Ray Bradbury characterizes his novel Fahrenheit 451 with excessive violence. Bloodshed, punishment, and cruelty are intrinsic components of Bradbury’s dystopian world, yet those who live there accept it as part of daily life. Because society normalizes psychologically damaging hobbies and behavior, citizens thoughtlessly practice reckless and self-destructive actions from dangerous driving to suicide. These violent tendencies are a symptom of the widespread underlying discontent that citizens deny. Bradbury suggests that without books and the values they contain, society loses many of its morals and qualities, most notably its ability to function happily and peacefully.
Whether it be through burning houses, broadcasting violent programs on TV, or repeatedly engaging the country in wars, the society in Fahrenheit 451 constantly subjects its citizens to forms of violence. The most prominent is the use of fire to obliterate anything that threatens the status quo - books, the problematic individuals who own them, and their houses. Fire is the solution to everything and a means to rid oneself of responsibilities and …show more content…
Violence thus becomes mindless. Clarisse, a social outlier and outcast, recognizes this senseless violence in her own generation, telling Montag she’s “afraid of children [her] own age” because “They kill each other.” Choosing to “bully people around, break windowpanes… or wreck cars” in their free time, her peers perfectly exhibit how violence is so integral to their lives (27). When Montag has an urge “to smash things and kill things,” Mildred prescribes fast driving as stress relief, telling him “I always like to drive fast when I feel that way” because it feels “wonderful” and “You hit rabbits, sometimes you hit dogs.” (61). Violence as a diversion and hobby illustrates that, like fire, it is an acceptable and thoughtless solution and distraction to any
Whether it be through burning houses, broadcasting violent programs on TV, or repeatedly engaging the country in wars, the society in Fahrenheit 451 constantly subjects its citizens to forms of violence. The most prominent is the use of fire to obliterate anything that threatens the status quo - books, the problematic individuals who own them, and their houses. Fire is the solution to everything and a means to rid oneself of responsibilities and …show more content…
Violence thus becomes mindless. Clarisse, a social outlier and outcast, recognizes this senseless violence in her own generation, telling Montag she’s “afraid of children [her] own age” because “They kill each other.” Choosing to “bully people around, break windowpanes… or wreck cars” in their free time, her peers perfectly exhibit how violence is so integral to their lives (27). When Montag has an urge “to smash things and kill things,” Mildred prescribes fast driving as stress relief, telling him “I always like to drive fast when I feel that way” because it feels “wonderful” and “You hit rabbits, sometimes you hit dogs.” (61). Violence as a diversion and hobby illustrates that, like fire, it is an acceptable and thoughtless solution and distraction to any