Government In Fahrenheit 451

Sixty years ago Ray Bradbury wrote of a futuristic society controlled by its government. A society where books were outlawed and no one cared. He predicted a society that is similar to the society of 2015. He predicted a society that could become reality. Though the worlds of Fahrenheit 451 and 2015 are not the same, they have two similarities: a controlling government and advanced technology.

In 1953, Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451; it foreshadowed a dark and controlled world. The society Bradbury wrote about took place around 2015. He was correct in many of his predictions. The government does have control over the U.S. population, technology has advanced, and entertainment is not usually thought provoking. However, society is not as

This is brought to light in the book when Montag and Faber are talking on the phone and Faber says, “This is some sort of trap! I can’t talk to just anyone on the phone!” (Bradbury, 1991, p.76) Faber’s fear of talking on the phone stems from him knowing that someone listening. The current U.S. government does listen in on the phone calls of its citizens. News journalist Anne Flaherty wrote, “The U.S. government long has enjoyed access to phone networks and high-speed Internet traffic under the U.S. Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act to catch suspected criminals and terrorists.” (Flaherty) She illustrates the government excusing its actions for the better of its citizens. In Fahrenheit 451, the government gets rid of people who are a threat. The government classifies if people are threats by if they have books. The U.S. government does the same thing. Granted they do not blatantly go to people’s houses and burn them down. It does, however, incarcerate anyone who has leaked information that the government does not want people to know. Edward Snowden is the perfect example

He imagined technology that is in use today. He wrote of TV’s that take up whole walls. Today’s inventors are getting close to that. Samsung released last year that they have created a TV that is 105 inches (Cheredar). Bradbury also writes of a “mechanical hound”. Montag is, “fascinated as always with the dead beast, the living beast” (Bradbury, 1991, p.24). The mechanical hounds in the world of 2015 are less “living” than the hounds in Fahrenheit 451, but Bradbury was still correct. Robert Jonathan writes, “The robot dog, which was developed by US scientists to follow soldiers into battle like a pack mule and carry their gear over rough terrain, can now throw a cinder block (and who knows what else) with a fifth appendage where its head should be” (Jonathan). Bradbury created a world that had technology that no one had dreamed of inventing yet. Despite the lack of advanced technology in the 1950’s, Bradbury created a world with as high-tech gadgets as