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How a superficial society is formed

What makes people become superficial step by step? In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury

warns readers that consumption of quick, easy and superficial content will lead to a superficial

society. This is clearly demonstrated by three phenomena in the story. They are people's

feelings of life, the way people think and media content.

The first reason for a superficial society is revealed through People's feelings of life.

First, almost all the people in the text are selfish and lack compassion, which makes people cold

and disunited thus making the society superficial. An example from the text reads, “The driver of

that car, seeing Montag down, instinctively considered the probability that running over a body

at such high speed might turn the car upside down and spill them out” This paragraph through

the driver's first instinctive mind describes the situation in which he was about to crush people,

the first thought in his head is not how to save people! But how to protect their own truck. Thus

reflecting the driver's selfishness and lack of compassion. Secondly, another example is that it

took four days after Clarisse’s death for Mlidred to remember to tell Montag the sad news.

Montag asked, “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” (Bradbury 45). Mildred replied, “Forgot”

(Bradbury 45). Montag said with surprise, “Four days ago!” (Bradbury 45). Mildred answered, “I

forgot all about it” (Bradbury 45). This means that Mildered is lacking concern for other things

besides himself, even because the matter has nothing to do with himself and forgot the news of

Clarisse’s death for four days! Thirdly, not only that, the children in the text are very violent and

malicious. Here is how Clarisse McClellan describes the child in the novel, “head for a Fun Park

to bully people around, break window panes in the Window Smasher place or wreck cars in the

Car Wreckerplace with the big steel ball” (Bradbury 27). and “Sometimes I’m ancient. I’m afraid

of children my own age. They kill each other” (Bradbury 27). From these two paragraphs it can

be seen that the children in the story are evil, and the joy and excitement gained by destroying
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and bullying other people is reflected superficially. Finally, and most shockingly, many of the

parents in the book show a dislike for their children, to the point that they think children are

ruinous. “Caesareans or not, children are ruinous: you’re out of your mind” said Mrs. Phelps. I

plunk the children in school nine days out of ten. I put up with them when they come home three

days a month” (Bradbury 92). As parents not only do not take care of children but also think that

children are a scourge and disaster, this irresponsible mentality is very superficial. In

conclusion, the selfishness, lack of compassion, violence and irresponsibility of the people in the

book reflect the superficiality of the society.

The second reason for the superficial society is revealed through the way people think.

First, In the novel, most of the people talk very superficially and without depth. A dialogue in the

book says, “People don't talk about anything” (Bradbury 28). Montag picks up, “Oh they must”

(Bradbury 28). She replied, “No, not anything. They name a lot of cars or clothes or swimming

pools mostly and say how swell!” (Bradbury 28). The conversation here reflects a life in which

people only focus on those entertainment events when they talk. This kind of conversation

without depth only leads society to become more superficial. Secondly, in the book, the children

at school are not learning knowledge, but are ‘indoctrinated’ with it. Clarisse McClellan says,

“We never ask questions, or at least most don’t; they just run the answer at you” (Bradbury 28).

The school system of education has almost cut off the ability of people to think on their own.

This not only erases students' abilities and deprives them of their individuality, It is also

detrimental to the development of society. Finally, people are very resistant to in-depth

conversation. Clarisse McClellan sayed, “When I said something about the moon, you looked at

the moon last night. The others would never do that. The others would walk off and leave me

talking.” (Bradbury 21). Clarisse expresses the fact that people only have superficial

conversations and almost give up thinking and leave when it comes to deep topics. This

resistance and refusal to think reflects the superficiality of people's thinking. In brief, the
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resistance to thinking, the lack of depth in people's daily conversations and the school's ability to

erase students' thinking reflect the superficiality of the society.

The final reason for the superficial society is revealed through media content. First,

most people indulge in virtual TV entertainment, even Mildred thinks that only the TV wall is

their 'family'. Mildred says in the story, “The televisor is ‘real’. It is immediat, it has dimension. It

tells you what to think and blasts it in. It must be right.” (Bradbury 80). And Mildred says, “My

‘family’ is people. They tell me things; I laugh, they laugh! And the colors!” (Bradbury 69).

Mildred's words exemplify her dependence on the TV walls, even calling them 'family' because

she can see them and because they give her pleasure and distract her from what is going on.

This over-reliance on entertainment and fleeting 'pleasures' and looking only at the material

surface explains her superficiality. Secondly, the way people select the president in the article is

not a priority of ability but of face value. Mildred's friend said, “I think he’s one of the nicest

looking men ever became president.” (Bradbury 93). It exemplifies how Mildred's friends seem

to care only about the president's appearance rather than his ability and how he will lead the

country. Looking at the outside and not caring about the inside does not reflect superficiality.

Finally, Mildred in the article elected the ‘dead’ average entertainment way to spend the night.

This is how the book describes it, “His wife stretched on the bed, uncovered and cold, like a

body displayed on the lid of a tomb, her eyes fixed to the ceiling by invisible threads of steel,

immovable. And in her ears the little Seashells, the thimble radios tamped tight, and an

electronic ocean of sound” (Bradbury 10). The author of this passage describes through

metaphor that Mildred every night, the waves come in and take her away with a great sound,

making her drift towards the morning with her eyes wide open. This way of resting through

empty entertainment shows the superficiality of Seashells. To sum up, the book's over-reliance

and immersion in media content and the way people are judged by face value as president

reflects the superficiality of the society.

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Overall, In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury warns readers that consumption of quick, easy

and superficial content will lead to a superficial society. In the novel, the author shows the

superficiality of society through people's feelings of life, the way people think and media content.

People's over-indulgence in entertainment, lack of empathy and the abandonment of thinking to

speak in simple words all validate this point. Combined with the fact that many people are now

addicted to cell phones and the superficial society in the novel, people should start thinking

about the consequences of going on like this.