Futuristic Society in Ray Bradbury´s Farenheit 461

In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, a futuristic community lives in a time of social order and oppression. The book censorship affected the entire society. Every person has lost their ability to live life to the fullest, due to their ignorance and by falling prey to propaganda. The characters in this book lost their interpersonal relationships and their lives became monotonous and unhappy, as well as very mechanical.
Ray Bradbury in his novel introduces the reader to the fast paced futuristic lifestyle. He brings to our attention that this lifestyle over stimulates the population. The author makes known that the television parlor that covers the entire wall, with all the non-stop entertainment and interactive programs, the fast cars, the very large advertisements and the loud music, all have the role to control the people. This lifestyle suppresses the human interaction and overwhelms them in such ways that they do not have the time to think or to concentrate, nor do they have the desire to do so. After the reader is being introduced to Guy Montag and his wife Mildred, the author states: “And if it was not the three walls soon to be four walls and the dream complete, then it was the open car and Mildred driving a hundred miles an hour across town…” (p. 43) Nonetheless, the society in this book is looking for happiness, but in wrong places, by replacing the real family that can connect, with the parlor family that seems so cold and disconnected. At one point Beatty claims that books makes people unhappy and gives them ideas; it makes them think. He claims that if everyone is made equal, then everyone will be happy. “We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man ...

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...ren, all ages, God knew, from twelve to sixteen, out whistling, yelling, hurrahing, had seen a man, a very extraordinary sight, a man strolling, a rarity, and simply said, “Let’s get him.”” Violence is a part of this futuristic society. Because of the social media, people are angry, dissatisfied and disconnected. Violence seems to be an outlet to this problem.
As we have seen in this novel, book censorship has many disadvantages. A society that lacks freedom of thought, individuality and creativity is on a path to self-destruction. This futuristic society became victim to social control through forced conformity. In a way, Bradbury allows the reader to understand what could happen to a society if they let the government take control of their lives. In spite of the many fallen victims to book censorship, some characters still remained faithful to their conscience.