The Ministry of Education and Science

Lesya Ukrainka Eastern European National University

IN WHAT WAYS DOES MODERN SOCIETY MIRROR RAY

BRADBURY'S "FAHRENHEIT 451"?

Diana Chernyashchuk,

The Student of The Faculty of Foreign Philology,

English Department,

Group 34-O(1)

Lutsk 2020
 P LA N

INTRODUCTION

1. Hostility to books in Ray Bradbury’s novel.

2.Addiction to technology.

3.Social issues in modern society.

CONCLUSIONS

INRODUCTION

The futuristic and dystopian world that Ray Bradbury, the American writer
(1920-2012) of "Fahrenheit 451 "(1953), so vividly explores is frighteningly close to
our own. It might not seem so at first glance, but if we take a closer look, we'll find
that Bradbury wasn't far off the mark with his idea of what human lives would be like
in 50 years. As Ray Bradbury envisioned, technology would be extremely
sophisticated, families would start becoming distant, and entertainment would take a
more significant role in our lives.

The problems at the present might not be as extreme as Bradbury's, however, if

left unchecked, they could grow to be just as monstrous as the writer predicted.

When Bradbury wrote this novel, he was concerned that television would
drown out literature in the future because technology became more popular. One
might argue that the introduction of the Internet and social media has allowed people
to forego genuine human relationships in favor of cyber ones.[1] In Ray Bradbury’s
novel "Fahrenheit 451 " books gradually lost their intellectual and aesthetic value in
the course of time. As society began to move at a faster pace, the written word started
to seem too slow and boring, especially in comparison to the new forms of media that
became available.
 Why do the people become hostile to books and reading in the dystopian
reality of Ray Bradbury’s novel?

The first reason is the growing popularity of television and radio and a huge
torrent of published material. In the 21st century we would add the competing role of
the Internet and the movies (American, more often than not). The second reason of
the people’s reluctance to read is envy. People do not want to feel inferior to those
who have read more than they have. In addition books cause social, gender, national
conflicts in the society. According to Beatty, special-interest groups and other
“minorities” objected to books that offended them. He tells Montag that books do not
give definite answers, that they contradict themselves and one another, and that
different people can "use" them to make absolutely contradictory points.

As a result, to stop reading in the country represented in "Fahrenheit 451"

means for its residents to live a peaceful and calm life without turmoils. Does the
situation remind us of the devaluation of books in the present times? Yes, it does, in
a way.

Faber defines the value of books in Ray Bradbury’s "Fahrenheit 451" by saying
that it is not books that Montag needs, but some of the things—the ideas, beliefs,
views, life examples, lessons and such—that are (and were) in books. To Faber the
content and the thoughts of writers in books are what define books—their true value.
[4] “Books were only one type of receptacle where we stored a lot of things we were
afraid we might forget. There is nothing magical in them at all. The magic is only in
what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one
garment for us.”

Addiction to technology

People like Mildred preferred to stay home and watch the giant television
screens instead of reading. Mildred is physically in the room, but her thoughts and
feelings are elsewhere. She is no more than a machine (“a clockwork orange”)
thinking only what she is told to think. Isn’t there a parallel to our dependence on a
number of electronic gadgets? The psychiatrists today are very much concerned about
a desease called a computer obsession. But this is exactly what the author of
"Fahrenheit 451" warned us of!

In "Fahrenheit 451 " the people are addicted to technology and media, but they
are oblivious to it because it is considered the norm. Technology dominates society.
Montag discusses this issue briefly with Clarisse and reflects on it as he opens up to
the world of books. When he finally escapes his old life, the city is destroyed by
atomic bombs, and Montag begins a simple life with very little technological tools as
he sets out to rebuild society with Granger and the other intellectuals. Bradbury
addresses numerous issues in modern society throughout his novel.[2]

What kind of social issues?

1. censorship;

2. freedom of speech;

3. the threats of abandoning books;

4. moral and intellectual deterioration, primitivization of the society;

5. the dangers of consumerism;

6. the negative (even destructive) impact of technology;

7. ignorance as a tool to equalize the population and promote sameness;

8. dependence on (addiction) to the electronic gadgets;

9. the need to revive eternal nalues and truths (the role of the Bible);

10. the need to study and remember the works written by the best
representatives of civilization;

11.A belief(especially significant today,during our fight against the virus) in

spiritual resurrection of mankind.
 Bradbury was a very intelligent and perceptive person to have been able to
look at the world around him in the 1950's and foresee such an opposite future. In the
next 50 or so years it's very possible that our family lifestyle could end up like that of
"Fahrenheit 451 ", unless we learn to appreciate our loved ones like in the time of
past. [3]

CONCLUSIONS
To conclude, "Fahrenheit 451 "gives any reader an opportunity to experience
firsthand a 1950’s prediction of the world in the 21st century. Modern society mirrors
Ray Bradbury’s "Fahrenheit 451 "in such ways:
1.It is the precise reflection of the effects of television on society, especially
concerning reading the literature.
2.  People in "Fahrenheit 451 " are a clear representation of the current world,
which is likely to turn into in the future thanks to the media.
3. Books burning and city incineration is a symbolic reflection of the problems
that bedevil our world mainly through entertainment enslavement.

References

1. https://study.com/academy/lesson/fahrenheit-451s-society-compared-to-
ours.html
2. https://www.gradesaver.com/fahrenheit-451/study-guide/themes

3. https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/fahrenheit-451-by-ray-bradbury-
what-connectio-389702
4. https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/how-does-faber-define-value-books-
fahrenheit-451-24581