Fahrenheit 451 Technology Essay

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Did Ray Bradbury predict our future? Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel that was produced in 1953. Ray expressed in an interview he wrote about his growing concern with the mass media, he was worried reading would be erased for pleasure. The book relates to the Cold War and the actions of Adolf Hitler through censorship themes and similar book burning practices. The storyline follows the protagonist Montag, on his journey of discovering the wisdom and knowledge that can be found within books. Due to the government’s restrictions however, books are banned and “so-called” foremen destroy them with the use of fire. Through language features such as metaphors, imagery and symbolism, the idea that technology leads to a disconnected society, where …show more content…

Advanced technological devices, that we even see used in our world, may cause people to become out of touch with reality. “And in her ears, the little seashells, the thimble radios tamped tightly, an electronic ocean of sound, of music and talk, and music and talk coming in, coming in on the shore of her unsleeping mind.” The seashells are a metaphor for how technology invades personal space and isolates people from their surroundings. Mildred (montage wife), uses these devices to drown out reality, avoid meaningful interactions and live in a constant state of distraction. “He reached over and removed the tiny musical insect out of her ear”. The “insect” is another term for the seashell earpiece which constantly feeds Mildreds media content. This metaphor suggests that technology is like an intrusive bug that infiltrates the mind, preventing real communication. We can compare these devices to the airpods or earphones we use today, which may cause us to become absorbed in unimportant subjects. Metaphors have been used to construct the idea that technology may cause a society where people are emotionally numb or

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