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Technology Symbols In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

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Thesis: In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury uses reptiles/insects as symbols to convey that technology is only a distraction and it brings fake happiness as contrary to real life and nature. “They had this machine. They had two machines really. One of them slid down into your stomach like a black cobra down an echoing well…” (Bradbury 12). In this scene, Mildred is getting her blood replaced by two technicians. They handle machines which Bradbury illustrates as a cobra that sucks and replaces her blood. This is caused when Mildred drinks too many sleeping pills. Bradbury’s usage of the symbol in this passage is significant because the black cobra is employed to describe the machine and technology in general. On the outside, it may seem that Bradbury’s use of cobra is only utilized to describe the appearance of the machine but Bradbury applies the symbol to catalog technology as slithery and sinister and not a valid replacement for life. Furthermore, Bradbury’s use of the snake as a symbol in this scene develops his message that technology is only a distraction and doesn't bring real happiness. Snakes are not good creatures, in life and in works of fictions, and the pairing of the cobra and the machine shows what Bradbury thinks about the machine. Not only does Bradbury utilize a snake, but he chooses a cobra, one of the most venomous and dangerous animals. He wants the reader to understand that the machine isn't good but rather evil and dangerous. Also, by describing the tube

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