In every dystopian literature, the protagonist in the story is either oppressed and dehumanized. The person in control persuades others to believe that the citizens living here are living in a perfect world, also known as a utopia. In which in this case, the government convinces others that the society they are living in is better off without books. In Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, Ray Bradbury portrays how isolation affects Montag’s perspective physically, emotionally, and socially.
The technologies were utilized by the government to reduce connections with others as much as possible. The government created a variety of gizmos like the seashells, parlour family, medical machines and many more. The purpose of the seashells is to bring music, news and entertainment but it restricts people from communicating with each other. In the book, Mildred uses it to entertain herself. “And in her ears the little Seashells, the thimble radios tamped tight, and music and talk coming in, coming in on the shore of her unsleeping mind,” (Bradbury 12).
This quote correlates to this because Montag is not able to commence a conversation with his wife due to the seashells preventing her from listening. Which causes miscommunication in their relationship. The parlour family is a type of entertainment that most people have in their homes. In the book, citizens spend their time watching the parlour family for a long period of time, being unproductive for the rest of the day. This kind of technology also distances Mildred from Montag.
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“Well, wasn’t there a wall between him and Mildred, when you came down to it? Literally not just one wall but, so far three! And expensive, too! And the uncles, the aunts, the cousins, the nieces, the nephews, that lived in those walls, the gibbering pack of tree apes that said nothing, nothing and say it loud, loud. He had taken to calling them relatives from the very first,” (Bradbury 44).
This explains how Montag comes home to see his wife always wasting her time away on that wall-to-wall circuit. Montag wants her and him to have a decent conversation or spend time with each other. Instead, she engages in a conversation that is scripted and does not require any type of thinking or any kind of conversation that does not concern her.
“The bloodstream in this woman was new and it seemed to have done a new thing to her. Her cheeks were very pink and lips were very fresh and full of colour and they looked soft and relaxed. Someone else’s blood was there. If only someone else’s flesh and brain and memory. If only they could have taken her mind along to the dry cleaner’s and emptied the pockets and steamed and cleansed it and reblocked it and brought it back in the morning. If only…,” (Bradbury 16).
Bradbury depicts how people were not treated like human beings. They are dehumanizing the citizens by handling them like robots. Mildred overdoses on pills so Montag calls for help. A bunch of men with no medical degree goes to their house to replace her blood with fresh new blood and serum. Since she overdosed on pills, they cleaned her blood before the components of the meds go to her brain which will cause her to die. Just like robots or any form of technologies, if something is wrong with it and they know the parts that are causing dysfunction they will take it out and replace it with something new.
Isolation leads Montag to question his emotional state. “He was not happy. He said the words to himself. He recognized this as the true state of affairs. He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back, (Bradbury 12). Montag did not realize his emotional state until he met Clarisse. She was the starting point that leads him to question his well-being. “We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren’t happy. Something’s missing. I looked around. The only thing I positively knew was gone was the books I’d burned in ten or twelve years. So I thought books might help, (Bradbury 82). In this passage, Montag explains to Faber what he feels about how the books might be the answer for his society to bounce back and overcome this depressing state.
Being controlled by the government officials commenced Montag to distanced himself from being influenced. Montag realizes that the world that he is living in is not what it seems. This dystopian society brainwashed people, giving the message that books are dangerous and it should be avoided it all cause. And if you see anyone that has a book in their possession, a fireman in contacted to handle this situation. Montag knows how this society dehumanizes citizens in the most disagreeable way as possible.
After all, Montag experienced this kind of treatment. The treatment of being brainwashed and stabbed in the back by the higher-ups. “Montag had done nothing. His hand had done it all, his hand, with a brain of its own, with a conscience and a curiosity in each trembling finger had turned thief. Now it plunged the book back under his arm, pressed it tight to sweating armpit, rushed out empty, with a magician’s flourish, (Bradbury 37-38). A book as a physical object is not important and Montag knows that. It is the words in the book that gives the book its meaning. “The women on the porch reached out with contempt to them all and struck the kitchen match against the railing, (Bradbury 40).
Montag’s curiosity took over him. He just wanted to know, to understand, to feel why people risk their lives for a materialistic object that is constructed of paper and ink. For a fact, a woman like her would rather die with the knowledge and information she gained by those books rather than live but be corrupted by this dystopian society. “Was it my wife turned in the alarm” (Bradbury 117). Montag had books in their house and Mildred called the firemen, Montag was heartbroken when he heard that it was Mildred who called the fireman in their own house.
In conclusion the government convinces others that the society they are living in is better off without books. In Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, Ray Bradbury portrays how isolation affects Montag’s perspective physically, emotionally, and socially. The technologies were utilized by the government to reduce connections with others as much as possible. She was the starting point that leads him to question his well-being. The only thing I positively knew was gone was the books I’d burned in ten or twelve years. Being controlled by the government officials commenced Montag to distanced himself from being influenced. Montag realizes that the world that he is living in is not what it seems.
