Technology In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451

Technology is consuming the world of life and it’s only getting worse. Despite its harshness, this is the truth that Ray Bradbury, author of the novel Fahrenheit 451, believes humanity must be alerted of. Although written long before now, his ‘exaggerated’ prediction of modern society in the novel is not far off. People, to this day, use technology to the point where it becomes as dangerous as a whirlpool, constantly wanting more. Characters Montag, Mildred, and Clarisee all experience the effects of technology but in different ways. Mildred’s dependence causes her to lose the value of her relationship with Montag and develop an addiction, while Clarisse’s independence leads her to develop a personality of her own. These characters put to

Mildred develops an obsession with a show on their TV, causing her to neglect Montag, which only deepens this rift made between them. The couple occasionally talks, but Montag can’t help but feel that when Mildred speaks, “it [is] only words” (Bradbury 39). The words have no real significance, and can’t hold a meaningful conversation. They’re just being stated as a way to merely ward off Montag and allow herself to return back to the show. However, this show that she so passionately follows, has no real storyline or plot. It interacts with its viewers by asking meaningless and repetitive questions to keep them engaged. When she overdoses, Montag is lost with worry but Mildred is ignorant and believes he, “should consider [her] sometimes” (18). Montag cares much for Mildred in ways that she can’t even recognize, because most of the ‘human’ interactions she has are with those on the screen. Her inability to analyze emotions is due solely to the fact that the TV characters neither have nor display them. This births the decline in their doomed relationship. Clarifying a bit more of Mildred's nature, in his article, Brandon further explores the idea of addiction. He

It’s yet another thing Bradbury wants us to be wary of, being too heavily reliant on technology to fulfill all of one’s needs, including happiness. He exemplifies this through Mildred and her deep attachment to her show and the TV. In only a short amount of time after her near death experience the previous night, Mildred enthusiastically returns to her beloved show, even though it could have been the cause for her carelessness on overdosing. The parlor in the couple’s home consists already of three walls covered completely in screens, but Mildred insists on installing a fourth to make her experience more enjoyable. Despite the cost being as much as a third of Montag’s yearly pay, Mildred disregards it and even suggests that they, “do without a few things” (Bradbury 18). The problem is that when they got the third wall installed, they also got rid of some of their things. The desperation for another screen is clear through the fact that she is even willing to give away a large quantity of her personal belongings just to pay for an unnecessary item. The extent that she is ready to go is concerning and it can be seen that she relies way too much on the show to be her support system. The same can be said about the citizens of Wall-E; however, technology is quite literally their support system. After leaving Earth and losing many of the things that made them human, over time they developed to no longer be able to