F451
Ray Bradbury's satire, Fahrenheit 451, is a novel full of symbols criticizing the modern world. Among those symbols appears The Hound. The Hound's actions and even its shape are reflections of the society Bradbury has predicted to come. Montag's world continues on without thought; without any real reason. There is no learning, no growth, and no purpose. "The Mechanical Hound slept but did not sleep, lived but did not live in its gently humming, gently vibrating, softly illuminated kennel back in the dark corner of the firehouse" (24), wrote Bradbury to describe this hound. Like the hound, society was alive yet dead as well, drudging through life; mindless. The Hound was a programmed robot that didn't thing on its own; that only acted as it was told. Captain Beatty states, "It just 'functions'. It has a trajectory we decide on for it. It follows through. It targets itself, homes itself,
The perversion of Montag's society was eminent in the appearance of the Mechanical Hound. A 'hound' with "eight spidery legs", a metal body and electrical eyes is far from just short of a normal dog. As it was with The Hound, society was far from normal. The society was strange, backward and totally abnormal. There was no compassion for life as Mildred makes apparent by stating "It's fun out in the country. You hit rabbits, sometimes you hit dogs. Go take the beetle" (64). Here Mildred tells Montag to take the car out and hit animals to relieve stress and anxiety. Schools no longer teach core subjects, only sports and 'fun' things. Bradbury's society hasn't the time, nor the desire, to actually learn or better themselves. Society is perverted. Today, the computer games, television programs, and other such entertainment possesses more attention than family members, creating a void where onc
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 603
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)
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