Our life today is way much different from the life portrayed in the novel Fahrenheit 451. It is just like saying that the job of Montag as a fireman is much complicated than the job of an ordinary fireman today. The two worlds differ much, the same as we compare color black and white.The world we're living in today portrays mostly the opposite of the world Montag lives, with some exceptions. Taking a view on the people's attitude towards life, the media's influence on people's lives, and most importantly how the society views the concept of family and social interaction from both worlds could help us see the big difference between the two.
In our world, people have their own definition of happiness. Happiness differs from every person. Some find happiness by just waking up in the morning, some on material things. For me, I personally define happiness as the most wonderful feeling I experience whenever I'm with my true friends.Happiness is not limited to certain instances for us in our world to be happy. Meanwhile, in the novel, happiness is being given certain requirements. People don't have their own personal choice of happiness. Instead, happiness for them is achieved when they are free from problems and responsibilities, and just being entertained by T.V. shows everyday. Just like Mildred who convinces herself as a happy person, not worrying at all on the problems she's carrying.
The importance of the essence of responsibility for the people is also different from the two worlds. In our world, we are taught to be responsible. We are trained to be brave and strong in order to face the consequences of our actions, especially our mistakes. For us, problems are instruments that help in the improvement of our self-being and maturity. It is never a good option to quit and escape from duties because it is a sign of weakness for the majority in our world. But in the novel, people are indirectly taught to become irresponsible through entertainment. They are rather encouraged to forget their responsibilities and just have fun. They are discouraged to think on how to solve the problems because it would make them sad and upset if they could not find a solution to their problem. The result is that the people become fearful about reality and that they'll desperately do anything in order to escape from it. Some even choose to commit suicide and some wait for death to come.
The attitude of people towards knowledge also varies from our world and in the novel. Generally, we are sent to school to learn and acquire knowledge. In our world, education is given importance because it is the only thing that could not be taken away from one person. Usually, we look up those people who have acquired a higher level if education. We use different kinds of sources like books for learning and try to preserve them for the future generation to use. On the other hand, books in the Fahrenheit world are the subjects for burning. The eagerness of acquiring knowledge is rarely found in the characters in the novel, except for some, like Montag and others. The unwillingness of the people to learn are caused by many factors. One of these factors is the influence of technology and media on the everyday lives of the people. The media is known for dictating the current trends and lifestyles of the people. In our world, we are molded to believe on what the media portrays to be "true". This situation is also the same in the novel, except that the influence of media is much 'powerful' in the novel than in our world. The media in the Fahrenheit world has become a part of the lives of people in their daily routine. It eventually lead to the belief of the people that the shows in television are the ones real, and that it is reality. That's why, there are characters who show this kind of attitude where they have considered the 'family' in TV shows to be their real family. Examples of these characters are Mildred, Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowles.
Lastly, the concept of family and social interaction in both worlds greatly showed the difference between the two. In our world, we value our family and that we consider it as one of our priorities in life. Our idea about family is about having the father, the mother and the children together in the same household living a happy and contented life. While in the novel, the character's family are the 'family' in the television soap operas and shows. They consider it as their real family because it is the source of their happiness despite the fact that this 'family' can only be seen on the walled televisions. With their constant "interaction" the people make with their "family", it eventually lead to different kind of social interaction. In the novel, social interaction is concerned with having watched the TV, which Clarisse mentions and expresses her hatred on this kind of interaction. In contrast, our kind of interaction in this world is more concerned with the talking and interacting with people, asking questions, thinking and others. This kind of social interaction is what Clarisse prefer to do but the society in her world considers her 'anti-social' still.
The people, the media and the society are just among the reasons that makes our world and the Fahrenheit world different. Their massive differences could make tell us that the fictional world Bradbury tells is likely too real to be true. But, conclusions still should not be made because nobody is able to predict what will happen. As for now, the only thing I can say is that our world and Montag's world are two different worlds.
Lastly, the concept of family and social interaction in both worlds greatly showed the difference between the two. In our world, we value our family and that we consider it as one of our priorities in life. Our idea about family is about having the father, the mother and the children together in the same household living a happy and contented life. While in the novel, the character's family are the 'family' in the television soap operas and shows. They consider it as their real family because it is the source of their happiness despite the fact that this 'family' can only be seen on the walled televisions. With their constant "interaction" the people make with their "family", it eventually lead to different kind of social interaction. In the novel, social interaction is concerned with having watched the TV, which Clarisse mentions and expresses her hatred on this kind of interaction. In contrast, our kind of interaction in this world is more concerned with the talking and interacting with people, asking questions, thinking and others. This kind of social interaction is what Clarisse prefer to do but the society in her world considers her 'anti-social' still.
The people, the media and the society are just among the reasons that makes our world and the Fahrenheit world different. Their massive differences could make tell us that the fictional world Bradbury tells is likely too real to be true. But, conclusions still should not be made because nobody is able to predict what will happen. As for now, the only thing I can say is that our world and Montag's world are two different worlds.
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