Among the many dystopian novels, my favorite is Fahrenheit 451, a book written in 1953 by Ray Bradbury. The book describes a world where freedom of thought is suppressed, and people are forbidden to read books. Firefighters bear the responsibility of burning books instead of putting out fires. People sit in front of the TV watching short and funny videos or listen to pop music every minute in their lives instead of reading books and sharing ideas. Hedonism prevails in this world, where people wallow in fast comfort and convenient entertainment and refuse to think which they believe will bring pain. They fill up every minute with the delight of television.
While reading the book, I couldn’t help but feel that this absurd reality is closer to us modern citizens than we thought. In the past half-century, information technology has made significant progress and brought a profound change in society. Social media dramatically increased the speed of spreading information, and all kinds of We Media and new forms of entertainment emerged and took over our lives. Unlike systematic knowledge, this type of fragmented information often serves as a distraction to the truth. This mushroom of low- quality information caused by the rapid growth of media and technology leads us to wade in instant gratification and sensory sensation and slowly lose our critical thinking and intellectual pursuit.
In Fahrenheit 451, the government bans not only literature but also any activities that make people sad, such as funerals. Gradually, people become used to the endless, meaningless pursuit of shallow happiness, stopping reflective thinking and serious self- analysis altogether. When I look around me, I found similar traits in people who become addicted to electronics, games, and celebrities.
Why is it a terrible thing not to keep thinking? People who stop thinking are easily influenced and controlled. In Fahrenheit 451, the government quickly controlled people’s minds simply by keep them away from engaging in serious thoughts. Today, some institutions and businesses leverage new media methods to make their content and products intentionally addictive. Others create anxieties that drive people to escape into the virtual world that they create. Sounds familiar? This is how rumors spread on the Internet and why people confuse facts with opinions.
We are fortunate to be living in a world so different from that in Fahrenheit 451. We don’t have to go through the feelings of the protagonist in the fictional world, afraid of being killed upon understanding the importance of books. I remember a scene in the novel when Montag starts to realize how vital books are. The police alert posted everywhere reflects the gravity of Montag’s crime. Then when describing Montag’s escape, the author compared the open street to a river that can drown Montag. He used simile to express Montago's fear and helplessness. “He ran steadily for six blocks in the alley and then the alley opened out onto a wide empty thoroughfare ten lanes wide. It seemed like a boatless river frozen there in the raw light of the high white arc lamps; you could drown trying to cross it, he felt; it was too wide, it was too open. It was a vast stage without scenery, inviting him to run across, easily seen in the blazing illumination, easily caught, easily shot down.” Montag was afraid of being seen in a wide place, and others who were reading secretly could not help him either. This scene shows that Montag is far away from the city and has become the enemy of everyone.
Fortunately unlike Montag, we could today attend lectures, watch educational programs, and read all the books and publications the world has to offer. But this book is still a valuable cautionary tale for those who might fully submit their critical thinking to the power of manipulative technology and media. I think everyone should read this dystopian masterpiece because it is a timely warning about the potential danger of inhumanity and anti- intellectualism that could result from incessant changes in modern society.