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Farenheit 451 Essay

Table of Contents Example One .......................................................................................4 Example Two .......................................................................................5 Example Three.....................................................................................5

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Outline I. Introduction II. Example 1 A. Guy Montag B. He thought it would bring him happiness C. It ruined his marriage III. Example 2 A. Mildred Montag IV. Example 3 A. Captain Beatty V. Conclusion

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Farenheit 451 Essay


What a shame the girl replied, You do are not in love with anyone. Imagine being accused of a loveless life when a wife of ten years sits at home. Ray Bradburys novel, Farenheit 451, tells the story of a man who is currently in that very situation. The story revolves around Guy Montag, a man who learns how important books really are, Mildred Montag, Guys wife who is obsessed with technology and lets it run her life, and Captain Beatty, the head fireman who tries to cover up his own dislike for the world by burning books. Guy learns that his life is not happy in this technology based world and he needs to begin thinking for himself. He leaves his job as a fireman and escapes town; risking not only his life but his friends lives as well. The three characters Guy Montag, Mildred Montag, and Captain Beatty are three examples of why one can not rely on technology.

Example One
Guy Montag, the first example of why one can not always rely on technology. His whole life he tried fitting in to the world around him, but fitting in was not satisfactory. How do you get so empty? He wondered. Who takes it out of you? The answer Montag is looking for is not a who but a what. The what that is robbing him of knowledge is the technology around him. Television, for example, all it does is fill the peoples minds with information and takes away from their family lives. Guy can not get his wife to have one normal conversation with him because she is so enthralled by the three full walls of television that play nonstop in her living room. In the beginning of the novel, he tries to rely on these things to shape his life and fill his heart with joy, when it

Birmingham, 5 did the exact opposite. Guy Montags dependence on technology took away love from his life, job, and even from his wife.

Example Two
The second example of why you can not always rely on technology is Guys wife, Mildred Montag. Mildreds entire world revolves around technology and she relies on it to get through her daily life. However, her love of technology gives the clueless woman the opportunity to live a shallow and lonely life. Funny, how funny, not to remember where or when you met your husband or wife, were Mildreds own words to her husband one night. Imagine, having been married for such a long amount of time and never even truly knowing ones husband. Her loneliness and lack of love alone should be evidence enough of the negative affects relying on technology has. Also, Mildred idiotically tries overdosing on sleeping pills and nearly dies. Why would she want to kill herself, some people may wonder? The reason is clear, her life is miserable and she can not continue relying on technology and she simply wants to get away from her unhappiness.

Example Three
The finale example of why one can not rely on technology is Captain Beatty. Beatty is the type of man who, when he knows he is doing something wrong, will simply pretend he is not. He seems to be wearing a mask and tries to cover his true emotions by bringing other people around him down. The captain very heavily depends on his mechanical hound. The hound is a robotic dog that can destroy anyone or anything that is caught reading books. This source of technology is extremely unreliable because when the hound attempts to take Guys life, Guy simply burns it down and easily

Birmingham, 6 escapes it in the river. Beatty tried using technology such as the hound to complete his job, but secretly he would rather die than have to work at such a high technological place. Go ahead now, you second hand literature, pull the trigger, He took one step towards Montag. This gesture is clearly a plea for death from the Captain, the man is basically asking for death from Montag because he is no longer happy living the way he is. One sees how miserable his daily life must truly be with his reliability on technology. The conflicts that are seen through the characters Guy Montag, Mildred Montag, and Captain Beatty show how one can not rely on technology. Envision a life that is a facsimile of theirs, with no feelings, no love, and no desire for life! All of those attributes are shown through these characters and none seem very happy with the prospect of their futures. Watching television all day, texting, talking on the phone, and checking ones facebook may seem to be time worthy and desirable. However, one lesson that is taught through this novel is to never rely on those things to control ones life.

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References
JiffyNotes. "JiffyNotes: Fahrenheit 451: Summary: Historical Context." Jiffynotes.com - Novel Resource Guide and Literary Analysis. Jiffynotes.com, 2011. Web. 23 Apr. 2011. http://www.jiffynotes.com/fahrenheit451/HistoricalContext.html Unknown. "Fahrenheit 451 Summary | GradeSaver." Study Guides & Essay Editing | GradeSaver. GradeSaver LLC., 1999. Web. 23 Apr. 2011. http://www.gradesaver.com/fahrenheit-451/study- guide/short-summary/. Unknown. "FREE Fahrenheit 451 Part 1: The Hearth and the Salamander Summary and Book Notes | BookRags.com." BookRags.com | Study Guides, Lesson Plans, Book Summaries and More. Bookrags Inc, 2000. Web. 21 Apr. 2011. http://www.bookrags.com/notes/451/PART1.html. Zanskey, Laura. "Real Life Fahrenheit 451 - 7 Book Reviews." 7 Book Reviews - Seven Book Reviews about. Book Reviews. Web. 21 Apr. 2011. http://www.7books.net/real-life-fahrenheit-451/.

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