Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury set in a future society where books are outlawed and the "firemen" burn any that are found. It follows the protagonist, Guy Montag, a fireman who begins questioning his cruel society and rebels against it. In this novel, technology plays a significant role. Technologies like parlor walls and seashell radios isolate individuals from reality. Technology creates distant relationships within families by causing one to spend more time on screens than interacting with others. Ray Bradbury shows examples of this with Mildred, who considers the TV characters from the parlor walls as her "family." While Clarisse's family cares for one another, Montag and his wife Mildred experience a relationship where …show more content…
Guy Montag, whom Mildred has vowed to care for in sickness and health, has fallen ill. Montag inquires, "Will you turn the parlor off?” he asked. “That’s my family.” “Will you turn it off for a sick man?” “I’ll turn it down”(Bradbury, 7). Mildred’s refusal to accept Montag’s plea shows that technology has ruined their relationship. Mildred sees the parlor wall characters as her family, prioritizing them over her ill husband, to whom she has devoted her life. Mildred isolates herself from others, which causes her relationships to become distant because of her attachment to technology. As described by Montag, “The small crystal bottle of sleeping tablets which earlier today had been filled with thirty capsules and which now lay uncapped and empty in the light of the tiny flare” (Bradbury, 11). Mildred believes that her virtual family and herself are happy, but in reality, she is empty inside and lacks the love and interaction of others. She feels isolated, like many other individuals in the novel who take sleeping pills at night to try to numb reality. While Mildred is attached to technology, Clarisse and her family reject it, therefore sharing a genuine, warm