Diego Camarena-Torres 1

Diego Camarena-Torres

Miss Williams-Arnold

English Language Arts II (Gr 10) Honors

14 June 2021

Technological Dehumanization

Technology is an extremely intriguing topic to think about, it sprouted out of the blue

during the mid 1900’s and now controls today's modern era. In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451,

technology does exactly that. The novel takes place in a dystopia where all literature is

forbidden, while technological advancements are at an all time high. Montag, the protagonist,

helped illustrate how technology is not only destructive, but also an effective brainwashing tool.

Technology was a weapon used to indoctrinate the masses of people in Fahrenheit 451’s

dystopia, which is precisely why it is a dystopia rather than a normal society. Everyone is stuck

in their own bubble of technology whether it be seashells, or the relatives which only takes them

farther away from reality. This quote comes from a conversation between Montag and Clarisse

which accurately represents the relationship between the people and technology, “Will you turn

the parlor off?” he asked. “That’s my family”(46). The parlor Montag mentions consists of 3

walls filled with televisions where virtual people “talk” to others and make them believe that

they are their family. Mildred is in the parlor more often than not, which slowly begins to erode

the relationship she and Montag have built. Clarisse McClellan, Montag’s neighbor, was not a

“normal” kid, rather than sticking to technology like the rest of the children she wanted answers.

Her inquisitive nature is exactly what led to her death, “You ask Why to a lot of things and you

wind up very unhappy indeed, if you keep at it. The poor girl's better off dead”(58). What
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happened to Clarisse is what would happen to anyone who decided to go against the

dehumanizing laws enforced by the firemen.

Brainwashing eventually led to a lack of human emotion. The best way I can summarize

the majority of the population in Fahrenheit 451 is simply dead. The people have little emotion

to events that would seem catastrophic to any sane person today, “I'm afraid of children my own

age. They kill each other. Did it always used to be that way?”(27). The fact that Clarrise asks if it

always used to be like that says a lot. Another example that stuck with me was when Montag was

talking with Mildred's friends, “He said, ‘If I get killed off, you just go right ahead and don't cry,

but get married again, and don't think of me.’" Obviously this is a big deal today, but the

characters in the novel seem to think it is normal, which explains why I said that the people in

Fahrenheit 451 seem to be desensitized from their environment.

After carefully analyzing the characters behaviors, and the dystopia of Fahrenheit 451 it

is evident that technology is to partially blame for the downfall of humanity. Technology made

people prone to the government's indoctrination that would soon captivate everyone and make

them believe what the government wanted them to believe. After the government had spread the

messages they wanted to spread, the destruction began.