The Dark Side of Ignorance in Fahrenheit 451 The question, can a perfect world ever exist, arises innumerable times throughout Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451. Along with being a degree at which paper burns, the number 451 also represents the stripping away of freedom and the loss of individuality. Portrayed in a society in which everything is the opposite of what we believe today, the symbolic devices water, fire, and the phoenix, are used to represent a seemingly perfect society that is in fact imperfect. This Utopian society, dressed up as Utopia, relies on the ignorance of its citizens and their unwillingness to seek knowledge. The few people who do seek the truth are labeled as abnormal and insane. It is the separation of the characters, …show more content…
People want to be happy, isn't that right? Haven't you heard it all your life? I want to be happy, people say. Well, aren't they? Don't we keep them moving, don't we give them fun? That's all we live for, isn't it? For pleasure, for titillation? And you must admit our culture provides plenty of these." (29) It is through the elimination of books, and the telling of lies that make these people believe that they are living in a Utopian world, and that this happiness is all that matters. However, through evidence provided in the novel, Bradbury is able to show that this society functions more as Utopic, wrapped in sheep clothing. According to the article Utopian Vs. Dystopian in Fahrenheit 451 by Anthony Pichery: The government shows its dystopian side as it uses entertainment to brainwash people and make them think that they are happy. If the majority of the people think that they are happy, then they would not rebel. In other words, this society is not actually happy, but functions as an illusion of happiness. These people are puppets to a government who holds the strings. They would do anything as long as they are told that they are happy, although they may not be so. It is their lack of knowledge that allows them to be easily