Aubrey Holdren Smith English 8 16 May, 2024 Abstractness Exposes Reality Lucian Freud once said, “The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it becomes, and, ironically, more real.” Freud is describing when something is assessed long enough it can start to change someone's view on things. This can create people that are considered outcasts in society and judged for their opinion. When becoming abstract in culture it can also force realization of problems that are occurring, supporting Freud's theory. This connects to the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. One of the central themes of this novel is how people need to comply with social standards and all be the same. The protagonist, Guy Montag, is abstract in his society for his …show more content…
The punishments for having abstract ideas are represented by the Mechanical Hound. The Mechanical Hound is a robotic creature that is programmed to hunt down those who defy the government’s laws. An example of this is, “Hell! It’s a fine bit of craftsmanship, a good rifle that can fetch its own target and guarantees the bull’s-eye every time.”(Bradbury 26) The Hound was considered to be a great invention that the government made for its ability to catch its target and guarantee that perpetrator to be killed. For in these cases, people would be murdered; it was those that were outcasts in society along with abstract thinkers. Freedom was not given to be creative, but instead was suppressed and influenced the government to create a weapon against them. Beatty, the chief fireman, told Montag, “Old Montag wanted to fly near the sun and now that he’s burnt his damn wings, he wonders why. Didn’t I hint enough when I sent the Hound around your place?”(Bradbury 113) Beatty, Guy Montag’s boss, is discriminating against Guy for wanting to explore with the books and express his