Society In 'Fahrenheit 451 And The Veldt'

Chloe Lee

Laine HENG 3

15 December 2021

Expository Essay Turmoil, death, oppression, and suffering; these are all threads woven into the tattered quilt of dystopian literature. Conceived by John Mill in 1868, the term “dystopia” was fabricated, describing a bleak and totalitarian society that contrasted sharply with the cuddly blanket of utopian ideals originally set forth in 1516 by Thomas More. But truly, how far is society from creating a dystopian reality? These “fictional” concepts, described by Ray Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451 and “The Veldt”, Kurt Vonnegut in Harrison Bergeron, and many other dystopian authors, might be closer to current day societies than one would think. Although the magnitude of conformity in modern societies is not

In particular, the dystopian world of “Harrison Bergeron” explains equality through oppression. “They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else” (Vonnegut 1). To the minority, this idea of equality might appear like a utopia. However, the physical handicaps that are given to the intelligent, beautiful, or more athletic to make them “equal,” end up prompting a perfect, yet depressing example of dystopian conformity. Moreover, in Fahrenheit 451, a character by the name of Clarisse says she is not missed when she does not go to school, claiming that her peers and teachers think her strange and sequestered (Bradbury 26-27). Clarisse is among the few in this anti-utopian society to have any inquiries or thoughts, but as a result, her community finds her peculiar. Just because Clarisse does not fit exact standards, she is looked at as queer and is not even wanted among her peers. On the contrary, present-day civilizations often display hints of conformity, as opposed to societies centered around this oppression in dystopias. “External force is unpleasant, and people don’t like it, so [conformity] may be lurking in the background” (Fish 4). So, even though submissiveness and conformity are “lurking in the background,” it is recognizable

To illustrate, in Fahrenheit 451, the main character, Montag, asks Mildred, his technology-addicted wife, “How do you get so empty?” (Bradbury 41). Mildred considers her favorite television show to practically be her family and loves her television programs more than her husband. As a result of this, Mildred is lazy and can barely muster her own thoughts, proving how much a surplus of technology in a community or home can lead to this trait of idiocy. Furthermore, in The Veldt, technology envelopes society’s everyday lives. A house, full of advanced technology, makes it so its residents barely have to move. "’But I thought that's why we bought this house, so we wouldn't have to do anything?’" (qtd. in Bradbury 54). The citizens are lethargic and brain-dead due to a surplus of technology, as its citizens are not responsible for anything, relating to chores or taking care of themselves. The houses clothe, bathe, and cook for them, and it leads to a civilization built on laziness. In a like manner, usage and effects of technology in modern civilizations are almost uncanny of that in dystopias. Specifically, Ashley Rodriguez reports in her article about technology addiction that, “US adults are spending more than 11 hours a day on average—or about two-thirds of their waking time—consuming media in some form” (Rodriguez 2). By spending