Technology In Fahrenheit 451

In the book Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag is the main character. He is a fireman, and in the book firemen start fires, or more specifically burn books. The society within Fahrenheit 451 is focused on technology, and literature is banned in all forms, and soon all types will become non-existent. Since technology is the main component of their life, the citizens have lost their social skills and now barely ever communicate with one another. This leads to consequences that the citizens have to face. Bradbury foreshadows the future of the US by showing how technology is their main focus in life, leading to the citizens not caring about anything else in their society. The technology in the book Fahrenheit 451 is portrayed similarly to what the U.S.

The world that these characters live in is centered around technology and how it can be used to replace things that were available many years ago. One of these ended up being social interaction. The school system is a prime example of this. It was explained as, “An hour of TV class, an hour of basketball or baseball or running, another hour of transcription history or painting pictures” (Bradbury 27). In Montag’s world, technology and futuristic devices have interfered with face to face interactions between people. Even in school, children are taught by videos that give out the answers. There is no social interaction exchanged between students because their society frowns upon it. This means that the students aren’t taught to have compassion toward others. An example of this is when a teenager driving their car attempts to hit Montag later on in the book. The relationship between Montag and his wife, Mildred, is another example of social disconnection. Early in the book Montag is frustrated with his wife saying, “She had both ears plugged with electronic bees that were humming the hours away” (Bradbury 16). In the book, Mildred always wants the newest technology and is always using what technology they have. Most of the time she either has electronic bees, an analogy for headphones, or she is watching the three TV walls that they have in their living room. Because of this, she and Montag are very disconnected and barely ever have full, meaningful conversations with one another. When she tries to overdose on pills, it clearly shows how unhappy Mildred is with her life and the society she’s in, but it also shows the lack of compassion she has for her husband. She is willing to kill herself and leave her husband just because she is unhappy. Mildred made no attempt to talk to Montag about her problems or what she was going through. Since they