American Literature 11
11 November 2013
Symbolism in Fahrenheit 451
Ray Bradbury, the author of the well-known science fiction novel Fahrenheit 451, was alarmed by how much time he felt the public devoted to watching television in the 1950’s. “If this [trend of television watching] goes on…” he wrote, “nobody will read books anymore” (XIII). This thought of a television-obsessed future public frightened Bradbury. He was particularly fearful of how technology might prevent people from forming relationships with each other and connecting with the world around them, which would make them unable to develop human consciousness. He used the format of literature to describe his fears in the futuristic science fiction novel Fahrenheit
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Bradbury voices this belief through Guy, who explains “[the future] will come out of our hands” (Bradbury 161). People like Mildred are too unfeeling, unthinking, and television-obsessed to create any big changes in the world. In order for people like Mildred to have any hope of influencing the future, they would have to first open their minds to exploring new ideas. Guy represents the people who have successfully done that. Once Guy opened his mind to new ideas and self-reflection, he allowed himself to develop a human conscience, which spurred him to take action. The future, then, will come out of the hands and actions of those, like Guy, who have developed a human conscience because they are the ones with the inner vision to see the changes needed and the motivation to create those changes.
Furthermore, the transformation of the world of Fahrenheit 451 is the main idea behind the symbolism of the phoenix. The symbol of the phoenix represents rebirth. The phoenix was a mythical bird that “periodically burned itself to death and resurrected from its own ashes to a restored youth” (Sisario 1). The symbolism of the phoenix myth turns fire into an instrument of renewal (Telgen 12). This renewal is apparent in Montag’s murder of Captain Beatty. Montag chose to kill Captain Beatty because Captain Beatty was trying to prevent Montag from reading books and gaining a conscience. Montag took the flame-thrower that Captain Beatty had been using to burn down Montag’s
Bradbury has shown us a glance of what may become our future. These ideas, even in today's world, have a greater meaning. Bradbury's idea of future unfortunately is not far off from our reality. Through symbolism, he allows the readers to extrapolate in a way most books do not offer. One has only to look at current events in our world where symbols flags, innuendo or even cartoons have caused
To begin, Bradbury uses the parlor walls, TV’s the size of entire walls, as one of the proofs that the people of the future are so wrapped up in technology that they no longer think. During the book, many examples of people not thinking for themselves due to TV’s influence occur. Such as when Mildred is reading a script for a play with the people on TV. The idea of this is that people no longer just watch TV but they now participate in it, to pretend like they are
In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury tells the story of a dystopic world where books are burned by firemen because they are prohibited. By presenting this, he makes a point on how books are essential and at the same time warning readers. He was trying to say,” If this happens, then this will happen.” He visualized this society in this book, based on his society, which is parallel to our society now. In the dystopic Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury examines his society at the time, and he admonishes readers about possible aspects of future societies, especially mass media, technological advancement, and peoples’ mental health.
In Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, multiple ideas and themes are shown similar between Bradbury’s envisioned society and today’s society. Technology, increase in efficiency due to technology, and thrill-seeking behaviors, are all ideas that are portrayed by Bradbury.
In Fahrenheit 451, technology ruins literature, and everyone’s life. Similar to in “Kid Kustomers”, technology ruins parents’ lives, as it explains that businesses are targeting kids for advertisements. These kids, annoy their parents until they give in to what they want. Both of the technology used in these texts is television. In Fahrenheit, television is responsible for replacing literature, curiosity, and intelligence. Technology is also the government's use of oppression. Faber states in Fahrenheit 451, “He took Montag quickly into the bedroom and lifted a picture frame aside, revealing a television screen the size of a postal card. "I always wanted something very small, something I could talk to, something I could blot out with the palm of my hand, if necessary, nothing that could shout me down, nothing monstrous big” (Bradbury Chap.2). Faber recognizes the power and danger that television has, and its ability to take over. Similar to how television is the main source of misconception and technology in Fahrenheit, Eric Schlosser states, “Far from being banned, TV advertising aimed at kids is now broadcast twenty-four hours a day, closed—captioned and in stereo...The typical American child now spends about twenty-one hours a week watching television — roughly one and a half months of TV every year” (Schlosser 3/4). This quote demonstrates how television is being used as business, rather than its original design for enjoyment. In conclusion, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and “Kid Kustomers” by Eric Schlosser, both use technology as a misconception, and a
In Ray Bradbury’s, Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag, the protagonist in the book, lives in a period of time where television is imperative while literature is on the verge of eradicating. Bradbury portrays a society where entertainment is not only a distraction, but it becomes a dominant aspect in the way individuals function in society. Furthermore, Montag’s ideal world is a world that sees a concept in books rather than television. We live in a world full of advanced technology, however there are drawbacks in the midst of the benefits. Fahrenheit 451 is an example that depicts the disadvantages that comes with the overuse of technology.
When Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451, he allegedly chose the title for the temperature that book paper catches fire. The idea was that the firemen use flamethrowers to burn books, and the fire needed to be at least 451 degrees Fahrenheit to properly burn the paper. Right off the bat, the number 451, in Fahrenheit 451, is stated on the first page of the book. It also symbolizes the ‘burning’ and failing of Montag's society. Essentially, it's the temperature at which society burns. This symbol is the most significant one since it is in the title of the book and is stated directly on the first page.
Ray Bradbury once stated, “I never consciously place symbolism in my writing. That would be a self-conscious exercise and self-consciousness is defeating to any creative act … During a lifetime, one saves up information which collects itself around centers in the mind; these automatically become symbols on a subliminal level and need only be summoned in the heat of writing.” (The Paris Review). Bradbury’s may not have consciously placed symbolism in Fahrenheit 451, but his use of symbolism throughout the story allows the reader to relate back to their most basic instincts, all while seeing a deeper meaning to what they are really looking at.
Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and Modern World The futuristic world that Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451, so vividly describes is frighteningly close to our own. It might not seem so at first glance, but if you take a closer look, you'll find that Bradbury wasn't far off the mark with his idea of what our lives would be like in 50 years. As he envisioned, technology would be extremely sophisticated, families would start becoming distant, and entertainment would take a more significant role in our lives. The problems at the present might not be as extreme as Bradbury's, however, if left unchecked, they could grow to be just as monstrous as he predicted.
In the novel Fahrenheit 451 (Bradbury) we see many connections to the modern world. Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 is set in a dystopian future where the government controlled everything and books are banned. Writing ahead of his time Bradbury was able to predict many things such as the seashells which are earbuds and wall tv’s. He was very accurate in his predictions so it would be wrong to dismiss his motifs as impossible. In fact some things such as police brutality, suicide, and drug usage occur in the present already.
Fahrenheit 451 is a book by Ray Bradbury, written after World War II and it examines the corruption of technology in a dystopian society. This book explains how a dystopian society works and how people are so attached to television and cars and do not enjoy the natural world. People in a dystopian society are full of fear and sadness. They do not have equality or freedom, they are all so soaked up in technology that it is illegal for them to do simple stuff, such as, reading books. The book, Fahrenheit 451 explains how firefighters start fires rather than stopping them. A firefighter’s job is do burn books, since books are illegal to have because they go against the power of technology and modernization. In a dystopian society, people should be unhappy, unequal, violent, and brutalized and that is what is exactly being seen throughout this book. As Ray Bradbury captures the attention of many readers, he captures our attention on how the future could be if technology would become so extreme. Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451 is not about control, but it is a novel about how television destroys curiosity in reading literature.
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is a display of how humans are relying more and more on technology for entertainment at the price of their ability for intellectual development. It is a novel about technological dystopia, often compared to other novels such as, George Orwell’s 1984 and Asimov Ender’s Game. Although today’s technology has not quite caught up with Bradbury’s expectations, the threat of having his vision of a dystrophic society is very realistic. He sees a futuristic society in which this submission of thought is highly valued. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury displays a futuristic utopian society where "the people did not read books, enjoy nature, spend time by themselves, think independently, or have meaningful conversations" (Mogen, Pg. 111).
In 1953, American author and screenwriter, Ray Bradbury, in his novel, Fahrenheit 451, utilizes a dramatic and depressing tone alerting the effects of social issues in a dystopian society, such as order and identity in the world. During the 1950's new technological advances were being created that helped alter the world such as the first ever commercial computer or television. Bradbury's purpose in this novel was to prevent what was to come in the future with the minds of human minds be consumed by new toys and gadgets. With this book Bradbury wanted to change his audience's perspective on the way they perceive books and the social outcome it can have. He implements many Biblical allusions, paradoxes, and imagery to help develop his major themes that factor what is happening in society.
In the first half of the book Bradbury demonstrates the theme through showing the emotions of others regarding to other people, focusing on Mildred in particular. In the beginning of the book Montag runs into Clarisse, a person who is not like the rest and cares about the deeper meanings. He grew fond of her, later to find out that he would never see her again, since she was dead. The news was given by Mildred in a way that seemed unpresented sympathy, “‘Four days ago. I’m not sure. But I think she’s dead. The family moved out anyway. I don’t know. But I think she’s dead,’” (44). Mildred delivers the news late and without any sympathy, instead she is unsure if her information is true. She was ignorant to how Montag felt about Clarisse; numb to the pain and this was only a product of society and their need to hide this stress in order to preserve contentment. For instance they programmed behaviors into the different ‘families’ that other homeowners own, to normalize happier emotions while sadder, melancholic emotions were discouraged to the point that it was a surprise that people felt this way in any other setting than the presence of an illegal action. This false idea of what is human became
In the book Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, the author predicts the future of today’s society. Bradbury predicted the future of today’s technology and societal issues. Some technology from the book that is similar to today is the small electronic earpieces that fit into peoples’ ears to communicate with people; nowadays, it exists and people call it Bluetooth. In addition, there was large flat screen televisions that were the size of a wall. Technology is part of the societal issues from the book, they are similar to today’s society because the people do not care about reading or gaining knowledge anymore, it’s all about television and technology. In addition, suicide is not taken care of or prevented properly It is almost as suicide is taken as a joke. Actually, there are many ways today’s society is similar to the book, society that Bradbury based in the future containing advanced technology and societal issues.