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Ray Bradbury emphasizes the depression and lack of human emotion triggered…
Ray Bradbury emphasizes the depression and lack of human emotion triggered by
self-stimulated censorship
rather than government control as evident through the
fear, conformity, and suicidal behaviours
of characters like Mildred Montag and Captain Beatty in Fahrenheit 451.
Body #1; Mildred
Fear
Point
Fear is a trait that is common among many of the indoctrinated characters in this novel, Mildred Montag being one of them. However, Mildred exhibits fear only when her television "family" is at stake. This illustrates the dependency of the citizens on technology and how, in their constant pursuit of hollow pleasure, they become devoid of emotions and human empathy.
Her behavior with her friends and reaction to Guy's books.
Proof
"'And besides, if Captain Beatty knew about the books-' She thought about it. Her face grew amazed and then horrified. 'He might come and burn the house and the "family." That's awful! Think of our investment.'"
Page 69
Significance
This quote illustrates what Mildred truly cares about losing - her television. She protects her husband because she doesn't want to lose her superficial pleasures - not out of love for him. Mildred has the opportunity to free herself from the insalubrious shell of mindless entertainment surrounding her and pursue a meaningful and authentic life. However, she chooses not to out of fear of losing the shallow gratification she receives from her soap opera family.
Conformity
Point
Mildred conforms quickly to societal pressures due to her overwhelming addiction to the mass media that is constantly fed to her with no room for free thinking. This results in a lack of individuality and the inability to form her own opinions, making her easily manipulated by others.
Proof
"'Mildred, you
didn't
put in the alarm!' She shoved the valise in the waiting beetle, climbed in, and sat mumbling, 'Poor family, poor family, oh everything gone, everything, everything gone now....'"
Page 108
Significance
Mildred's choice to expose Guy to the police illustrates her indoctrination in society. Montag's discoveries were too much for her to handle - and she responded with a desperate attempt to regain the blissful ignorance of her life before Guy's persistent quest for knowledge.
*reporting Guy's book collection to his coworkers
Suicidal Behaviours
Proof
"'You took all the pills in your bottle last night.' [...] 'Heck,' she said, 'what would I want to go and do a silly thing like that for?'"
Page 17
Significance
She refuses to acknowledge her suicide attempt, as it would force her to discuss the emotions - or lack thereof - that led to it. Mildred prevents herself from healing by acting oblivious towards her situation.
Mildred is desperate for superficial happiness which she associates with the numbness she gets from her sleeping pills and the "family" she interacts with on her television. She tries to convince herself that she is happy, when she is actually devoid of any real emotion due to the constant stream of media being fed to her.
However, Mildred is not the only person who experiences this. Suicide is extremely prevalent, and the M.D. who attends to Mildred states that they receive nine or ten suicide cases per night.
Point
Mildred Montag represents the destructive and self-harming behaviours of the citizens as a result of a constant stream of media with no real human interaction or connection. Her denial and passive reaction toward her suicide attempt display the lack of importance society assigns to life in this novel and the oblivious condition of the citizens.
Her suicide attempt
Body #2; Beatty
Suicidal Behaviours
Point
While Mildred's suicide attempt was significantly more prevalent and explicit in Fahrenheit 451, one could argue that Captain Beatty also displayed suicidal tendencies as evident through his extremely dangerous and reckless behaviours towards Montag. Beatty offered Montag an extremely dangerous weapon and began to relentlessly taunt and provoke him until Montag, enraged, killed Beatty with the weapon.
Proof
"
Beatty wanted to die.
In the middle of the crying Montag knew it for the truth. Beatty had wanted to die. He had just stood there, not really trying to save himself, just stood there, joking, needling, thought Montag, and the thought was enough to stifle his sobbing and let him pause for air."
Significance
Beatty is an intelligent and eloquent character with experience with books, and perhaps even took great joy in reading at one point. He recounts the history of the firemen with passion and fervour and takes great pleasure in doing so. Beatty's career as a fireman results in feelings of guilt and self-hatred as he destroys what he once loved. He is tormented by his conscience for burning books, and tries to rationalize it, but ultimately fails which provokes suicidal and destructive behaviours within him. Beatty is an excellent example of self-stimulated censorship; unlike Faber who goes into hiding and continues to pursue knowledge - Beatty turns completely against everything he once believed in and
chooses
to completely cut himself off from intellectual stimulation.
Fear
Point
While Beatty does display an affinity for literature and knowledge, he takes on an opposing stance to Montag and Faber and believes that the state would be better off without the controversy and opposing beliefs that books offer. Beatty knows the power that books hold, and he fears that the consequences of a free-thinking society would not benefit him the way an indoctrinated one does.
Proof
"'It didn't come from the Government down. There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressures carried the trick, thank God.'"
Page 55
Significance
This quote is delivered with confidence and gratitude. However, it indirectly displays Beatty's fear of a well-educated and intellectually diverse society. Beatty delivers many of his quotes with an air of confidence and self-assuredness and takes great pride in his intellectual superiority and power as a captain. He prioritizes his influence and control over the welfare of society and thrives in an environment where he is the most powerful and intelligent. This is why he embraces the notion of a society made uniform by vapid pleasures and chooses to abstain from reading books himself - he is ultimately afraid of losing his power.
In this quote, Beatty also directly states the reason behind the book burnings and widespread indoctrination. The civilians ultimately chose to abandon knowledge in pursuit of constant joy and gratification. While the government was wrong in the extreme ways they executed this request, the people were the root cause of the mass censorship through their aversion toward controversy, opposing beliefs, and free thinking.
Conformity
Proof
"'Read a few lines and off you go over the cliff. Bang, you're ready to blow up the world, chop off heads, knock down women and children, destroy authority. I know, I've been through it all.'"
Page 102
Point
Captain Beatty's desperate need to conform to the prevailing beliefs of society outweighs his affinity for literature, causing him to switch sides and destroy what once brought him joy.
Significance
Like Montag, Beatty once rebelled against societal norms and pursued literary stimulation over mindless entertainment. However, Beatty took the opposite path and chose to embrace the indoctrinated culture rather than fight it. Montag's decision to rebel was difficult - he lost his home and career and was relentlessly hunted down in the process. On the other hand, Beatty took full advantage of the situation, using his knowledge to attain a position of power and authority in society. He finds the rebellion nugatory and sarcastically exaggerates the feeling of being intellectually stimulated, suggesting conformity is easier and more fruitful. Beatty's choice to pursue power over the betterment of society ultimately displays his narcissism and lack of empathy for the welfare of others.
Point - general idea/thought
How does this relate to self-stimulated censorship?
OVER GOVERNMENT CONTROL
Proof - Quote from Text
Significance - how does this relate back to the overarching argument
:white_small_square:
:white_small_square:
*Not choices made by the government, but rather self-imposed by Mildred to maintain a blissfully ignorant life.
**last sentence may serve as a good concluding sentence.
interesting point - one could say that Beatty chose the career of a fireman because it was one of the few intellectually stimulating careers.
separate point:
Mildred and Beatty are completely different characters united by the fear, conformity, and suicidal behaviour they experience as a result of the overly popularized notion of self-stimulated censorship in society