Liam OBrien

February 3, 2015
Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451: Achieving Uncomfortable Happiness

Self-Realization can arrive at any point during ones life. In the story of
Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag, an adult with a high ranking job within his society, has
his entire perspective of reality put in reverse through a short conversation with a
teenage girl. She asks him a simple question; Are you happy?(4). It then dawns on
Montag that he is, in fact, not. He soon can no longer live with his job as a book
burning fireman, nor can he live in a society which has extinguished the ability to
question what is right and wrong. In this moment Guy Montag steps out of the
routine, which has been the sum of his entire existence. He realizes that he has
devoted his life to destroying the works of others. Through Montags apprehension,
Bradbury shows us that we must question everything or we will never realize that
which we have deprived the world. This is why we must not strive for the pleasant
life because a life without struggle, as we see through Montag, is devoid of
meaning and true happiness.
In the bookless society of Fahrenheit 451 it is easy to see the extreme lack of
knowledge as well as the lies taught within the society. On the night the book
opens, Montag meets Clarisse while walking home from work. Her short discussion
with him is a demonstration of how little knowledge Montag has of the world. This
ignorance is exposed when Clarisse says to him, Bet I know something else you
dont. Theres dew on the grass in the morning.(7) Montag realizes he did not know
this basic piece of information. Later into the novel, we are also given evidence that

people of this futuristic society have so little knowledge of the past, and that the
history the government has fed to the public is completely fabricated. Bradbury
exposes the lies of his dystopian society when Montag and the firemen are reading
the history of Firemen in America. Beatty reads to Montag about the supposed
founding of firemen in America; Established, 1790, to burn English-influenced
books in the Colonies. First Fireman: Benjamin Franklin.(32). Bradbury was using
this as a norm against censoring, and warns us that if the government has control
over what we can and cannot listen to or read it can easily lead us into believing
anything.
In Fahrenheit 451 we are warned of the emptiness of social disconnection
being filled with technology. He does this with the parlor, a futuristic TV which is a
hyperbolic representation of true social connectivity replaced by technology. We can
see the degree to which it does this through the character Mildred, Montags wife.
She is constantly caught up in the meaningless plot of the parlor and never has
meaningful conversations of her own accord. We see the extent of this attachment
after Mildred turns in Montag for having books in the house. When Mildred leaves
Guy, rather than confronting him she murmurs to herself Poor family, poor family,
oh everything gone the significance of this statement is that the family which
Mildred is referring to is not herself and Montag but the simulated family from the
parlor. Through this one can see that Mildred only cares about the parlor, and her
marriage with Montag was utterly meaningless to her. This is an extreme case of
emotional detachment but eerily parallels with the use of social media in our own
society: we connect with one another via technology, but we are really growing
farther apart by having less and less face to face interactions. Bradbury was trying

to warn us of what might become of society, as our connection to technology pulls

us farther apart from real connections with others.
Fahrenheit 451 also conveys the idea that the statement ignorance is bliss
is not accurate. The character Beatty is an example of a person who is well read,
lived life of knowledge but decided that ignorance is best because it causes much
less pain. One can see this when he explains; If you dont want a man unhappy
dont give him two sides to a question give him none. Let him forget there is such
a thing as war. (58).It is clear from this encounter that Beatty believes that
knowledge is the enemy of society. Montag interpret this after he kills him, Bradbury
writes: Beatty wanted to die Montag knew it for the truth He had just stood
there, not really trying to save himself.(116). He realizes that knowledge was too
painful for Beatty and ignorance brought him no true happiness. Through this
Bradbury shows us that we must learn to be uncomfortable and pursue knowledge.
Bradbury shows us that true happiness can be found when one no longer
fears knowledge but finds that seeking it is gives meaning to life. Bradbury uses fire
as a metaphor to convey Montag finding happiness. His perspective on fire changes
from a weapon of destruction to a source of warmth and a source of life. This
happens after he escapes from society and meets a group of wandering former
professors. Bradbury writes That small motion, the white and red color, a strange
fire because it meant a different thing to him. It was not burning, it was
warming.(139). In this moment Montag realizes that fire can either destroy or give
life, just as Montag can choose to destroy knowledge or to learn. He chooses to
embrace knowledge rather than fear it. He realizes that true happiness cannot be
attained by being part of a brainwashed society, and that although knowledge may

cause distress by forcing one to constantly question her/his ideas, it is vital for
significance in life.