Themes in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 portrays a bleak depiction of America’s future through a fictional society. The protagonist, Guy Montag lives in a world where knowledge is irrelevant. The society is extremely technologically advanced, and yet no one wants factual information. No one wants to learn. Books are forbidden because the truth would people unhappy. It would incite people to have their own thoughts. Montag is a top fireman whose occupation is to burn books. Montag is deeply unfulfilled and depressed finally meets his teenage neighbor, Clarisse. She makes him question the rain, the world around him, and eventually his own existence. Montag even starts to question why he burns books instead of saving people.

Through fictional characters, Bradbury is portraying the central theme of a mass culture on America. In Bradbury’s dystopia, technology and mass media are used to control society and limit all individualism. As their technology got more complex and advanced, minority voices got louder as people were able to communicate. In order to prevent people from being offended, the government created the technology culture to keep the truth from people who couldn't handle it. Bradbury uses irony in this novel because better technology would actually mean a better connected society. However, this is not the case. In this novel, neighbors and friends are farther apart than ever.

Bradbury didn't just write a novel. Fahrenheit 451 is a wake-up call for readers. The dystopian society is the perfect example of what can happen when knowledge is not viewed as important. That society ended in fire, war, and destruction. That fictional society mirrors the United Stats of America in a plethora of ways. As newer technology is created in today’s world, the Bradbury urges readers not to forget the power of knowledge and human connection.

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