divided and countries continue to threaten one another. Ray Bradbury wants us to realize that these small bomb and jet attacks can lead to an even bigger outbreak of war and possibly nuclear warfare. We should use his book and the similarity between our warfare and violence as a guidance and try to avoid the events he wrote about.
In both Fahrenheit 451 and today’s society, there is a lot of manipulation in the media which shows that it is a logical prediction of our relationship with the internet.

Mildred watches the parlor walls almost every second of her life. Not once is there an ad about the war or violence that is occurring outside of her house. There is no promotion for learning, intelligence, or education either. “‘Don't give them any slippery stuff like philosophy or sociology to tie things up with. That way lies melancholy.’” (Bradbury 65). This means that if the network producers were to show something about deep thinking, there could be an uproar. They need to keep it simple and make sure everyone consumes the same type of media. The thought i that if everyone is equal, there will be peace in the society. In the book when Montag is on the run, the government decides to broadcast an innocent man being mauled by the Hound so that the citizens stop worrying. “And then, after a time of the men sitting around the fire, their faces expressionless, an announcer on the dark screen said, ‘The search is over, Montag is dead; a crime against society has been avenged.’” (Bradbury 151). People are left to go back to their hollow lives and believe that the threat to their peace is terminated. The government does this just to reassure themselves that their problem is gone too. Much of these events are like today with the social media situation. Things that are posted or tweeted have to be calm and try

not to be controversial, or a fight will be sparked. If everyone is shown as equal, there will have to be no worry of that. In America, we are kept in the dark about what is happening in the war and that is like Montag's city. The news doesn't televise stories unless they are big events known worldwide. Also, television shows have a big impact on the way people act. If a network wants a certain reaction, they will put it in a show for people to view and be manipulated by. Also today, there are a lot of lies that are told on screen. From meetings between world leaders to local news, some of the truth can be covered up. Ray Bradbury is trying to get us to recognize that continuing in the direction we are going in with the way the media is portrayed, our world may start to overlap with some of the details in the book. He is trying to warn us to start telling the truth and stop lying to cover the flaws in our world, or society will come to a dramatic end.
Although there are a lot of positive aspects of technology, some say that the government can use it to surveil for terrorists and other threats, like in the book Fahrenheit 451. The government has the ability to access most, if not all technology to use to their advantage. They utilize security cameras to monitor things from building lobbies to large scale crime scenes. This is like in the book, when Montag is reading and then the volume of the music in gets louder and louder around him. Whoever was watching Montag was protecting those around him from what their society thought was a threat, which was intellectuality. Many people see total government surveillance as beneficial, but if the government has access to everything, that means it has access to all of our personal devices. Today, it is not necessarily a good thing for the government to be able to be everywhere and know everything. Privacy is the key to having happy phone and tablet users. But, not everyone knows what the government or other companies are using the information that cameras and microphones picked up for. In 2015, Samsung revealed that their smart TVs were listening to and recording conversations. This is what Bradbury tries to get us to perceive from Fahrenheit 451. The technology provided to us will be spying on us and connecting to the government and even other corporations for their own use. The similarity between the governments and their use of their technology, surveillance, and power is why the book should still be used as an example to all.
We should use Ray Bradbury’s book as a caution and try to learn from Montag’s society and their mistakes.

The modern world is heading toward the fiction novel, and it soon could become a reality. Because of all the similarities in technology, war, and media manipulation, present society has a lot to gain from the past and what could very well be the future. But even though there are a lot of similar aspects between the book and today, we can still change. If we go against the beliefs of Montag’s society, the world can end up in better shape. “‘...There are no consequences and no responsibilities. Except that there are…’” (Bradbury 117). This quote by Beatty should be the direction that our society should steer in. It teaches that if we take responsibility of our future and what we want it to be, we could have no consequences. If we neglect the responsibility to fix our future, there are sure to be repercussions. Many need to realize the importance of education and literature and stay away from the dangers of technology, war, and the media. Today’s society may seem very similar to Fahrenheit 451, but we still have to hope to turn it around and take Ray Bradbury’s

advice.