Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451: A Cautionary Tale

Henry David Thoreau, a famous American author, once said that “What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?” Essentially, Thoreau believed that even though most individual people are tolerable, society as a whole is not. Ray Bradbury reflects upon Thoreau’s ideas in his novel entitled Fahrenheit 451. In the novel, Guy Montag, the protagonist, realizes that his supposed utopia society is actually a dystopia. Montag finally realizes this when Clarisse, his young neighbor, asks him if he is happy. Although, Montag believes that he is happy, it becomes clear later in the novel that he is not. Montag finds countless faults in the society he lives in. Throughout the novel, Bradbury’s goal is to show the reader some faults in the world today, such as our education system and the effects of technology on lives.

The reader should see that Bradbury uses Clarisse several times in the novel to criticize the education system. Montag has known Clarisse for some time now, and questions her about why she does not attend school. She responds by saying that she does not go to school because she is considered “anti-social” (33). Bradbury is criticizing the fact that the system expects students to go to school and sit through the class quietly and comprehend all the information that is being taught. It does not expect the students to ask any question and to actually think and be productive. The system wants to brainwash the students into believing everything that is being taught to them. The students will eventually become average just like most of the people in society. Shortly after this statement, Clarisse describes her experience at school. She says to Montag, “do you know, we never ask questions, they [the t...

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...helle Hackman, a sophomore in high school, realized that her friends, rather than engaging in a conversation, were “more inclined to text each other” (Huffington Post). Michelle also became aware that over forty percent of people were suffering from anxiety when they were separated from the phones. This clearly shows that we are connected to the technology that we use, but we are also suffering from the use of technology. We spend more than half of our entire day using some sort of technology, whether that is a computer, phone, television, or radio. Technology is becoming a prevalent part of our lives, and we cannot live without it. Technology has become our family, and part of us.

Works Cited

Bradbury, Ray. “Fahrenheit 451.” New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks 2013.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tania-ketenjian/are-kids-addicted-to-text_b_3999267.html