Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires
Nathan Hevle
English B1A
Professor Laura Peet
7 July 2013
Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires In a world that is being overrun by advancements in technology and mass media, society finds itself willingly trapped in a digital prison where people care less and less about the world. In Ray Bradbury’s 1953 classic science fiction novel Fahrenheit 451, he describes a technological world where everyone basically lives through their televisions and other advanced devices, and is totally oblivious to anything going on in the real world. The society in this world literally burns their creativity freely and cheerfully. People talk, but they don’t say anything (60). Bradbury subliminally warns how a technological futuristic world like this is nothing but dark and destructive. He expresses the importance of nature in society and shows how if we forget nature, or if we modify it, we will eventually destroy ourselves (70). “The Electronic-Eyed Snake”, as Montag describes it, is a metal snake-like tool used to suck the poison from Mildred’s stomach, sort of like a pump (21, 41). It is a tool used solely for when people attempt suicide. This is a very negative device. To have the need to make a special tool because there are too many people trying to commit suicide is dark and sad. The snake is a creature that is slimy, cold-blooded and usually has characteristics of a liar. Montag asks himself, “Did it drink out all of the darkness? Did it suck out all the poisons accumulated with the years?” (21). No doubt the snake saved Mildred’s life by removing all the toxins in her system, but it lied to her. It left the worst poison of all, her own emptiness, inside of her. “The electric thimble moved like a praying mantis on the pillow...Now it was in her ear again, humming” (43). Bradbury describes Mildred’s earbuds as a praying mantis. The praying mantis is an insect known for its assassin stealth-like abilities and its huge appetite. Therefore Mildred’s earbuds are
English B1A
Professor Laura Peet
7 July 2013
Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires In a world that is being overrun by advancements in technology and mass media, society finds itself willingly trapped in a digital prison where people care less and less about the world. In Ray Bradbury’s 1953 classic science fiction novel Fahrenheit 451, he describes a technological world where everyone basically lives through their televisions and other advanced devices, and is totally oblivious to anything going on in the real world. The society in this world literally burns their creativity freely and cheerfully. People talk, but they don’t say anything (60). Bradbury subliminally warns how a technological futuristic world like this is nothing but dark and destructive. He expresses the importance of nature in society and shows how if we forget nature, or if we modify it, we will eventually destroy ourselves (70). “The Electronic-Eyed Snake”, as Montag describes it, is a metal snake-like tool used to suck the poison from Mildred’s stomach, sort of like a pump (21, 41). It is a tool used solely for when people attempt suicide. This is a very negative device. To have the need to make a special tool because there are too many people trying to commit suicide is dark and sad. The snake is a creature that is slimy, cold-blooded and usually has characteristics of a liar. Montag asks himself, “Did it drink out all of the darkness? Did it suck out all the poisons accumulated with the years?” (21). No doubt the snake saved Mildred’s life by removing all the toxins in her system, but it lied to her. It left the worst poison of all, her own emptiness, inside of her. “The electric thimble moved like a praying mantis on the pillow...Now it was in her ear again, humming” (43). Bradbury describes Mildred’s earbuds as a praying mantis. The praying mantis is an insect known for its assassin stealth-like abilities and its huge appetite. Therefore Mildred’s earbuds are