Is the Ignorant Society in Fahrenheit 451 a Blissful Society?
The saying “Ignorance is bliss” is commonly used to say that if you do not know or understand something, you will be happier and will not worry about it. Is ignorance really bliss? Some say that Ignorance keeps a carefree state of mind. On the contrast, it is argued that knowledge is power and although the truth may not always be very pleasant-it will set you free. The difficult question -Is Ignorance really bliss- is explored in the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Throughout the novel, the author uses internal and external conflict to develop one of the many themes in the novel : Ignorance is not always bliss. To begin, the internal conflicts occuring in Guy Montag's head result from the frustration he has because of the deception around him, and the lack of the ability to learn and think for himself. Montag struggles in choosing his own path. He fights in choosing whether to pick up the book in the house at 11 Elm Street (Ray Bradbury 36). His heart wants to pick up the book but his head tells him not too. Also, when Montag’s wife
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Montag says “Jesus God, every hour so many damn things in the sky!” “Why doesn’t someone want to talk about it!” (69). The world is in constant conflict. Many have died in battle and it doesn't seem to affect anyone. The society is desensitized. This war is terrible and there is constantly bomber jets overhead. This large scale conflict is an indicator that ignorance is not always bliss. Ignorance has caused the governments to not have an empathetic view. The obsession with violence and video games has contributed to this war. This society’s ignorance has cost them greatly. Perhaps if they had listened to others instead of turning a blind eye and craving entertainment and violence, this war would not have happened. Instead, they have chosen ignorance and
In part 3 of the novel Montag becomes an independent thinker. With an effort, Montag reminded himself again that this was no fictional episode to be watched on his run to the river:Citation: ( Bradbury 138) Part of Montag 's transformative epiphany has to do with finally accepting reality. He is forced to face the world as it truly exists. He really doesn’t know what 's truly going on but he’s trying to figure it out.
“Knowledge is the key that unlocks all the doors. You can be green-skinned with yellow polka dots and come from Mars, but if you have knowledge that people need, instead of beating you, they'll beat a path to your door.” – Ben Carson. Even as a retired neurosurgeon, he still wants to know more; he is just like Guy Montag from Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Fahrenheit 451 is about a dystopian world where books are banned and burned where found.
The theme of paradoxes is significant because Bradbury is warning the reader of the dangers that occur when machines control our lives and when people are not intellectually aware of what is going on around them. Throughout the novel, contradictions occur to caution the reader of the obstacles automation and insensibility provides . For example, in the beginning of the novel, when Montag was describing Mildred rested on the bed with ¨seashells¨(modern-day earbuds) in her ears, ¨She had both ears plugged with electronic bees that were humming the hour away.¨(Bradbury 16). Mildred is physically present, although the consuming chatter of the government in her ears is veering her away from reality, she is self-contradicting. Mildred and society
Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451 conveys that knowledge is important and that books are an essential part of life, and should not be put to waste. Ray Bradbury conveys to us in his book that Knowledge cannot be achieved by listening to other’s ideas and being told what to think, but by reading books and finding our own knowledge and creating our own thoughts. The text stated “Ah, love, let us be true to one another! For the world, which seems to lie before us like a land of dreams, so various, so beautiful, so new, Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light, nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain; And we are here as a darkling plain swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, where ignorant armies clash by night.” (Bradbury 100)
He read an actual book an epiphany. “Montag shook his head. He looked at a blank wall. The girl’s face was there, really quite beautiful in memory: astonishing, in fact.” (8) His short time with Clarisse transformed Montag.
Fahrenheit 451 is a book of warning. It is a reminder that we need knowledge to survive, and we need people who crave this knowledge to take over in generations to come. We need knowledge to combat ignorance and we get this knowledge from reading books and listening to other people's opinions. It is a warning of what might happen if we were to let the ignorance win, and a warning to never let this happen. It is a warning that what we have is valuable and a reminder to never take that for granted.
Knowledge and Ignorance in Fahrenheit 451 Imagine a society where all books are banned from the public and if any are found they are burned into ashes. This is a reality in the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, which delves deep into problems a society becoming more and more dependant on technology may face. In Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury shows many problems which range from technology to violence, one important topic that is discussed is knowledge and the theme that a society cannot function without knowledge You can clearly see this idea starting to form within the first few pages of the novel, when the protagonist Guy Montag has an interaction with a girl named Clarisse. As they are talking Guy Montag says “You think too many things”(pg 9).
Is ignorance bliss, or do knowledge and learning provide true happiness? The book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury depicts a dystopian society, the main character in the novel Guy Montag is a fireman, in his society books have been banned by the government in fear of independent-thinking by their citizen. Montag starts to question the government and whether the government 's motives behind books are just. In the story Fahrenheit 451 the main character, Montag is constantly questioning his decisions, ideas, and what is wrong and what is right. In Fahrenheit 451 Montag 's encounters, the parlor walls, books, and people whom he meets reveal the idea that knowledge leads to happiness and that, with ignorance, you only wear a mask of happiness.
At the end of the novel, Montag is not in the best place in his life. He was talking to Faber and he said, “this is happening to me” (108).
In this novel Ray Bradbury shows how lack of knowledge can affect a whole society.
He is desperate, he has lost everything that he loves and is now decimated. Clarisse has died, he burned a woman for doing the exact thing he’s doing now, his wife betrayed him, he lost his home, he killed a man, and he will never see Faber again. His life is in shambles and everything he loves has gone. Montag’s feelings of despair show when the bombs drop; “Montag, lying there, eyes gritted shut with dust, a fine wet cement of dust in his now-shut mouth, gasping and crying, now thought again, I remember, I remember, I remember something else.” (160) Montag his crying for his family, and all he has to comfort him is Ecclesiastes and Revelation.
The Power Of Knowledge People can rely on literacy and social awareness to help them be better aware and more thoughtful. But when people have neither of these skills it can harm the view they have on their surroundings. Fahrenheit 451 is an example of what would happen if social awareness and literacy were looked down on. In the society where the story takes place in not many are socially aware or can read. This lack of awareness and literacy drives people to take great lengths for their beliefs and wants, this is a problem because they don't think about the consequences their actions will have.
How Powerful is Knowledge? As once said by Francis Bacon, “knowledge is power”. In Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, Montag finds out the power that comes with knowledge. Montag receives knowledge, which causes him to question everything he knows, from his happiness to everyone around him. He realizes that virtually the entire population is ignorant and just think that books are a kind of poison.
Suddenly things he did every day without hesitation seemed silly. This is when the reader finally is able to identify the theme. For a while, it seems as though it is Montag against the world. The only person who could possibly understand him, Clarisse ,was murdered. His Family isn't an option and his wife Mildred was a lost cause.
Wayne Dyer once said, “The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don 't know anything about.” In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, ignorance is a common theme portrayed throughout the novel. It sets the impression of how all of the characters feel due to a society that has outlawed books. Guy Montag is a firefighter, whose job is to burn the books. Yet, he often steals them without the chief firefighter, or anyone else knowing.