Complacency In Fahrenheit 451 Essay

In the book, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Bradbury shows the importance of being aware of society through the change of Montag’s complacency and the contrasting views of the characters.

In the beginning of the book, Guy Montag never once thought of what his job really entailed or why he was burning houses and books down. Until one night, he met a girl named Clarice; the girl who changed everything. She might not have been in the book long but her character was essential. Clarice was the start of Montag slowly realizing what it exactly is that his job is making him do. “ ‘Do you mind if I ask? How long’ve you worked at being a fireman?’ ‘Since I was twenty, ten years ago.’ ‘Do you ever read any of the books you burn?’ He laughed. ‘That’s

He remembers a suspect in one of the firemen cases, Mr. Faber. Montag and Faber talk about books and what to do to keep low and find a way to awaken society from this dystopian nightmare. His wife, Mildred, is frightened of him; of what this will do to her social status; to their house when all the books are discovered. During a gathering of Mildred’s friends/family Montag is wearing a green bullet (an earpiece by his colleague, Faber) that allows Faber to talk to him. One of Mildred’s friends, during their conversation about politics, said something to push Montag overboard. “‘I’ve heard that, too. I’ve never known any dead man killed in a war. Killed off jumping buildings, yes, like Gloria’s husband last week, but from wars? No.’”(94, Bradbury). This shows how flippant they are about death and war. They don’t really discuss it seriously. Right after the short talk of war, Mildred casually goes into a different conversation: “‘That reminds me,’ said Mildred. ‘Did you see that Clara Dove five ­minute romance last night in your wall”(Bradbury 95)? This shows how quick society is in this time. After that, Montag started losing it. He finally realizes how fast life is being forced through everyone. No one is taking life day by day, it’s always about the new next thing. Bradbury shows that through satirizing the woman’s tv shows being 5 minute in length. As well as showing that the tv’s are now the wall instead of going out or staying on a conversation for more than a minute. We should take notice of that because it’s not entirely too off from today. Vine is a six second video because it holds people’s attention before they skip to something else. We forget to realize to “sniff the roses” and miss out on what is really