Fahrenheit 451: A Comparative Analysis
(Nearly) Mirroring Images
Although many may strive to develop a utopian society, this ideal is only an unattainable dream that can never become reality; a wish that can never be brought to life. As many aim for this unrealistic ideal, many utopian societies first appear as is; a perfect society with a flawless government and harmonious people- at least on the surface. But when we are provided with a closer look at this supposed utopian society, it is revealed that, at some point in time, this society slowly began to spiral downwards. It would soon develop into a dystopian society where social values and standards have become greatly distorted and skewed. When applying the themes in this book to our current society, comparisons can be drawn in areas such as technology, social interactions and education in both societies. …show more content…
Between the dystopian society in Fahrenheit 451 and our current society, several comparisons can be made on the amount of social interaction that takes place in each society and how technology may have affected it. In this dystopian society, the citizens spend a large majority of their time with their parlor walls whom they watch meaningless entertainment from. Many of these citizens spend most of their time with their “families” rather than their actual families which shows you how these parlor walls have greatly affected many people.
"Nobody listens any more. I can't talk to the walls because they're yelling at me. I can't talk to my wife; she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough, it'll make sense.”(pg. 78)
This is actually quite similar to our current society’s situation. Many people nowadays are much more attached to technology than ever before which is beginning to become a potential problem; with all the technology, we’re becoming more and more detached from reality. This is most likely due to how we are being constantly surrounded by screens whether it be from cell phones, video games, computers, television screens and tablets all around us. This leaves us with technology at our disposal and many choose to neglect socializing with others (similar as in Fahrenheit 451) when we have access to technology. A similarity that these two societies possess would be how we are becoming much more attached to technology, but are distancing ourselves from human interaction and contact in the process. Another form of technology found in the dystopian society of Fahrenheit 451 would be the Seashell Radios. Although seashells may be perceived as natural, Seashell Radios are anything but natural- they are similar to earbuds but are wireless and broadcast live news to all. The purpose of Seashell Radios are similar to those of earbuds- to block out those around you and to drown out the real sounds of the world.
“There was a tiny dance of melody in the air, her Seashell was tamped in her ear again and she was listening to far people in far places, her eyes wide and staring at the fathoms of blackness above her in the ceiling.”(pg.39)
As stated above, Seashell Radios resemble earbuds, serving a similar purpose except one may be used without a device. The final similarity regarding social interactions is how both societies use some form of device to block out others around us, preventing conversation and not allowing people to interact with one another. Both societies possess similarities in the area of social interactions, with most of them revolving around technology, indicating that the use of technology may affect a society and the amount of social interaction. In both the dystopian society of Fahrenheit 451 and our current society, there are similarities and comparisons that can be made for the area of technology. In this dystopian society, the citizens spend hours upon hours of their time with their parlor walls: large television screens that take up entire walls. They would much rather prefer to watch and interact with nonexistent “families” on their parlor walls rather than with their actual friends and family. Over time, they begin to pay significantly more attention to the screens around them rather than the life around them.
"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."
"That's one-third of my yearly pay."
"It's only two thousand dollars," she replied. (pg.18)
This is actually extremely similar to one of the major problems in our current society- the constant use of technology. Although there is nothing wrong with using technology, our current society has gotten to the point where we have been using technology much too often and it had been affecting our society’s behavior. Many families nowadays spend hours upon hours in front of the television set, being immersed by meaningless shows and entertainment which really contain no form of substance. One similarity that these two societies possess would be how citizens from both societies spend hours in front of a television for trivial shows and that this leads to negative effects, one which affects the society’s social interaction. Another similarity between these two surprisingly similar societies would be the substance of the shows we are being shown. The shows provided on the parlor walls are made up of no substance to live up to their utopian standard- to make everyone happy and to allow everyone to live without worry. Unfortunately, the government excluded anything that would provide us with what books had once provided us (ex. knowledge, demands us to think, develops imaginations, creates and answers questions, to educate, etc.)
“"Empty the theatres save for clowns and furnish the rooms with glass walls and pretty colours running up and down the walls like confetti or blood or sherry or sauterne…” (pg.53)
Although Fahrenheit 451 may seem like an impossible future, when you review its similarities, it is extremely uncanny at the amount of similarities between these two societies. There is also another similarity to our current society. If you were to watch television, you would most likely be greeted by worthless content. Although there are actual TV shows with quality, a large portion of society doesn’t bother with watching them- they would much rather watch reality TV shows with blundering idiots and families complaining about first-world problems. These two societies, once again, possess similarities and comparisons in the area of technology.
Between the dystopian society in Fahrenheit 451 and our current society, several contrasts and comparisons can be made on the schooling system in these two societies.
In Fahrenheit 451, the large amount of technology used eventually drew people away from reading. Books that caused offense to minorities would be banned and, over time, each book would become banned until the government decided to outlaw books altogether. If they had done so, then you would assume that the schooling in this society wouldn’t be as exceptional as it could have been. Although the dystopian society in Fahrenheit 451 and our current society have many similarities, there are several differences, especially when it comes to schooling system. One of the differences would be how students were unable to ask questions at school. In the schooling system (at least in Fahrenheit 451), students were not allowed to ask questions- school was merely the teacher filling the students’ heads with facts and it soon became evident that they didn’t intend to teach the students what was best for their future- after all, it would be easier for the less educated to be easily controlled by the
government.
“An hour of TV class, an hour of basketball or baseball or running, another hour of transcription history or painting pictures, and more sports, but do you know, we never ask questions, or at least most don't; they just run the answers at you, bing, bing, bing, and us sitting there for four more hours of film teacher.” (pg.27)
In this situation, the current society we live in today is the exact opposite of this case. Teachers encourage you to ask questions, to read, to communicate, to be curious, everything forbidden in this dystopian society. The goal of the teacher is to push you to do your best but in Fahrenheit 451, the teacher isn’t helping you at all- they’re merely setting you up for failure. The contrast for this situation would be how the schooling system in Fahrenheit 451 sets the students up for failure instead of helping them prepare while the school system in our current society is designed to help each and every one to do their very best.
The next contrast would be how school “molds” you into the person you are now. School is meant to shape you into the kind of person that will allow you to succeed in life. All the lessons given in school and college will be crucial in the future as it will allow you to obtain job and so on. School is a big part of your life and you should make the most out of it. The school system in our current society is mainly positive- it helps you prepare for the unexpected future.
In the dystopian society of Fahrenheit 451, school is not as important as it had been several decades ago. Rather than informing the students of important skills they will need in the future, the teachers are merely providing them with useless facts- why would a dystopian government allow schools to provide students with knowledge they had taken away through banning books? “School is shortened, discipline relaxed, philosophies, histories, languages dropped, English and spelling gradually neglected, finally almost completely ignored.” (pg.53) Instead, school serves as a place for the government to be able to mold students into becoming a normal citizen in their dystopian society.
“We've lowered the kindergarten age year after year until now we're almost snatching them from the cradle." (pg.57) This would make sense in a dystopian society because the younger the child is, the easier it is to mold them before becoming an “odd duck” in the society. The final contrast between these two societies is that school serves as a place to shape/mold a person for the better (at least in the current society) or for the worse (Fahrenheit 451). Although most of the analyzing between Fahrenheit 451 and this current society resulted in similarities, the schooling system was quite different and resulted in only contrasts. After comparing and contrasting the themes of Fahrenheit 451 (social interactions, education, and technology) with our current society, it appears as if our current society is a mirror image of the dystopian society in Fahrenheit 451. Although the society in Fahrenheit 451 had aimed to become a utopia of content and cheerful people, it resulted in almost the exact opposite. Many people in the dystopian society have attempted or have committed suicide as stated by this quote:
“We get these cases nine or ten a night. Got so many, starting a few years ago, we had the special machines built.”
No matter what you may think, a utopian society is an unrealistic ideal- nothing can be perfect without sacrifice and the sacrifice this dystopian society gave was their
Although many may strive to develop a utopian society, this ideal is only an unattainable dream that can never become reality; a wish that can never be brought to life. As many aim for this unrealistic ideal, many utopian societies first appear as is; a perfect society with a flawless government and harmonious people- at least on the surface. But when we are provided with a closer look at this supposed utopian society, it is revealed that, at some point in time, this society slowly began to spiral downwards. It would soon develop into a dystopian society where social values and standards have become greatly distorted and skewed. When applying the themes in this book to our current society, comparisons can be drawn in areas such as technology, social interactions and education in both societies. …show more content…
Between the dystopian society in Fahrenheit 451 and our current society, several comparisons can be made on the amount of social interaction that takes place in each society and how technology may have affected it. In this dystopian society, the citizens spend a large majority of their time with their parlor walls whom they watch meaningless entertainment from. Many of these citizens spend most of their time with their “families” rather than their actual families which shows you how these parlor walls have greatly affected many people.
"Nobody listens any more. I can't talk to the walls because they're yelling at me. I can't talk to my wife; she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough, it'll make sense.”(pg. 78)
This is actually quite similar to our current society’s situation. Many people nowadays are much more attached to technology than ever before which is beginning to become a potential problem; with all the technology, we’re becoming more and more detached from reality. This is most likely due to how we are being constantly surrounded by screens whether it be from cell phones, video games, computers, television screens and tablets all around us. This leaves us with technology at our disposal and many choose to neglect socializing with others (similar as in Fahrenheit 451) when we have access to technology. A similarity that these two societies possess would be how we are becoming much more attached to technology, but are distancing ourselves from human interaction and contact in the process. Another form of technology found in the dystopian society of Fahrenheit 451 would be the Seashell Radios. Although seashells may be perceived as natural, Seashell Radios are anything but natural- they are similar to earbuds but are wireless and broadcast live news to all. The purpose of Seashell Radios are similar to those of earbuds- to block out those around you and to drown out the real sounds of the world.
“There was a tiny dance of melody in the air, her Seashell was tamped in her ear again and she was listening to far people in far places, her eyes wide and staring at the fathoms of blackness above her in the ceiling.”(pg.39)
As stated above, Seashell Radios resemble earbuds, serving a similar purpose except one may be used without a device. The final similarity regarding social interactions is how both societies use some form of device to block out others around us, preventing conversation and not allowing people to interact with one another. Both societies possess similarities in the area of social interactions, with most of them revolving around technology, indicating that the use of technology may affect a society and the amount of social interaction. In both the dystopian society of Fahrenheit 451 and our current society, there are similarities and comparisons that can be made for the area of technology. In this dystopian society, the citizens spend hours upon hours of their time with their parlor walls: large television screens that take up entire walls. They would much rather prefer to watch and interact with nonexistent “families” on their parlor walls rather than with their actual friends and family. Over time, they begin to pay significantly more attention to the screens around them rather than the life around them.
"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."
"That's one-third of my yearly pay."
"It's only two thousand dollars," she replied. (pg.18)
This is actually extremely similar to one of the major problems in our current society- the constant use of technology. Although there is nothing wrong with using technology, our current society has gotten to the point where we have been using technology much too often and it had been affecting our society’s behavior. Many families nowadays spend hours upon hours in front of the television set, being immersed by meaningless shows and entertainment which really contain no form of substance. One similarity that these two societies possess would be how citizens from both societies spend hours in front of a television for trivial shows and that this leads to negative effects, one which affects the society’s social interaction. Another similarity between these two surprisingly similar societies would be the substance of the shows we are being shown. The shows provided on the parlor walls are made up of no substance to live up to their utopian standard- to make everyone happy and to allow everyone to live without worry. Unfortunately, the government excluded anything that would provide us with what books had once provided us (ex. knowledge, demands us to think, develops imaginations, creates and answers questions, to educate, etc.)
“"Empty the theatres save for clowns and furnish the rooms with glass walls and pretty colours running up and down the walls like confetti or blood or sherry or sauterne…” (pg.53)
Although Fahrenheit 451 may seem like an impossible future, when you review its similarities, it is extremely uncanny at the amount of similarities between these two societies. There is also another similarity to our current society. If you were to watch television, you would most likely be greeted by worthless content. Although there are actual TV shows with quality, a large portion of society doesn’t bother with watching them- they would much rather watch reality TV shows with blundering idiots and families complaining about first-world problems. These two societies, once again, possess similarities and comparisons in the area of technology.
Between the dystopian society in Fahrenheit 451 and our current society, several contrasts and comparisons can be made on the schooling system in these two societies.
In Fahrenheit 451, the large amount of technology used eventually drew people away from reading. Books that caused offense to minorities would be banned and, over time, each book would become banned until the government decided to outlaw books altogether. If they had done so, then you would assume that the schooling in this society wouldn’t be as exceptional as it could have been. Although the dystopian society in Fahrenheit 451 and our current society have many similarities, there are several differences, especially when it comes to schooling system. One of the differences would be how students were unable to ask questions at school. In the schooling system (at least in Fahrenheit 451), students were not allowed to ask questions- school was merely the teacher filling the students’ heads with facts and it soon became evident that they didn’t intend to teach the students what was best for their future- after all, it would be easier for the less educated to be easily controlled by the
government.
“An hour of TV class, an hour of basketball or baseball or running, another hour of transcription history or painting pictures, and more sports, but do you know, we never ask questions, or at least most don't; they just run the answers at you, bing, bing, bing, and us sitting there for four more hours of film teacher.” (pg.27)
In this situation, the current society we live in today is the exact opposite of this case. Teachers encourage you to ask questions, to read, to communicate, to be curious, everything forbidden in this dystopian society. The goal of the teacher is to push you to do your best but in Fahrenheit 451, the teacher isn’t helping you at all- they’re merely setting you up for failure. The contrast for this situation would be how the schooling system in Fahrenheit 451 sets the students up for failure instead of helping them prepare while the school system in our current society is designed to help each and every one to do their very best.
The next contrast would be how school “molds” you into the person you are now. School is meant to shape you into the kind of person that will allow you to succeed in life. All the lessons given in school and college will be crucial in the future as it will allow you to obtain job and so on. School is a big part of your life and you should make the most out of it. The school system in our current society is mainly positive- it helps you prepare for the unexpected future.
In the dystopian society of Fahrenheit 451, school is not as important as it had been several decades ago. Rather than informing the students of important skills they will need in the future, the teachers are merely providing them with useless facts- why would a dystopian government allow schools to provide students with knowledge they had taken away through banning books? “School is shortened, discipline relaxed, philosophies, histories, languages dropped, English and spelling gradually neglected, finally almost completely ignored.” (pg.53) Instead, school serves as a place for the government to be able to mold students into becoming a normal citizen in their dystopian society.
“We've lowered the kindergarten age year after year until now we're almost snatching them from the cradle." (pg.57) This would make sense in a dystopian society because the younger the child is, the easier it is to mold them before becoming an “odd duck” in the society. The final contrast between these two societies is that school serves as a place to shape/mold a person for the better (at least in the current society) or for the worse (Fahrenheit 451). Although most of the analyzing between Fahrenheit 451 and this current society resulted in similarities, the schooling system was quite different and resulted in only contrasts. After comparing and contrasting the themes of Fahrenheit 451 (social interactions, education, and technology) with our current society, it appears as if our current society is a mirror image of the dystopian society in Fahrenheit 451. Although the society in Fahrenheit 451 had aimed to become a utopia of content and cheerful people, it resulted in almost the exact opposite. Many people in the dystopian society have attempted or have committed suicide as stated by this quote:
“We get these cases nine or ten a night. Got so many, starting a few years ago, we had the special machines built.”
No matter what you may think, a utopian society is an unrealistic ideal- nothing can be perfect without sacrifice and the sacrifice this dystopian society gave was their