Fahrenheit 451 and Cautions for Society

Fahrenheit 451 and Cautions for Society

Much of what the future holds are consequences of the events that have already taken place. Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451 is a story about a lifestyle in the future that has evolved from our present, but in a seemingly different world. There is no flow of ideas, and the main purpose in a person's life in those days was to relax, not think, and be happy. Despite the seemingly unreality of the world in the future, the author is using it as a cautionary tale of what may become of our society. Bradbury stresses his views on how best to keep our society's system of government checks and balances, technological advances, and its fluidity of ideas.

In the futuristic novel, the government orders the burning of all books and makes it illegal to read them. This burning of books in the story also allows more government control over the people by imposing a clamp over the flow of ideas that makes up our advancing society today. In the book, the people are like the puppets on strings in the hands of the government who acts as the puppeteer. The citizens of that time have no will of the their own but must believe what the government tells them.

The author attempts to caution that people must accept the differences and ideas of people and embrace them, not use them as fuel and drive them further away. He is also trying to state that man does not consider the consequences of his actions before he acts. The burning of books provides an example of this. By burning books, the government is attempting to limit independent ideas so they can make people "happy." That way, people wouldn't have to be smarter or better looking. In theory, this would stop the competition between human beings and in effect, would make people more content with who they are. Many people accept this cause, and the government makes sure that all rebels are stopped in order to maintain their "perfect" society.

By assuring a steady flow of new ideas in our society, there have been many advances in the social, cultural, scientific, and technological field. New medicines and vaccines are constantly and rapidly being discovered. Although these changes may seem beneficial, Fahrenheit 451 provides a counterexample. The four screen TV's in that time hampers the thought process so people only have fun but do not think.