Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 exposes the dangers of society's reliance on media and the importance of individuality and free thinking. As Booker explains in his "Compare/Contrast" article in On Dystopia, the media acts to keep people's minds occupied and passive. Media does not have control over people, but rather it offers strong suggestions which take root in people's minds due to a lack of criticism and counter-suggestion. People lack the ability to think critically about the information streaming from their television screens because society has ripped away all other forms of influential expression. The difference between television broadcasts and books is that broadcasts can be controlled and manipulated by one source while literature stems from multiple authors. Anyone can write and express their thoughts; therefore, a vast collection of various perspectives is available to readers allowing for the stimulation of independent thought and the challenge of social ideas. Televisions programs on the other hand, must be facilitated through a larger/richer institution; therefore, those with money and power can filter certain perspectives and dictate what the audience is exposed to. What makes Fahrenheit 451 so powerful is that we can see this manipulation begin to happen in our current society through biases in the media. While we are nowhere near the extreme Bradbury suggests, we still must be aware of the possible future that lies ahead if our society does not implement precaution. The purpose of creating a dystopian setting is to suggest dramatic consequences for current actions. Bradbury wanted to emphasize the importance of individual thought and the pursuit of enlightenment; without it, humanity will spiral into thoughtlessness and passiveness which will disintegrate all hopes of social progress.

In order to effectively make use of a dystopian society, one must make it relatable enough to the reader so that the reality of this future society seems possible. I believe that director François Truffaut heightened the "realness" of Bradbury's dystopia through his use of visual symbols that the audience can recognize. The most obvious to me was the symbol of the apple. The first scene shows a man in his house moments before the fire department arrives to destroy his books. The man has a bowl filled with apples from which he takes one and bites into it. Apples symbolize the pursuit of knowledge and enlightenment; therefore, we know before the fire department arrives, that this man is scholarly and free thinking meaning he must have books hidden in his apartment. A symbol for intelligence and insight, the apple can also represent the pursuit of dangerous knowledge as suggested in the Adam and Eve story. In the Fahrenheit 451 setting, any knowledge acquired through reading is considered threatening. As the opening scene unfolds, a fireman takes an apple from the resident's table and as he takes a bite, his superior knocks it from his hand. 

This demonstrates a rejection of refined knowledge by the authority in this dystopian society. This act also foreshadows the realization that not even the firemen understand the purpose or meaning behind their jobs, but they continue nonetheless because they are kept ignorant and told it is required by their community. The apple symbol surfaces again when refugees at the camp in the woods share apples. This demonstrates the fundamental basis of this new community which relies on the acquiring and sharing of knowledge (stories and books). This symbol connects the audience to the dystopian society by revealing the nearness of symbolic practice between our reality and Bradbury's suggestion of the future.