In modern day society, new forms of technology that improve communication, convenience, and other factors in a person’s everyday life are constantly being developed and studied. One issue that an average consumer may not realize is how dangerous and influential the desirable devices can be. Many authors of various forms of literature and art have explored the restrictions that technology has on human interaction and thought using concepts such as symbolism and characterization. Ray Bradbury, in particular, explores the topic of technology in several of his works, and it is a very prominent theme in his novel entitled, Fahrenheit 451. In the novel, Guy Montag is a firefighter in a futuristic dystopian society where owning or reading books is
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In the middle of the book, Guy Montag and his wife, Mildred, went to a dinner with some of Mildred’s friends. Guy Montag decides to read the women a poem to try to prove his point on why reading and books should not be illegal. He reads The Sea of Faith, which is a poem that discusses sad, yet real, topics that happen in the world. After reading the poem, one of Mildred Montag’s friends, Mrs. Bowles, states " ‘You see? I knew it, that's what I wanted to prove... I've always said, poetry and tears, poetry and suicide and crying and awful feelings, poetry and sickness; all that mush’ " (97). The women hear the somber, emotional poem and Mrs. Phelps, another one of Mildred Montag’s friends, immediately begins to cry. She says how much she dislikes the poem and the depressing topics it covers. The women appear to have a difficult time expressing their feelings towards the poem. Soon after Montag read the poem and the women were in a hysterical state, Mildred Montag says, “ ‘Clara… come on, let’s be cheery, you turn the ‘family’ on, now. Go ahead. Let’s laugh and be happy, now, stop crying, we’ll have a party’ ” (97). Again, the ‘family’ causes another problem between the characters and their emotions. Mildred Montag relies on the ‘family’ to entertain her, to have on in the background at her house, and she even speaks of it to others as if it was her real family. She proves her obsessive attachment to the ‘family’ when she tries to console Mrs. Phelps by telling her to turn on the ‘family’. Mildred Montag believes that the ‘family’ will solve the problems caused by the poem, and that it will distract Mrs. Phelps from the sudden realness and realization she had from reading the poem. Readers can compare this to today and how teenagers and young children, especially, turn to phones and other devices to
In the middle of the book, Guy Montag and his wife, Mildred, went to a dinner with some of Mildred’s friends. Guy Montag decides to read the women a poem to try to prove his point on why reading and books should not be illegal. He reads The Sea of Faith, which is a poem that discusses sad, yet real, topics that happen in the world. After reading the poem, one of Mildred Montag’s friends, Mrs. Bowles, states " ‘You see? I knew it, that's what I wanted to prove... I've always said, poetry and tears, poetry and suicide and crying and awful feelings, poetry and sickness; all that mush’ " (97). The women hear the somber, emotional poem and Mrs. Phelps, another one of Mildred Montag’s friends, immediately begins to cry. She says how much she dislikes the poem and the depressing topics it covers. The women appear to have a difficult time expressing their feelings towards the poem. Soon after Montag read the poem and the women were in a hysterical state, Mildred Montag says, “ ‘Clara… come on, let’s be cheery, you turn the ‘family’ on, now. Go ahead. Let’s laugh and be happy, now, stop crying, we’ll have a party’ ” (97). Again, the ‘family’ causes another problem between the characters and their emotions. Mildred Montag relies on the ‘family’ to entertain her, to have on in the background at her house, and she even speaks of it to others as if it was her real family. She proves her obsessive attachment to the ‘family’ when she tries to console Mrs. Phelps by telling her to turn on the ‘family’. Mildred Montag believes that the ‘family’ will solve the problems caused by the poem, and that it will distract Mrs. Phelps from the sudden realness and realization she had from reading the poem. Readers can compare this to today and how teenagers and young children, especially, turn to phones and other devices to