Fahrenheit 451 As A Dystopian Society

Picture a world without anything. Just an empty, vacuous area filled with people living. No serious thoughts and no real impact on the world. Life seems easy. Well, in Ray Bradbury’s society life is like this. 

In Fahrenheit 451, a novel created by Ray Bradbury, the time is set in the near future in a city with a dystopian society. All citizens are advised to be happy and live nice lives while being constantly bombarded with entertainment and shallow information. Many are living lives with no meaning, as the government censors those who speak out, and burns the knowledge from past lives through books. 

In Ray Bradbury’s dystopian society there are many differences and similarities that correlate to our modern-day society. The two ways that life in the dystopian society and ours is different is in the quality of life, and the perception of equality. Furthermore, one way that life in dystopian society and ours is similar is in the use of rules and strictures to maintain order and peace. In Ray Bradbury’s dystopian society, equality is maintained by the loss of rights such as freedom and speech. In contrast, in our society, equality is made through the unalienable rights of the people.

In the dystopian society of Fahrenheit 451, the idea of the quality of life is very different than it is in our current society.

“He felt his smile slide away, melt, fold over and down on itself like a tallow skin...He was not happy.” (Bradbury 9)

For instance, this is shown when Montag, the protagonist of the novel, realizes that he is not truly happy. This shows how in a dystopian society everything might seem perfect on the outside, but in reality, nothing is, and no one is truly happy at all. This is different from our society as people strive to be happy and to find themselves in life, looking for a purpose. Unlike Montag’s society, people in our society are usually happy, enjoying their lives with peace, along with the comfort of loved ones. 

“I’m afraid of children my own age. They kill each other. Did it always used to be that way? My uncle says no. Six of my friends have been shot in the last year alone.” (Bradbury 27)

Furthermore, the quote by Clarisse shows how the quality of life in a dystopian society is different from ours. In Clarisse’s society, children are killers who harm one another. Compared to our society, this is barbaric. Children are usually fun people to be around, lighting up the mood for people for their generally harmless and carefree nature. 

In conclusion, it can be concluded that in this dystopian society, the quality of life is very divergent from that compared to our modern society. 

In Bradbury’s society, equality is a main idea that differs from our society in many ways. 

“We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against.” (Bradbury 55-56)

To illustrate, when Beatty explains the role of firemen, he explains how everyone is equal in this society, not because they were born that way, but because they were made that way. This shows how in Beatty’s society equality is not optional...it is mandatory. This differs from our society, as not everyone is made equal, as we all have our own strengths and weaknesses that make us who we are as a person. 

“Funerals are unhappy and pagan? Eliminate them, too. Five minutes after a person is dead he’s on his way to the Big Flue, the Incinerators service by helicopters all over the country...Let’s not quibble over individuals with memoriams. Forget them.”(Bradbury 57)

Another example is when Beatty explains death. He iterates how when people die, they are forgotten and sent to be burned almost instantly. This shows how in this dystopian society, death is not a sad thing, but a common thing that occurs. This differs from our society as the loss of a loved one is grieved upon as we honor the memories we cherished with them. This further details how in Bradbury’s dystopian world, equality is so put into action, the people are living lives that are meaningless and dull, only living to live. 

In culmination, it is clear and evident that equality is an essence that is distinct from Bradbury’s dystopian society compared to our society.

In Bradbury’s dystopian society, there are many rules that citizens have to follow that are similar to our society.

“We don’t get overanxious or mad. We let the fireman keep the book twenty flour hours. If he hasn’t burned it by then, we simply come burn it for him.”(Bradbury 59).

This can be clear when Beatty explains how a fireman can keep a book for as long as 24 hours, before returning it. This further shows how that in this dystopian society there are rules for people to follow if need be. This is similar to our society, as people have rules in order to keep themselves and others safe. In this case, if Montag keeps the book for too long, firemen would have to come to his house and burn the book. This is similar to renting a book from a library. (Well, except for the burning part of course.)

“Police Alert. Wanted: Fugitive in city. Has committed murder and crimes against the State. Name: Guy Montag. OcupationL Fireman. Last seen…” (Bradbury 117)

Another example is when Guy is broadcasted to the city. This shows that even though it's a dystopian society there is still law and order. This can be similar to our society as we have police that track down criminals along with the FBI.

Thus it is clear that rules are a similarity between these two societies.

In Bradbury’s society, there are many differences and similarities. 

The differences can be shown in two ways. The first way is through the quality of life. In Bradbury’s society, people live and breathe entertainment along with mindless thoughts and violence. In our society, we live for the moments and try to at least enjoy our time while we still have it. The second way the two societies are different is in the perception of equality. The government controls the people so they are all made equal, but in reality, the government is turning citizens’ life full of unhappiness, while in our society, people are born equal and are given the right to do whatever we want. Finally, the two societies are similar, in their use of rules to ensure peace and order in their society. This can be shown through how the police tried to capture Montag compared to how police in our society try to capture criminals. 

When it comes to how societies work, it is up to the people to make decisions on how they want to run it. Dystopian societies are the prime example of what we as a civilization should strive to stay away from. When tough situations arise, dystopian societies should be reminded to others as an ethical lesson on what a society could become if people don’t think for the long journey ahead for future generations.