The Role Of Technology In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

(AGG) Ray Bradbury’s message about technology, is technology is interfering with people from becoming truly human. (BS-1)The distraction and obsession of technology has led the people in this society to lack human traits, the ability to have a relationship, the thirst for knowledge or a purpose and the ability to really communicate. (BS-2)Those who aren't obsessed with technology are able to be more human such as Clarisse, her views of school and what it means to be social is different from the people in her society. (BS-3) Removing one’s self from all the distractions helps someone heal, such as Montag when he leaves the society. (TS) However, technology can have a serious impact on not just people in fiction, but also in real life just

(SIP-A) Someone affected by this is Montag's wife Mildred, she only values TV and her seashell ear-thimble. (STEWE-1) Mildred is the perfect example of a person in this society, “[she was an] expert at lip reading from ten years of apprenticeship at seashell ear-thimbles” (Bradbury 16). Mildred is either always watching TV or listening to her ear-thimble, she even listens to them while she is sleeping. This affects her human trait of not only communication but also the ability to have a relationship with her husband who sometimes thinks of her as a stranger with her obsession of technology. Mildred does not have real, complete conversations with others if it's not about technology. She does not seem to care, she has short choppy sentences and gets easily distracted by technology. (STEWE-2) Besides ear-thimbles, her second joy is her TV parlor where she desperately wants a fourth TV-wall, “how long you figure before we save up and the four wall torn out a fourth wall-TV put in? It's only two thousand dollars” (Bradbury 18). She has no emotions because all she values is technology not Montag. All she wants is a fourth wall which throughout the section Mildred asks Montag over and over again, even though it costs some of his yearly pay. She even refers to the characters on TV as her family,

(SIP-A) Conversations, are almost non-existant in this society besides from Clarisse and her family. When Montag first meets Clarisse, she seems like a stranger compared to the other people in the society from asking questions and even talking about rain and tasting rain. (STEWE-1) Clarisse also has different views about what it means to be social, " ‘I'm anti-social, they say. I don't mix. It's so strange. I'm very social indeed. It all depends on what you mean by social, doesn't it? Social to me means talking about things like this.’ She rattled some chestnuts that had fallen off the tree in the front yard. ‘Or talking about how strange the world is. Being with people is nice. But I don't think it's social to get a bunch of people together and then not let them talk, do you?’ ” (Bradbury 27). Clarisse is the perfect example of how those who are not materialistic such as having too much technology are able to be more human. Clarisse wants to learn and talk with others, she has thirst for knowledge and looking deeper. She is different and curious, the people in the society think she is not social, maybe not to them but to a person who is truly human, yes she is social. This is different and strange to the people in the society who think social is getting together and watching television. (STEWE-2) Such as