9.25.2007

Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451 is filled with numerous social, political, and moral issues. All of these issues have formed a collaboration that results in the current state of the country, with book burning, television screen rooms, and a complete selfishness that seems to be unchangeable. One major thing that bothered me in this book was the lack of genuine compassion and caring, and I also think there was a total lack of love. People in this society are so wrapped up in their zombie lives that they do not even think of the people that they live with and see everyday. Rather than sit down to dinner together, a family in Fahrenheit 451 would probably go into "the parlor" and "enjoy" a meal filled with superficial, computer-generated conversations. This society is immersed in a state of total disconnect, where children rarely see their parents, husbands and wives do not communicate, children are killing each other for lack of anything constructive to do, and emotions are just a concept, not something that the people actually experience. Montag and Mildred, in this love-lost society cannot even recall the day that they first met, muchless what the last conversation they had was about. Also, as the books progresses, Montag comes to find that he really will not miss Mildred if she were to die at that precise moment, and he even seems to secretly wish she were no longer there. Mildred and Montag's lack of a relationship shows that in this society, people only marry and have children to procreate, and to follow the accepted norms. These people would be exactly the same with or without their husband or wife, living as the same mindless drones, hypontized by the television screen.

As a whole, I truly enjoyed this novel. It was disturbing, riveting, and eerily familiar to read. The Hound was a terrific creation, and it made me think of the secret service or some other censoring government organization. I found this novel almost frightening because of just how likely it is that our country could be (or may already be) immersed in an age of computer-generated entertainment. Books are no longer necessary if they can be read on the internet, analysis isn't what matters anymore, it's whether or not the book can entertain a mass audience. I think Fahrenheit 451 could be used a very valuable lesson to our nation, a warning of what may happen when censorship and the need for instant gratification go too far.