Book Review: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury’s "Fahrenheit 451" demonstrates a futuristic society where most books are outlawed and firemen burn any house that has them. People are becoming dependent on technology and media. In this dystopian society it is normal for families to watch an interactive serial drama on three prodigious, floor-to-ceiling television screens, which they call "parlor walls". Citizens call the people in this soap opera their "family" and they spend little to no time with their true family. Although many may say this is a book about censorship, Ray Bradbury says that his novel is a story explaining how television destroys any interest in reading literature, which leads to a perception of knowledge composed only of partial information. The theme of this novel is people need resilience in times of change. This means people need to be strong when what they know is being challenged and changed.
Throughout the novel it seems as though Bradbury could see into the future. We can easily connect objects and behaviors to our own lives. For example the seashells, “And in her ears the little Seashells, the thimble radios tamped tight, and an electronic ocean of sound, of music and talk and music and talk coming in, coming in on the shore of her unsleeping mind…”, “There had been no night in the last two years that Mildred had not swum that sea…” (pg. 76). The seashells are like earbuds, forever attached, they can be brought pretty much everywhere: shopping, on the bus, in the car, at home, etc.
“The average young American spends every waking minute, except for the time in school, using a smartphone, computer, television, or other electronic device…” (If Your Kids Are Awake They’re Probably Online, by Tamar Lewin), this quote reminds me of when Ms. Bowles said “I plunk the children in school nine days out of ten. I put up with them when they come home three days a month; it's not bad at all. You heave them into the 'parlor' and turn the switch.”(pg.). Today we live in a world where TV is used as a baby sitter and families rarely have conversations with one another. Families are too preoccupied with technology to show affection, many text each other instead of speaking. In the article “More Americans Sense a Downside to an Always Plugged-In Existence” by Marjorie Connelly, one in seven married respondents said the use of technology was causing them to see less of their spouses and one in ten said they spent less time with their children under 18.
Although it may not have a hollow four inch needle and a great sense of smell, the US Marines “Alpha Dog” is like the mechanical hound. It can carry things and has an adequate sense of balance and speed. It can handle 70% to 80% of what the Marines can walk.
“You see, it's... it's no good, Montag. We've all got to be alike. The only way to be happy is for everyone to be made equal.”, Much like today this shows that society cannot handle difference, it requires too much thought.
People in this society things have to be fast-paced, otherwise it would allow time for people to think. “White blurs are houses. Brown blurs are cows. My uncle drove slowly on a highway once. He drove forty miles an hour and they jailed him for two days.” This shows that society has regressed.
“So it was the hand had started it all… His hands had been infected and soon it would be his arms...His hands were ravenous.” this shows that people are always blaming things, especially today.
It is easy to see how Ray Bradbury was ahead of his time. Many of the concepts in this book relate to daily life. He realized things that even today many cannot.