Without Thought, There is Violence

A quote by New York Times states, “Frightening in its implications, Mr. Bradbury’s account of this insane world, which bears many alarming resemblances to our own, is fascinating.” I agree with this quote because Bradbury is spot on with his prediction of what the future will be like. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray  Bradbury, is a novel about the problems we have in our society today, that the author predicted 62 years ago. In the story, a man named Montag, meets a young girl named Clarisse, who is indifferent to everyone in the society. She opens Montag’s mind with issues, like how kids at her school like to beat each other up for fun and how her teachers don’t allow questions to be asked about why they are learning. This eventually leads Montag down a rebellious path, which changes what he believes in, and how he views the world. Bradbury was right to be concerned about the future because today, people are constantly staring at their screens, and they are unable to think of any legitimate thoughts.

Bradbury criticizes how humans can no longer think for themselves, and that the internet has made information quicker, so it loses its meaning. On page 18, Mildred is asking Montag if they can get their fourth wall torn out and “a fourth wall-TV put in.” Mildred already has a huge wall of tv’s, and she wants to have more because she believes that it is “fun.” Bradbury is warning us about technology taking over our lives, and how we will get carried away into making purchases they do not need. Humans spend millions of dollars on jewelry and clothes, when the money could be going to a more worthy cause. On page 52, Beatty says “Then, in the twentieth century, speed up your camera, books cut shorter, condensations.” This quote means that everything is being rushed; information is becoming more condensed, television is rushed so your brain cannot understand everything, and ideas are losing their significance. According to the article, “How Facebook Makes us Unhappy,” we are becoming less self sufficient, and we are unable to entertain ourselves without the use of electronics. Looking at our society today, Bradbury was right to be concerned that we can no longer think ourselves, and that the internet is taking away the meaning in things. Whenever I am looking for the answer to a question I go straight to Google instead of asking someone else or finding the information in a book. Once everyone starts using the internet instead of having conversations with people, we will become lifeless statues, who don’t acknowledge anyone who passes by.

Bradbury criticizes how teenagers have become more violent and how they think it is fun to hurt others. On page 27, Clarisse tells Montag how everyone she knows is “Either shouting or dancing around like wild or beating up one another.” Clarisse is the only one in her school who questions things in life, especially at school. Teenagers have become more violent and wild because they cannot think for themselves, and they are frustrated because of it; therefore, they take their frustration out on others. On page 122, Montag says, “For no reason at all in the world, they tried to kill me.” Teenagers were zipping down the road in their beetle, and decided to try to run over Montag for fun. They were laughing and having a good time, when they were about to end someone’s life. Teenagers are becoming more and more barbaric, and they think they can harm others for no reason and have no consequences. I see this with many teenagers, who punch and tackle each other, and they assume that there nothing is wrong with it. Luckily, the older and more mature humans, think more about the consequences and how their actions can affect others.

Society needs to stop avoiding communication as a means to solving its problems. One way to do address this would be to communicate with others in an effort to resolve problems; as opposed to Googling it.  Another example would be to strive to use communication to get results either directly or indirectly. Directly being face to face, and indirectly could be through phone or email. These are some examples of how society can benefit from open communication instead of opting for online resources.