Just got done writing my english paper for Fahrenheit 451...Thought maybe you guys here could give me some feedback.


Fahrenheit 451: The Fifty-seven Year old Divination


Occasionally, an author comes along that has such vision and poise that many people cannot see the true underlying motivation of his works. Fahrenheit 451, written in 1953, is such a novella. Fifty-seven years ago perhaps it was unspeakable to think that our society would one day banish books and discourage individuality; but does that same line of thought hold true today? Fahrenheit 451 is an accurate portrayal of the direction our society could take with massive influence of technology, government, and media. This essay is an attempt to correlate the dystopian environment of Fahrenheit 451 with today's culture.

Fahrenheit 451 gives its readers examples of the shear lack of motivation to read. The lack of motivation is encouraged by government's law and technological influence. The population of Fahrenheit 451 is fearful of government wrath. This fear leads to the inevitable trepidation of books themselves. When Guy Montag presents his collection of books to his wife she, "backed away as if suddenly confronted by a pack of mice..." (66). Today, people fear the criticism of society. Children who constantly read are referred to as nerds, outcasts, loners, and even weird. With such hostility aimed at those who do read, others simply do not wish to be the victim of such negativity. Children today are much happier being accepted by their peers than they are expanding their own literary prowess. Consequently, we have a declining literary vocation in our own society. The pinnacle of this declination is starkly presented in Bradbury's novel. Troublingly, the bleak populist movement of today's youth against literature is frighteningly similar to that which led to the eventual total banishment of books in Fahrenheit 451. This is evident in the dialog in which the character Captain Beatty professes, "There was no dictum, declaration, no censorship, to start with...minority pressure carried the trick..." (58). The minority pressure presented in Fahrenheit 451 is greatly enhanced by the availability and accessibility of technology.

In Fahrenheit 451 we see an amazing influence of technology on the society. Mildred, for example, feels that the walls project more than a program. When presented with an announcer, whom through the use of technology can say her name, she feels an attachment to him; "He was a friend, no doubt of it, a good friend" (64). Rafeeq McGiveron writes how technology allows for the existence of mass culture in Fahrenheit 451. He states that the end result of this infusion of technology (and its use as a device of mass exploitation) is the "unwillingness of the people to give up their pleasures ... by thinking deeply about anything." He goes on to tell us that the recognition of mass exploitation is important in both the novel and our society as well. (Mcgiveron) Today, people are bombarded with countless meaningless reality shows, advertisements, and senseless time-consuming movies. Children are inundated with video games and massive influence by peers to be socially approved. Many people today spend far greater time updating their social blogs and websites than they do studying or reading. Disturbingly, this is mutually accepted and has yet to be fully recognized by our society. Fortunately exploitation of technology in our society has not reached the epic level presented in Fahrenheit 451, however, could this be the beginning to our own "book-less" future?

Fahrenheit 451 was written during the "McCarthy Era" (Moore). Bradbury states, "We were very close to panic and wholesale book burning." Bradbury goes on to state that he believes in an American citizen's ability to correct error without resorting to destruction, but he also adds the following statement: "I feel that what I had to say in Fahrenheit 451 is valid today and will continue to be valid here and in other countries in other years." (Moore) What was it that Bradbury had to say? This is left open to the interpretation of the reader. I believe Fahrenheit 451 is a warning. Bradbury warns us of the dangers of over-indulgence in self-satisfaction, the desire to conform, and complacency in our individual tenure of knowledge. Bradbury gives us an entire novel describing a world where people have been converted into senseless "sheople." The end of that world was one of utter destruction (158). Only those who decided to fight the exploitation of technology and the conformation pressures of society were the ones who survived. Bradbury has warned us. It is now up to us to decide what our future will be.

Works Cited

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Del Ray Books, 1953.
McGiveron, Rafeeq O. "What 'Carried the Trick'? Mass Exploitation and the Decline of Thought in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451." Extrapolation 37.3 (Fall 1996): 245-256. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 235. Detroit: Gale, 2007. Literature Resource Center. Web. 21 Feb. 2010.

Moore, Everett T. "A Rationale for Bookburners: A Further Word from Ray Bradbury." ALA Bulletin 55.5 (May 1961): 403-404. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Deborah A. Stanley. Vol. 98. Detroit: Gale Research, 1997. Literature Resource Center. Web. 21 Feb. 2010.

Word Count: 747

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JC_Biggs,

i must've done a poor job lol

quote:

Originally posted by JC_Biggs:
i must've done a poor job lol

No, not at all. I think the reason why no one has responded is because you have not done anything spectacular with this essay. It is fairly well written, but does not stand out from the other posts.

For most it is merely a time factor. We read what seems immediately interesting, and press on to the next matter.

A word of advice: Everyone likes a good "Grabber".

Sheople is a good word.

JCBiggs, I was going to praise your paper, but didn't get round to doing it!

If you haven't already done so, you might want to also take a look at Bradbury's "Coda" to Fahrenheit 451, which appears as an afterword in some editions of F451. (It's also on the web in various places - just Google: Bradbury Fahrenheit coda ...and you should find it.)

thank you philnic. I did read the coda and afterword actually. However i didnt read them until AFTER i read the book, and my two sources. i wanted as little influence in my thought process as possible.

i had a few structure areas that needed attention but the teacher gave me a 94..(95 is max i turned in a day late cuz i was absent) so i guess i must of done ok. lol

quote:

Originally posted by JC_Biggs:
...i didnt read them until AFTER i read the book, and my two sources. i wanted as little influence in my thought process as possible...

Goo thinking! But after you had worked out your thoughts on the topic, you could have turned to Bradbury's own account and compared and contrasted. Then again, that would be another paper. 94 out of 95 isn't bad! (Some teachers would write "94 out of 95. Could do better.")

Goo is a good word.

Good is a goo word!