Fahrenheit 451 Theme Ignorance

Words: 1010
Pages: 5

When Bradbury was writing this book, censorship was just creeping into the lives of humans, and today censorship has built a protective bubble around everything they do. We are able to see this in the society that Montag lives in. They are able to see how the government has all these distractions to keep them from focusing on what's important. Bradbury shows the danger of ignorance through the character foils between Clarisse McClellan, Mildred Montag, Guy Montag, and Captain Beatty; ultimately proving the need for aware and knowledgeable citizens in today’s society.
In Millie's mind, books hold no value, she would rather avoid reality and stay in the fantasy of her television, while Clarisse says that she knows how to experience life, which
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Her betrayal of Montag is far more severe than Beatty’s, since she is, after all, his wife. Bradbury portrays Mildred as a shell of a human being, devoid of any sincere emotional, intellectual, or spiritual substance. Her only attachment is to the “family” in the soap opera she watches. " 'Stuff your eyes with wonder,' he said, 'live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories. Ask no guarantees, ask for no security, there never was such an animal. And if there were, it would be related to the great sloth which hangs upside down in a tree all day every day, sleeping its life away. To hell with that,' he said, 'shake the tree and knock the great sloth down on his ass.' " (183) A part of the conflict in Fahrenheit 451 is how the majority of the populace have become unthinking, unfeeling, and shallow, centered around themselves and their …show more content…
Montag is able to see the difference between someone who is knowledgeable versus someone who isn’t from watching how differently Mildred and Clarisse act from each other. Mildred acts as if she is some spoiled kid when in reality she is a grown woman who should be acting maturely, while Clarisse acts as she is wise and old, when really shes 16. The book and our world societies may seem very different, however in both they share things in common. In both societies, the importance of knowledge really