“Bradbury's Message in Fahrenheit 451,” by Michelle Toth ..., Study Guides, Projects, Research of Material Science and Technology

Download “Bradbury's Message in Fahrenheit 451,” by Michelle Toth ... and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Material Science and Technology in PDF only on Docsity! “Bradbury’s Message in Fahrenheit 451,” by Michelle Toth Instructor’s Note For this essay, Michelle Toth needed to write an example of textual analysis. Students had the option to analyze and evaluate any text, whether that be a song, a film, a website, or an advertisement. Michelle chose to analyze a classic dystopian novel that provides insight into our own contemporary culture. By narrowing in on two specific symbols in the novel, Michelle focuses her analysis and makes a commentary on how the author “sends an unfortunately truthful message.” As such, Michelle also sends a truthful message to her audience about the potential consequences of not thinking deeply. What do you think of Bradbury’s, and thus, Michelle’s warning bout entertainment and technology? How does Michelle advocate for reading and thinking through her essay? How does she structure her essay so that she can both analyze and evaluate her text rather than just summarizing or describing it? Writer’s Biography Michelle Toth is a freshman Early Childhood Education major from Lafayette, Indiana. She began to appreciate writing and develop her talent under Mrs. Lana Smith and Mrs. Sheryl Bereman, her junior and senior high English teachers. When she is not studying, Michelle enjoys reading and spending time with family and friends. Bradbury’s Message in Fahrenheit 451 But, Mom, why do I have to do my stupid English homework before I watch TV? I already know how to read, how to speak, and how to write. I’m never going to use anything I learn in this class for the rest of my life. I don’t even learn anything new in that class! I hate that class, my teacher is stupid, and I don’t care about it at all! All my 91 teacher does is make me read boring books that don’t mean anything. Complaints like these are typical in homes of a junior higher or a high schooler, who is indifferent toward learning, thinking deeply, analyzing, and evaluating. Yet the apathy many teens exhibit should not come as a surprise because of the manifest ways in which parents and society as a whole constantly expose them to the latest shallow entertainment. The culture increasingly grows apathetic to thinking deeply, impulsively reaching out to be entertained with their eyes glued to the TV or computer screen. In his excellently written novel Fahrenheit 451, esteemed author Ray Bradbury astutely warns of the impending destruction and emptiness of a culture with an intellect numbed by technological entertainment, specifically TV, through his scholarly use of symbolism. One of the first notable symbols is the Mechanical Hound, which the firemen used to find books and to scare people into obeying them. The Mechanical Hound represents the enemy that technology could become if the desire to learn did not temper it. Because their desire to become more efficient in all that they do was applied to learning, as well, they rested on and eventually crossed the borderline between heavily relying on technology and only relying on technology in their culture as a whole. With this, they also numbed their senses and came to a stage of apathy in their learning, which is represented by the needle that the hound sticks people with. Technology becomes their enemy as they keep trying to develop things more quickly and keep more entertained. In doing so, they create this monster that eventually will turn on them if they start investigating books, reading, and thinking deeply. Thus, the hound becomes their worst nightmare, desiring to control them, to stop them from participating in any of these activities. Another excellently used symbol is the character Mildred Montag, who is Guy Montag’s wife. Mildred represents the apathy that comes with overloading your senses with TV. She is incessantly hooked up to some form of technology, ranging from her earphones that help her sleep to her TV that encloses her into the realm of what 92