Technology In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

Society today has items to satisfy needs and desires. One of the items that satisfies the needs of society is technology. Since the primary use of technology is to fulfill one’s need, the use of technology starts growing out of its primary use. After growing out of their primary use, technology has become a drug, and fewer people have been interacting with nature since that growth. In Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, he introduces two characters, Mildred and Clarisse, in order to project how people such as Mildred are unable to function without technology, and how people like Clarisse lack a connection to both the society and world, which shows how the combination of both views allows Montag to survive until the end of the story. Mildred

Although overdosing is a serious topic, Mildred shows no concern for the fact that she almost dies, which Mildred subconsciously reveals when she reads the script. She utilizes the script in order to create a way to distract herself from the heartbreaking fact that she has a brush with death. Her dependence on technology shows when Montag fails to recognize his life, where he asks Mildred where they first met, and Mildred dodges the question, leaving him to hear “the water running, and the swallowing sound she made (40). The sound of the water and swallowing is a subtle sign that Mildred is taking pills, where she automatically rushes to take them since she fails to cope with the fact that she is unable to remember the event of where they meet. Without technology at hand to distract her, Mildred takes to the pills because she lacks the necessary skills she needs in order to remember when they

As Montag starts to experience a change in his beliefs, he begins to realize that his co-workers, who work with him in the fire department, “were mirror images of himself” (30). The fact that Montag looks exactly like the rest of the firemen means that he does not have an individuality. This ties back to how Montag’s old view of the world prevents him from seeing the bigger picture, since he only now realizes that his co-workers look like him. As Montag and the firemen converse, Clarisse suddenly starts talking through Montag’s mouth, asking if “firemen prevent fires rather than stoke them up and get them going?” (31). As Montag starts to experience a transformation, he finds himself starting to ask questions that require internal thinking. When Montag conjures up his other half, he starts to develop his own personality with both Mildred and Clarisse inside, creating a perfect balance. As the Montag floats down the river, he dives deep into thought, where he just wants a sign that the “immense world would accept him and give him the long time he needed to think all the things that must be thought” (136). Montag wants the world to accept him for what he is and he wants to have the leisure to think. Montag’s survival does not come from his