In his book Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury crafts a sinister satirical novel that rips searing holes in the concept of modern living, or living within the technological age (post 1950). One of the book’s largest themes is Knowledge vs. Ignorance. Within the book’s plot and his seemingly discussed descriptions of Montag’s futuristic city and those who dwell within it, Bradbury uses books and ignorant people, who have been blinded by technology, to convey his message.
Just to give a brief overview, within the novel Bradbury paints a picturesque landscape of people who have succumbed to a life that is littered by “advanced” technology. Those living in Montag’s world (such as his wife), live a life where instant gratification is their only goal. They watch too much TV and listen to too much radio. These futuristic Americans have allowed themselves to become a flock following their Sheppard, ignorant and unwilling (border line unable) to think for themselves. They refuse to entertain complex ideas or to advance themselves through learning and reading. In fact, they find reading intolerable and have banned it from the city. Therefore, Montag, the firefighter, does not fight fires, he burns books, and therefore, he burns the chain reaction of learning that books spark.
Bradbury also blames various “minority” groups for the city’s lack of knowledge. He believed that minorities (although he never specified which ones) we so overly concerned with political correctness that people started avoiding book writing. As a result knowledge dissipated all together in effort not to offend minorities. I do not see how a minority group could become responsible for a societal lack of thought, but alas: Bradbury does.
So in essence, books symbolized Knowledge while the society symbolized ignorance; the burning of books symbolized the promotion of that which is ignorant.
It can clearly be acknowledged that Bradbury was not a fan of advancing technology. From where he stood within the historical American timeline Bradbury saw the world changing by technology and expressed how he thought that emerging technology (namely the television) would change society. He thought that technology would make people lazy and unable to think for themselves. Bradbury assumed that people would become easily influenced targets for government and media persuasion. As a lover of literature and author he also felt that his lively hood and career were being threatened. Bradbury thought that technology would replace books and he conveyed his prophecy in the exaggerated fashion of book burning within his novel.
Do I think Bradbury was right? Half and half. In one way, Bradbury’s thought process is genius. He saw something coming before anyone else did, and he tried to warn us about its inevitable approach. As if he were looking through a crystal ball, Bradbury saw that media enhancing technology would become so prevalent within our daily experience that it would not only penetrate our line of sight, but would permeate our thoughts as well. He saw that increased media presence would reshape the way we thought and would even start to do the thinking for us. Essentially leaving us to be the Sheppard’s sheep.
While Bradbury got that part right, here is where I think he went a little wrong. Bradbury seems to be placing most of the blame on technology itself, and not people. His message seems to be that technology is going to ruin society and therefore it is the technology that must be stopped and that it is the books that must be saved. Meanwhile, as smart as technology gets it will still be controlled by the organic human being. By this, I mean that it is not the technology that causes the damage, it is the way people utilize that technology which is life degenerating. I don’t know where I heard this saying, but I’m sure you have to, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” the same concept follows suit here as well. It is not the technology that is doing the damage; it is the way people are using it. In fact, technological advancement is a good thing; it has literally saved lives. But it can destroy them as well.
It is our job as living and breathing individuals to shape our world in a constructive manner. The way you stand today, your physical health, love life, financial success, etc. is the sum of every decision you have made up until this point in your life. The same thing goes for society. Our societal condition is a sum of all of its members’ decisions since Adam was created. Hence, while I think that Bradbury was accurate in his satire about modern mind control through media intervention I think that he put the blame in the wrong place. You cannot blame the creation for its actions when it is the creator who is controlling them.
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