Pros And Cons Of Technology In Fahrenheit 451

"It's bad for us, but it sure is fun," said Eric Bautista, one of the students in Sister Jolene Schmitz's junior high school class (Malone, ABCNews). While people may be able to see the consequences of technology, most still believe the pros far outweigh the cons. Benefits such as instant access to knowledge and immediate communication prompt young and old people alike. However, in some cases, maybe a complete eradication is necessary, such as the dystopian society in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Published in 1953, the novel depicts Guy Montag as a rebel against his community. Books are “hated and feared,” and have been banned as an attempt to keep society happy. On top of this, technology controls the people. Programs informing of laws and creating rules are

In Bradbury’s dystopian society, this is precisely on display. Mildred, Guy Montag’s lackadaisical wife, spends her days sitting in the parlor staring at the full-wall televisions stretched on three walls around her. These parlor walls could be symbolizing the distance between this married couple and portray the emptiness and lack of relationship. Often, Montag comes home from working and Mildred’s “seashell [is] tamped in her ear again and she’s listening to far people in far places, her eyes wide and staring at the fathoms of blackness above her in the ceiling” (Bradbury 39). Using “fathoms of blackness” to describe Mildred’s view shows how much technology can alter one’s mind. Mildred is mesmerized while listening to programs such as this, and Bradbury uses this to present how much of a repercussion addiction can have. Unfortunately, society hasn’t learned from Bradbury’s warning. 70 years after the publication of this novel, we are all addicted to our phones, laptops, iPods, and other devices, and just like Montag and Mildred, we find ourselves increasingly separated from one