Fahrenheit 451 - Human Nature

When I read this novel, I was shocked at how well Bradbury captured human nature and the trends of people in society. I could not believe it it was published in the nineteen fifties. When creating this unfortunately-possible future, he understood that a lot of the time people do not want to think, and that with the creation of television and radio, it was becoming easier and easier for people to not have to. He also understood that thinking and the depth that it implies are quite essential to being truly happy with your life.

Fahrenheit 451 shows us a future in which people spend all day in front of a television that tells them absolutely nothing useful or helpful (Bradbury 46). If the completely un-thought-provoking programming found today is anything relatable to what the television and radio of Bradbury’s future is like, I think I can see how brainless people are in it. People fill their mind with such nothingness as that, and they do not have real time or reason to think. The people of the future block out thoughts with their constant time in front of noise and confusion. When they are confronted with something thought provoking, like the poetry Montag reads to his wife’s friends, they get terribly upset and never come back (Bradbury 101). The poem may have been rather sad, but even sadness is beautiful. It provokes broad emotions within you that inspire you to think.

Ray Bradbury understands that without thought, people are just unhappy and find no reason for their life. How can they find a reason if they never reason? Millie tries to commit suicide because of it, and she does not even know that that is the reason why (Bradbury 19). Montag realizes that Beaty wanted to die too (Bradbury 122). A person not thinking is somewhat similar to a musician never paying attention to music. Without music, a musician dies inside, and without thought so do people. The thoughts we have make us who we are, and if we have no thoughts and have no “who”, then what really is the point of living? Bradbury understands this, so he chose to write about it. Which, in turn, made us think about our opinions on it. How ironic.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine, 1996. Print.