The Cold War and Post-WWII Technology in Fahrenheit 451
The 1950s were a turning point in the postmodern era, marking not only a slew of achievements in human ingenuity, but also the beginning of a long duration of foreign tension rooting from World War II. As a result of this massive war, countries like the United States and Russia were left as superpowers of the world and had unresolved stress. This stress cultivated into an anxious standoff between two massive forces that was nearing complete destruction, in which both sides continuously created more efficient, longer ranged, and more destructive weapons such as missiles, torpedoes, and nuclear bombs (Walsh). Mass paranoia ran wild through the country, infiltrating every crevice of daily …show more content…
At the end of the book, enemy bomber planes dropped bombs which decimated the town the protagonist lived in, essentially flattening it as a whole. This represented the aggressive tension between the United States and Russia. What started as a rivalry between two countries was elevated into threats of warfare and destruction. The forerunner in these threats involved nuclear weaponry, as Russia built up its supply after the end of the previous World War. Both countries had enough firepower to destroy the other, a situation known as “Mutually-Assured Destruction”. This led to a tension between them that would persist on staying taught for several decades. “In 1956, the U.S. mistakenly believed that there was a bomber gap where the Soviets had gained an advantage in deploying bomber aircraft, largely due to a 1955 air show where the Soviets flew bombers in a loop” (Anasu), which led to the US pursuing bomber technology and building planes of increasing quality. Russia worked on improving bombers in response. The bombings of the protagonist's town are a reflection of the Cold War by inventing a fictional snapping point in the conflict, in which both sides engage in warfare. In Bradbury’s dystopian future, the bomber planes were symbols of the inevitable destruction of the situation, and to provide contrast that many died to the bombs because they surrounded themselves in the harmful media he warns about. Throughout the book, broadcasts not only reported trivial information instead of war information, but they also lied about the severity of the war entirely. In the actual Cold War, protocols were in place at the first sight of danger. People had stockpiles of food and shelters to hide in. This is obvious parallelism, as Bradbury tries to show that the usage of media at that growth rate would lead to mass death in a situation
The 1950s were a turning point in the postmodern era, marking not only a slew of achievements in human ingenuity, but also the beginning of a long duration of foreign tension rooting from World War II. As a result of this massive war, countries like the United States and Russia were left as superpowers of the world and had unresolved stress. This stress cultivated into an anxious standoff between two massive forces that was nearing complete destruction, in which both sides continuously created more efficient, longer ranged, and more destructive weapons such as missiles, torpedoes, and nuclear bombs (Walsh). Mass paranoia ran wild through the country, infiltrating every crevice of daily …show more content…
At the end of the book, enemy bomber planes dropped bombs which decimated the town the protagonist lived in, essentially flattening it as a whole. This represented the aggressive tension between the United States and Russia. What started as a rivalry between two countries was elevated into threats of warfare and destruction. The forerunner in these threats involved nuclear weaponry, as Russia built up its supply after the end of the previous World War. Both countries had enough firepower to destroy the other, a situation known as “Mutually-Assured Destruction”. This led to a tension between them that would persist on staying taught for several decades. “In 1956, the U.S. mistakenly believed that there was a bomber gap where the Soviets had gained an advantage in deploying bomber aircraft, largely due to a 1955 air show where the Soviets flew bombers in a loop” (Anasu), which led to the US pursuing bomber technology and building planes of increasing quality. Russia worked on improving bombers in response. The bombings of the protagonist's town are a reflection of the Cold War by inventing a fictional snapping point in the conflict, in which both sides engage in warfare. In Bradbury’s dystopian future, the bomber planes were symbols of the inevitable destruction of the situation, and to provide contrast that many died to the bombs because they surrounded themselves in the harmful media he warns about. Throughout the book, broadcasts not only reported trivial information instead of war information, but they also lied about the severity of the war entirely. In the actual Cold War, protocols were in place at the first sight of danger. People had stockpiles of food and shelters to hide in. This is obvious parallelism, as Bradbury tries to show that the usage of media at that growth rate would lead to mass death in a situation