Technology In Ray Bradbury's 'Fahrenheit 451'

Lilly Gomez

Mrs. Nguyen

English 3 IB

1 June 2023

Word Count: 1617

How does Ray Bradbury use the character’s relationships to technology in Fahrenheit 451 to create irony in their futuristic yet seemingly miserable society? While it can be said that the development of technology in society connects people more than ever, indeed the use of technology has made society more lonely than ever. In Fahrenheit 451, written in 1953, the author expresses the strong connection Guy Montag’s society has to technology and although it is painted as a very futuristic utopia at first glance, as soon as the reader takes a closer look at their society it can be seen how miserable and how destitute their society is of social interaction. Ray Bradbury’s use of

The irony of their advanced technology is that although their society may seem futuristic, they take multiple steps back in the social aspect of their civilization. One example of their social deprivation is how their form of entertainment is very violent and eye-catching; “Abruptly the room took off on a rocket flight into the clouds; it plunged into a lime-green sea where blue fish at red and yellow fish. A minute later, three White Cartoon Clowns chopped off each other’s limbs to the accompaniment of immense incoming tides of laughter” (Bradbury 96). In this, Montag explains the type of entertainment his fellow characters enjoy watching. The entertainment is very eye-catching with the use of bright colors, violence, and loud noise. This disturbing imagery emphasizes the characters’ need to stay entertained and keep their mind busy to distract themselves from the lack of genuine meaning they have. Furthermore, there is also an aspect to the technology that is mind-numbing to the people. One example is how they have invented technology for simple tasks; “The converter attachment, which had cost them one hundred dollars, automatically supplied her name whenever the announcer addressed his anonymous audience, leaving a blank where the proper syllables could be filled in'' (Bradbury 66). In this sentence, the lack of personal connection in this society is observed by the reader as the characters no longer have to learn each other's names, but let them be automatically filled in. Bradbury’s exposition on this piece of technology reminds the reader of the social disfavor the characters experience and expresses that the more developed their technology becomes, the further they stray from genuine personal connections to one another. In addition, a part of the technology in Fahrenheit 451 is less about creating simple conveniences and slowly has become more