Similarities Between Fahrenheit 451 And Harrison Bergeron

“She went out of the room and did nothing to the parlor and came back. ‘Is that better?’” (Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 46). Mildred, just like the rest of the country, has fallen into the deadly trap of technology. She prioritized her online “family” over her actual husband. This overarching theme of technology is seen in Fahrenheit 451, “The Pedestrian”, and “Harrison Bergeron”. Throughout these readings, Bradbury and Vonnegut convey that the dangers of technology are far greater than many people choose to accept; leading to a series of consequences that may not be reversible. Bradbury and Vonnegut warn about the dangers of no community and lack of emotion; leading society to eventually be pushed so far over the edge that there is no way to regain

In Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, Montag was a firefighter, but his job was to start fires instead of stopping them. Eventually, he came to a new realization of how awful things in America had become. Clarisse, an open-minded girl, helped him to see the underappreciated things in life. When Montag came to these realizations he said, “Strangers come and cut your heart out. Strangers come to take your blood. Good God, who were those men? I never saw them before in my life” (Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 14). Montag believes he truly doesn’t know anyone on a more intimate level. With these surface-level relationships, they had absolutely no community, and no one to collaborate with or to share thoughts and struggles with. Consequently, with this paucity of human connection, one’s mental health has the risk of plummeting. Community ensures one has a secure space to share struggles; without it, feelings build up until they overflow. Likewise, an absence of community is also seen in “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury. Leonard Mead, a man who enjoyed taking walks, was arrested for his presence outside. Everyone else in the town was too focused on their screens to recognize the outside world. Leonard Mead went on many walks but, “In ten years of walking by night or day, for thousands of miles, he had never met another person walking, not once in all” (Bradbury

In Fahrenheit 451 the people wear a mask of happiness. They have no emotion to truly show how they are feeling; Happy? Sad? Lonely? These things are dampened to a point of unrecognition. Montag was behind this mask for a long time, before Clarrise helped pave the way back to his emotions. Montag finally realized, “Darkness. He was not happy. He was not happy. He said the words himself. He recognized this as the true state of affairs” (Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 9). Montag finally felt his genuine emotions, he wasn’t happy. Montag was one of the few to realize what it felt like to experience life to the fullest extent without anything to blind his vision. The lack of emotion shown by the rest of the population creates a numb environment; no one can truly be themselves. By having covered feelings, they couldn’t comprehend the weight of feelings. There is a certain danger in this; without feelings, one starts to become dehumanized. Not only that but due to the lack of emotions and opinions everyone starts to conform; all uniqueness is lost. Furthermore, loss of emotions is seen in the short story “Harrison Bergeron”. In this society where the government has absolute power, the people must wear a little mental handicap radio in their ears. These make sure everyone forgets recent events so they have no way of going against the government. A young man