From Nature And Society In Matthew Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451

The poem of “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold symbolizes the disconnection and separation from nature and society as demonstrated throughout Fahrenheit 451. As Montag struggles to make connections and begins to realize the flaws within the society he lives in, he turns to that of books to search for answers. In the world Montag had come to know, the people such as Ms. Phelps and Ms. Bowles have become blinded by false realities without the light of knowledge. Bradbury has Montag read this specific poem to the ladies because of the many similarities that it shares with their society, specifically the discovery of the unrelenting sadness in the world, the human suffering, the loss of faith, and the realization of the flaws of the world in which

In the beginning of Fahrenheit 451, Montag, as well, thinks of his world as an utopian society. “It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed”(Bradbury 1). However, his ignorance soon becomes vacant from his reading of books. Because of this, Montag understands that the the absence of books has caused people to turn into mindless beings that are slaves to technology who never appreciate nature. Montag finds to what extent people are attached to their technology by asking his wife a question. "Millie? Does the White Clown love you? Does your `family ' love you, love you very much, love you with all their heart and soul, Millie?" (Bradbury 73). Because of her lack of response, Montag learned that she must feel some connection to her fake television characters while she feels no devotion towards Montag since she turns him in almost immediately for having books. When people in a society feel more love towards a fake person than a real person, that society has an unrelenting sadness. Furthermore, the pebbles in “Dover Beach” symbolize books in Fahrenheit 451 since Montag reading the books causes him to comprehend that the world he lives in is, in truth, a dystopia. Bradbury has Montag read this poem because of the similarities they have such as the discovery of the unrelenting

In Fahrenheit 451, it is apparent that the citizens are unhappy in their lives. They have no connection to family, as people get married multiple times and the only benefit to having kids is that they might look similar to the parent. Additionally, suicide is widespread. Mrs. Bowles describes to the ladies how people die in their society, saying “I’ve never known any dead man killed in a war. Killed off jumping buildings, yes, like Gloria’s husband last week” (Bradbury 91). The same feeling of suffering is present in “Dover Beach” as described by the narrator. He describes how Sophocles once heard something and “it brought/ Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow/ of human misery (Arnold 16-18). Similarities can be discerned between the two pieces of work because both present the idea that people are constantly unhappy, with no hope for the future. While Montag and his world are experiencing a disconnect from happiness and the world itself, Sophocles’ society experiences a never ending state of gloom and misery. The parallels between the world in Fahrenheit 451 and “Dover Beach” are connected, proving that Bradbury made the perfect choice of poem for Montag to read to the parlor