Dystopia In 'Fahrenheit 451' By Ray Bradbury

A utopia sounds like a wonderful thing. The Oxford English Dictionary defines “utopia” as an “imagined or hypothetical place, system, or state of existence in which everything is perfect, esp. in respect of social structure, laws, and politics.” (OED, 2015, entry 2) But what happens when someone tries to bring this imagined land of perfection into reality? Both in fictional literature and in real life applications, utopian dreams destroy societies.

In the future, the job of firemen morphs from putting fires out to burning books. The story Fahrenheit 451 revolves around this issue of book burning, but there is a deeper meaning to the book. Bradbury is warning that the monopolizing effect of social media will transform generations to come into a society with no genuine connections, no distinctive thoughts, and excessive reliance on technology. This book was written in 1951, and today, the propositions are no longer fiction, but are becoming a reality.

The typical utopian world that people dream of consists of freedom, equality and political order. Dystopian fiction, however, is only the illusion of a perfect world. In reality, a dystopia is the complete opposite of a utopian society. It is commonly written to warn the reader of what might come if a certain way of life continues. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury predicted many issues that plague society today. The larger societal and individual issues Bradbury warns against are the consequences from the lack of social interactions, the spread and focus on technology, and the rise in violence.

It is impossible to lead a complete life without knowing pain or offense. Yet some societies attempt to do just that. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury rights of a society which, due to political correctness and a desire for constant entertainment, have effectively eradicated any thought that could potentially cause offense or negative emotions. While this was originally a choice made by the public, the government eventually made it compulsory. To do this they repurposed firemen to burn books containing this undesired knowledge. One such fireman, Guy Montag, eventually sees the error in this and attempts to reform the society. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury uses cultural surroundings to exhibit the negative consequences, including promotion of rashness, lack of respect for that individual, and ultimately calls inherent traits of mankind into question, a society that discourages serious thought has as it shapes an individual.

    The novel Fahrenheit 451 is a novel in which America in the future has made books illegal because of the way it made people feel and think it would be best if they were banned to make people not think that much about anything but have technology as the academic way of teaching.The United States has become a lot more different than now because in the novel we can estimate the time period is about the year 2021 ish. (56) (intro sheets)

Imagine a society that arrests innocent people for owning a book. In the novel Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury builds a world that firefighter’s burn down houses that have books instead of preventing fires from happening. In Montag’s society, burning book is a way to get rid of all the past knowledge because they don’t want their citizens to go against the society. In this utopia society, everyone looks exactly that same and they lack communication. Bradbury creates a futuristic community that doesn’t allow citizens to read books because they want all of their people to be content.

The definition of a utopia is an ideal place or state. The definition of a utopia is perfect, but can utopias good in real life? I believe that utopias are not perfect or ideal in real life. I believe this, because they can become dystopias over time and they can change over time. Also utopias are usually meant to please only one person or a small group of people.

Even though Fahrenheit 451 was written over 50 years ago many of the dystopian elements Bradbury applied to his story also apply to our current society. A large portion of today’s world is in a dystopian state such as North Korea, Sierra Leone, Chad and even Disneyland shows dystopian characteristics. The citizens that live in North Korea believe that they are in a utopian state, they worship their leader as a God, have a bureaucratic control and also propaganda control. Four dystopian themes in Fahrenheit 451 that relate to our current society include, citizens are perceived to be under constant surveillance, the society is an illusion of a perfect utopian world, information, independent thought and freedom are restricted and a concept or figurehead is worshipped by the society.

“Don’t ask for guarantees. And don’t look to be saved in any one thing, person, machine, or library. Do your own bit of saving, and if you drown, at least die knowing you were heading for shore.”- Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury created this novel; not just to make an entertaining story, but to explain the problems of the future. Though this book is fiction, it informs the public on similar problems in the 21st century. Fahrenheit 451 illustrated problems such as technology, the brainlessness of society, and lack of communication. Those problems relate to the main themes of the book: totalitarianism, loss of faith, and the importance of relationships. The downfall of humanity can not be blamed for the lack of structure, but by the attitudes of the people. The actions of humans influences the destruction of mankind

Imagine living in a society where the whole world of literature has been completely turned upside down. Books are now being burned in attempt to stop the characteristic we know as individuality and a dystopian society seeks to control the population by eliminating individual desires, thoughts and passions. The novel Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury explores the idea of a dystopian society that burns books to eliminate individuality and specific opinions between all persons. The protagonist of the novel, Guy Montag is a fireman who burns books as a profession. In Montag’s journey throughout the story, his opinion on burning books changes drastically from thinking books are pointless and destructive to thinking books are now

Ray Bradbury´s wrote a book about this dystopian society where everything in our world is backwards in their world, they can speed, they burn books, and everybody is always gloomy and sad. Montag changed his mindset throughout the book, he went from burning books to saving them from getting burnt. Mildred on the other hand, continuously stayed the same throughout the book. She beginned the book showing she did not care, and carried that same mentality through the rest of the book. Ray Bradbury´s uses contrasting characters in Fahrenheit 451 to illustrate the differences within views of a dystopian society with his development of Montag and Mildred.

walls of their living rooms.) Relying this much on technology can be very dangerous in human

Have you ever thought about how living in a dystopian society would influence your life? Well, the idea of censorship is used in the novel Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, to make an impact on the audience. Bradbury uses certain elements of dystopia in his novel to show censorship, which significantly affects the society in the novel. First, Bradbury uses the dystopian element that says citizens live in a dehumanized state, to show that their society believes that curiosity is unacceptable. Next, he suggests the idea of a dystopian world because information, independent thought, and freedom is restricted. This shows how books are unacceptable in their society. Finally, he shows the element that citizens have a fear of the outside world;

Today technology controls almost everything we do, from the way we go places to what we eat. With this power of technology comes good and evil, medicines and poisons. Through technology we have accesses way more information than before. For example every day you can absorb as much knowledge as King Henry the eighth did in his entire life. This is all due to the improvement of technology. Sadly technology also has a bad side, with faster communication, rumors can be spread faster and kids can be bullied easier. The internet can easily become a second world for many people, especially young adults. Technology is the basis for many relationships, especially long distances. Match.com and other dating sites take advantage of the fact so many people use technology as a way to make or maintain relationships. With technology comes a large amount of knowledge that is easily accessible. Some of the knowledge offends or scares many people but our government hasn’t gotten the point of completely censoring everything. In Fahrenheit 451, a novel about a dystopian society, Ray Bradbury illustrates what he believes our world should be like right now. This scarily accurate novel demonstrates the way technology has affected knowledge and relationships in both our world and the world of Fahrenheit 451 in the same way.

Conformity plays an intricate role in many dystopian settings. Civilization in Fahrenheit 451 is forced to purge itself of books, as community leaders, including the nefarious Captain Beatty, claim this as a necessity for the sake of general happiness. According to the governing body this drastic measure prevents individuals from forming opinions and, therefore, helps prevent discord. Any citizens found with books in their homes face dire consequences. Their houses are doused with kerosene and set alight by the notorious firemen, and should book-owners refuse to submit the books to the conflagration, the owners themselves are left to burn. This deliberate spurning of intellectual activity leads to a society dominated by, and even encourages, narrow-minded, shallow individuals who are easily manipulated by government propaganda. As the main character, a fireman named Guy Montag, begins to realize, this government-controlled, and