Examples Of Dehumanization In Fahrenheit 451

The definition of what it means to be human has been constantly changed and revised over the years. But, the one thing that has stayed constant is that members of the human race have the power of free thought, understand the meaning of life, have a sense of mortality, and an understanding of time, which in essence makes them human. These individual freedoms cannot last in a society that promotes conformity and mindlessness. In a civilization, when all of the people act exactly the same way, have the same thoughts, and all of the thoughts that they have are about trivial matters, the population is living as dehumanized beings. In the novel, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, a major theme is that conformity leads to dehumanization. Firstly, in

Beatty’s argument is that by banning books, relying on mass media for entertainment, and becoming completely oblivious to what is going on around them makes people happy; ignorance is bliss. Because people are so oblivious and caught up in their trivial matters, they often forget important facts that should have been remembered or passed on, for example Clarisse’s death. “I forgot all about it [Clarisse’s death]” (45). Although Mildred wouldn’t think that this is an important fact to pass on to Montag, it is still proof of her forgetfulness. Another example of forgetfulness is when both Mildred and Montag forget where they first met, which is usually an important and cherished piece of information. In Beatty’s lecture, he says “we must all be alike... Each man the image of ever other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against” (55). In his (and many other’s) opinion, if everyone is the same then everyone is happy, because there are no obstacles or anyone feeling inferior or left out. But, with this newfound happiness in conformity, people have completely lost their most basic rights of free thought and individuality, without even knowing

As pointed out by the “numb flesh of the face” (132) and when Mrs. Phelps cried, it shows that the people do not feel any emotions. “Mrs. Phelps was crying... ‘I’ve always said, poetry and tears, poetry and suicide and crying and awful feelings, poetry and sickness; all that mush!” (97). After Montag reads Mildred and her friends ‘Dover Beach’, Mrs. Phelps starts to cry because the poetry made her awash with emotions, and it was a totally new and foreign experience to her. Because the poem elicited many different feelings from her, she was overwhelmed and did not know what to do, so she turned to insulting poetry and books. Likewise, although it does not directly state that she is deprived of emotions, Mildred’s description is clearly hinting at it. “... Her hair burnt by chemicals to a brittle straw, her eyes with a kind of cataract unseen but suspect far behind the pupils, the reddened pouting lips, the body as thin as a praying mantis from dieting, her flesh like white bacon” (45). Mildred’s appearance directly correlates to that of every other women in this society, with their stereotypes of beauty (white skin, red lips, thin body). The “cataract” behind her eyes is her inability to see the truth and what society has become, and it is shared with almost every other member of their society. This cataract is also their inability to experience emotions, and their blindness towards