The theme of paradoxes is significant because Bradbury is warning the reader of the dangers that occur when machines control our lives and when people are not intellectually aware of what is going on around them. Throughout the novel, contradictions occur to caution the reader of the obstacles automation and insensibility provides . For example, in the beginning of the novel, when Montag was describing Mildred rested on the bed with ¨seashells¨(modern-day earbuds) in her ears, ¨She had both ears plugged with electronic bees that were humming the hour away.¨(Bradbury 16). Mildred is physically present, although the consuming chatter of the government in her ears is veering her away from reality, she is self-contradicting. Mildred and society