fahrenheit 451 utopia thru materials

A detailed Summary of fahrenheit 451 utopia thru materials

Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 is a novel about a materialistic society that has forgotten social interaction with each other. This materialistic society is where Bradbury believed society today is headed. The materialistic society in Fahrenheit 451 created through Bradbury's cynic views of society. His views of society are over-exaggerated in contrast with today's events, especially in the areas of censorship and media mediocrity.

The purpose of media is quite simple, it is as Carl Jensen describes it, "a warning signal--information--that alerts the citizens that something is wrong which needs attention and resolution. An aware and informed populace could then influence its leaders to act upon that information in an effort to solve that problem" (Jensen, Project Censored). But Media has often been criticized for promoting a mass mediocrity, because it only tells the public what it wants to hear. The idea of Media promoting mass mediocrity is a reoccurring image in Fahrenheit 451. Such is not the case in today's society. One of the most successful freedom fighting campaign has been the Tibetan Freedom Concert, a rock concert where artists and citizens converge, sharing their views for Tibetan freedom

from Chinese oppression. Over the three years of its existence, the concert has generated so much publicity that it has forced President Bill Clinton to step in and try to hasten the negotiation between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama. In a Sonicnet Music News article, the Dalai Lama said:

Fahrenheit 451 is full of warnings of where society could be headed if it is not careful. However, these predictions are still remarkably exaggerated, when contrasted with today's society especially mass mediocrity and censorship. Modern media is able to bring to important issues to the public's attention, while media in Fahrenheit 451 bring only the entertaining issues to the public's attention. Censorship in Canada also differs than that in Bradbury's mind. Censorship in Canada is done by adding in what is missing to make the world more complete, while those in Fahrenheit 451 believe that it is burning, or taking away what one does not agree with. Although Ray Bradbury's predictions about society today are extreme, one must remind himself that it does not take much to turn the very social society today into a materialistic robot-like society similar to that in Fahrenheit 451.

"'The show's got to have a snap ending, quick! If they started searching the whole damn river it might take all night. So they're sniffing for a scapegoat to end things with a bang.'"

"The existing ethnic broadcasting policy is supposed to help ensure minority groups get broadcasting services.

'Coloured people don't like Little Black Sambo. Burn it. White people don't feel good about Uncle Tom's Cabin. Burn it. Someone's written a book on tobacco and cancer of the lungs? The cigarette people are weeping? Burn the book. Serenity, Montag. Peace, Montag. Take your fight outside. Better yet, into the incinerator.'" (Bradb

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1218
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels