Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451

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Recommended: Our current society compared to fahrenheit 451

Imagine a society where owning books is illegal, and the penalty for their possession—to watch them combust into ashes. Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, illustrates just such a society. Bradbury wrote his science fiction in 1951 depicting a society of modern age with technology abundant in this day and age—even though such technology was unheard of in his day. Electronics such as headphones, wall-sized television sets, and automatic doors were all a significant part of Bradbury’s description of humanity. Human life styles were also predicted; the book described incredibly fast transportation, people spending countless hours watching television and listening to music, and the minimal interaction people had with one another. Comparing those traits with today’s world, many similarities emerge. Due to handheld devices, communication has transitioned to texting instead of face-to-face conversations. As customary of countless dystopian novels, Fahrenheit 451 conveys numerous correlations between society today and the fictional society within the book. Kids today, or people that have never read before, see the fascination of books and develop a curiosity and desire to read. Frederick Douglass is an example of that same desire. Before learning to read, Frederick believed that black people were destined to be the white man’s slaves. It was normal for slaves to do back-breaking work and get whipped for doing anything wrong. It wasn’t until Douglass learned to read that the life of a slave was actually wrong and he wished to live a free life. “Suddenly, Douglass sees this whole education thing in a new light: if he can learn to read, he reasons, he won't have to be a slave anymore.”(Shmoop) It is highly illegal for anyone to keep or ev... ... middle of paper ... ...hniques in the book that lead to conformity, to make the people ultimately follow the way the government wants everyone to follow, to be an unintelligent and unquestionable people. All these symbols, themes and morals in the book unintentionally correlate with todays life. Ray Bradbury only wrote this book in response to Hitler’s book burning addiction during World War II, but instead he predicted how human life is subtly being censored by actions due to government in our time today. Works Cited Shmoop Editorial Team. “Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass Chapter 6 Summary.” Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 14 May 2014. “INSTITUTE FOR HISTORICAL REVIEW.” Propaganda and Disinformation: How the CIA Manufactures History. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014. Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine Books, 1953. Print.

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