The Struggle For Happiness In Fahrenheit 451, By Ray Bradbury

An idea as old as time, happiness has always been about obtaining what few can ever have. At the most miniscule level, the constant struggle for happiness is a primal one. That primal need manifests into an instinct that can rival even the most basic human need—survival. When that instinct coalesces with human desires, an unforeseen transformation will take place—and whether that transformation is beneficial is yet to be seen. This perception is often mirrored in the novel Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury. Set in a future society, this “utopia” prides itself on the concept of happiness. To maintain this happiness, the Fire Department, an organization that starts fires instead of fighting them, burns books. But when Guy Montag, a fireman, …show more content…
With that, the ideology of what happiness truly is and what it should mean to people becomes nebulous. In the novel, the reader can see a great emphasis put forth toward the idea of having gadgets. Whether it is seashell radios, fast cars, and four walls of TV, these are meant to make people “happy”. In reality, however, they can only drive them further from that. Right after Mille has just purchased a third wall-sized TV to appease her need for mindless entertainment, she says, “It 's really fun. It 'll be even more fun when we can afford to have the fourth wall installed. How long you figure before we save up and get the fourth wall torn out and a fourth wall-TV put in? It 's only two thousand dollars” (Bradbury 20). After only a few months of owning the third wall, she lusts after a fourth wall-sized TV to be installed, all on the premise that it makes her “happy”. The reader is left wondering if her incessant need for the wall-sized TV experience stems from the depression she suffers from. The reader can ascertain that she uses this false premise of being happy with TV to create a façade, an illusion that she is truly happy in life. Similarly, this overpowering urgency to accrue material objects can be seen in how this society beholds children. After Montag had turns Millie’s TV, …show more content…
In Fahrenheit 451, the reader begins to notice countless relationships blossom and sprout, but rarely do they see a relationship for what it legitimately is: an intimate connect with another being. Montag had just met Clarisse, a charismatic girl with an imagination as diverse as the United States, and he begins to question his existence: “Am I happy?” At the start, this lingering question makes no immediate effect on his life, as he is left confused, but that is what sparks his journey of self-discovery: confusion: “When did we meet. And where? (Bradbury 43). This quote symbolizes how artificial Montag’s relationship truly is with his wife. For someone who claims to be happily married, the reader would expect him to remember where he had met her. The reader also is left wondering if his marriage is nothing more than a sham that is truly holding back Montag’s happiness. It appears that Montag himself struggles with this truth, as he constantly deliberates as to whether Millie is actually standing beside him through all the trials is he having to face. This question is further answered after Millie rats him out for harboring books. Furthermore, this perception of fake relationships is catalyzed through the society’s view of war: “I 've heard that, too. I 've never known any dead man killed in a war. Killed jumping off buildings, yes, like Gloria 's husband last week, but from wars? No”