Addiction and Control in Fahrenheit 451 Addicts often rely on their habits in order to give them a sense of control over their lives, but are frequently met with the opposite. Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 is one set in a futuristic society in which books are outlawed. This single law has set off a spiral of negative effects on the citizens of the city. One of these effects includes recurrent cases of addiction and control by the government through dependencies such as drugs, technology, and sadistic tendencies, and these obsessions aren’t too far from today’s reality. Drugs, especially the overlooked ones such as sleeping pills, are commonly abused in Fahrenheit 451, and share similarities to cases in the world today. Mildred’s pill habits …show more content…
As Montag is coming home from work he finds Mildred passed out and notes “The small crystal bottle of sleeping tablets which earlier today had been filled with thirty capsules and which now lay uncapped” (Bradbury 13). It is clear that this is an important consequence to Bradbury’s deeply impersonal society considering how early and often such themes are mentioned. The frequency of drug abuse and suicide in the novel is directly related to how disconnected the characters are from both information and one another, leading to common cases of depression and detachment. This fragile mental state of its citizens is one of the things that makes it so easy for the government to control and manipulate them. This is not just a case of fiction however, as drug abuse due to disconnection from society is a very real issue all over the world. The link between drug abuse and isolation within a society is evident in Estonia, and more specifically Tallinn, commonly referred to as the overdose capital of Europe. Tallinn and surrounding areas have a large …show more content…
Again, Mildred showcases this dependency on technology throughout the novel, as she is constantly plugged in, whether that be to seashells or the “family”. This is shown as early as page 19 in the novel where Montag and Mildred are having a conversation and Montag acknowledges that “She had both ears plugged with electronic bees that were humming the hour away” (Bradbury). This incessant pounding of pre-approved information into the heads of citizens makes it nearly impossible for them to think for themselves. Most citizens believe in whatever “truth” the “family” or seashells tell them, and without any divergence between people, why wouldn’t they? Of course there are the always outcasts who attempt to distance themselves from the media, but its control effects them as well. This is evident when Montag is on the subway trying to read the Bible while an extremely repetitive commercial promoting “Denham’s Dentifrice” keeps him from focusing; “Shut up, thought Montag. Consider the lilies of the field” (Bradbury 78). This is one example of how the government uses technology to control people, as it obstructs them from breaking away from the “norm.” Not only are people vulnerable to this information being pumped out, but they’ve come to rely on it. This seemingly extreme
In Fahrenheit 451, society is controlled by a corrupt government who wants to take away the people’s power of language by jeopardizing their right to individual thought. They do this by burning all of the books in the citizen’s possession, which takes away their access to knowledge and language. This way, the people, who don’t know any difference, can much more easily be subject to manipulation because they haven’t explored any different point of view or ideas. The government officials, such as Captain Beatty, still educate themselves through books so they can have a certain type of dominant power over the people by having something they don’t. One citizen, Guy Montag, is introduced to language through books and is able to begin thinking for
How much can a government control its people through books and media? A nation can be brainwashed through learning. There are prime examples of this all around the world. Think how much the government could manipulate you through learning sources. How do you know what your learning through sources likes books and media are true?
The use of drugs is horrible in Fahrenheit 451. The society in Fahrenheit 451 uses drugs irresponsibly. Not only are they irresponsibly used, but so many individuals become engrossed in them that they fail to notice physical changes until it is too late. “Maybe you took two pills and forgot and took two more and forgot again and took two more,’ Montag says, ‘ And were so dopey you kept right on until you had 30 or 40 of them in you.”
People say that society will not stand for the existence of literature and that they will punish and ostracize those that do not listen. However, when people say that they will punish those who deviate from the standard, they often mean that they themselves will do the punishing. For example, quickly after Montag recognizes the value of books, Mildred turns him in and Beatty immediately embodies society’s ideals to a violent extreme. Amongst the various things Montag has witnessed throughout the entirety of the book, the result of this extreme compliance to societal standards may be the greatest motivation for his
In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the idea of finding distractions in order to avoid reality becomes highly prevalent. The society in this book depended greatly on distractions and rarely ever felt true raw emotions. The main character’s wife is a prime example of unhealthily yearning for distractions. She was constantly overwhelming herself with technology and medication, distracting herself from her life around her, once to the point of an accidental overdose on sleeping pills. When asked about the incident she replied “‘oh, I wouldn't do that’” and in fact she had no idea she had taken so many pills, which is extremely harmful and concerning (Bradbury 17).
The voices of Indigenous children are unheard and purposely ignored. This is portrayed through the literature of Birdie by Tracey Lindberg and Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese. Despite both apologies from Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau, the government system to protect First Nations children appears to have detrimental effects on the life of a child. This is proven by young children turning to drugs in order to satisfy their growing pain, family members who abuse their children because they consume high amounts of alcohol, which has a negative impact on the child, and discriminatory behaviour by surrounding communities. To begin with, young children turning to drugs in order to satisfy their growing pain.
The emotion provoking feeling of apathy is displayed in everyday life. Furthermore, this emotion is embedded into the framework of Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury’s work of literature. Throughout life, individuals undergo changes within their personalities, creating uniqueness to them. Oppositely, a being whom does not change, becomes a static individual, as seen in the novel within the character of Mildred.
The concept of leisure in Montag’s world is associated with mindless activities and distractions. The culture in “Fahrenheit 451” provides people with a “sense of motion without moving” (Bradbury 61) and solid entertainment that satiates the desire for pleasure and titillation (59). Distractions are prevalent in Montag’s society as they keep people moving so they do not face reality. As a result, the inhabitants hide their depression with a guise of happiness. For example, Mildred enjoys driving at insane speeds to avoid feeling unhappy and is dependent on parlor wall programmes that depict violence (64).
Society can change a person positively or negatively. In the novel Fahrenheit 51, by Ray Bradbury, Mildred is the wife of the main character Guy Montag. Society has made Mildred feel self-centered, robotic, and unfeeling. First, Mildred is self-centered.
As Harry Browne once said, “Since no one but you can know what 's best for you, government control can 't make your life better.” In Fahrenheit 451, a book by Ray Bradbury, he shows ways on how the government is controlling society with surveillance, technology, and censorship. The government gets to decide what is to be done and what comes in and out of that country. In the novel, it shows how the firefighter, Guy Montag, is different than the other people in that society. These aspects of government control are directly going towards Montag because the advance in technology put into the watchdogs that are in Bradbury’s novel is unbelievable.
While reading the book Farenheit-451 we discovered that Bradbury seemed to have for-shadowed certain aspects of the future. During the book the reader may notice that bradbury hits at certain topics, such as overdose and the quality of life, and conformity along with being careful when speaking to someone. Which is why Farenheit-451 has a powerful message for readers in our world today. The article “OD kills 'Diff'rent Strokes' star Dana Plato” and the book both discuss the topic of overdose. An overdose is when you consume too much of a certain item like sleeping pills or painkillers.
The Alienation Of Technology In Fahrenheit 451 As social philosopher once said “The real problem is not weather the machine thinks but weather men do” (B.F. Skinner) this simple but meaningful quote plays a tremendous role in our modernized world where all we do involves technology, which has slowly made humans as a race progressively more lazy. This directly correlates to Montags dystopian society that without the luxuries of self thought and books. Montag, a fireman, who instead of extinguishing fires, but burns books to expunge the chance of having a citizen read them and see their true elegance. He does not do this because he wants to but because the government and the social norms have adulterated him. As the novel goes on we watch as
Montag starts arguing with Mildred about how she is acting. She is depressed and does not even know it. Mildred thinks that the voices in the walls are her family. Montag tries to get her to see what is really happening in society. She is so unaware of her actions that Montag has top tell her, “maybe you took two pills and forgot and took to more, and forgot again and took two more, and were so dopey you kept right on until you had thirty or forty of them in you” (Bradbury 17).
A dystopian society is a dysfunctional society that is marketed to its citizens as a utopian society. It includes elements such as a lack/ downplay of religion or one government sanctioned religion that everyone must follow. The government either uses force and or fear to control its population. There is a suppression of freedom of speech and a suppression of intellectualism. In this society, there is a protagonist who rebels against the status quo.
Drug abuse is the habitual taking of addictive or illegal drugs in order to feel a euphoria, treat pain, or help with sleeping disorders. Drug abuse is a chronic brain disease that causes drug use despite the harmful consequences to the user and the people around them. In Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, the dystopian society portrayed is oblivious to the impact of the censorship around them. Books are banned and if found, they are burned along with their houses. The people in this society do not have time to think about anything because they are constantly surrounded by the constant chaos of loud noises on commercials or televisions and are over stimulated.