I hope that you are enjoying Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. It truly is a "thinking" book. One of the many things I hope that you will think about as you read this novel is its theme of indifference. As you are reading Part One, what are some things you have noticed about the society that reveals their indifference? Does our present society share some of these indifferences? or others? Explain. ( The deadline to post a response to this question is midnight, December 24, 2010)
Monday, December 20, 2010
INDIFFERENCE
I hope that you are enjoying Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. It truly is a "thinking" book. One of the many things I hope that you will think about as you read this novel is its theme of indifference. As you are reading Part One, what are some things you have noticed about the society that reveals their indifference? Does our present society share some of these indifferences? or others? Explain. ( The deadline to post a response to this question is midnight, December 24, 2010)
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While reading Part One, I have noticed the society's indifference through their lack of interest in knowing what is behind the cover of books. They do not care to find out anything for themselves. They simply believe what they were taught is all that matters and there is no need to think for themselves. "If you don't want a man unhappy politically, don't give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none....Cram them full of noncombustible data, chock them so damned full of 'facts' they fee stuffed, but absolutely 'brilliant' with information. Then they'll feel they're thinking, they'll get a sense of motion without moving. And they'll be happy, because facts of that sort don't change. Don't give them any slippery stuff like philosophy or sociology to tie things up with." p. 61.
haha. I forgot the rest of the answer: Our society is somewhat indifferent to knowledge. Some people will just go on believing what anyone tells them and never find out for themselves. Also, our society is indifferent to morals. To them, whatever happens happens. They do not care about the consequences to most of the actions they take.
In part one, I noticed that the society reveals indifference by the fact that no one should write books. The books must be burnt because it shows uniqueness, difference, and that difference can make people feel inferior. "We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against. So! A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon." p.58.
Our society does not reveal this indifference mentioned; in fact, we embellish the imaginative differences. Although, relating to how Clarisse talks, I think our society does show indifferences when it comes to being “social.” Some people would rather have deep conversations instead of talking about the latest drama. That makes them “antisocial” in some people’s eyes because people just jump to conclusions as to why that person is quiet instead of sincerely trying to know people. Wanting to have a thought provoked conversation or even a conversation to get to know more about someone is somewhat an “indifference” in the present society.
While I was reading Part 1 I noticed a huge indifference. The society’s firemen were not sent out to extinguish fires, but they were sent to burn books. Having these firemen burning all of the books makes me think that the society has an indifference to grow in knowledge. The society could also have indifference on whether or not it should hide its history from people so the government can have stronger power over the citizens. Another indifference I noticed was that whenever people, such as Clarisse and her family, questioned the order of the society they were killed or sent away.
I think in our society some citizens have indifferences that our society is not growing in knowledge because of the highly advanced technology. Also I think our society has indifferences in politics and political leaders, which is similar to the people who take away Clarisse and her family for questioning why the political society is the way it is.
While I was reading part one I noticed that the society showed unique indifference by it being illegal to rise above the expectations of their society. When Captain Beatty stopped by Montag’s house he explained how everyone must be alike and everyone must be made equal. He also mentioned that if everyone is equal then no one will have to worry about any mountains to make them cower or to judge themselves against and everyone will be happy. In the society everyone seems to live for pleasure and happiness, no one seems to care anymore about how much knowledge there is to learn. Even the schools have dropped the most intellectual classes so that no one would have to challenge themselves.
I believe some people in our society have indifference because they would rather live to have fun and not care about how smarter other people are. With our technology advances some people would rather watch television then spend time reading a book. In Fahrenheit 451 Captain Beatty says, “Any man who can take a TV wall apart and put it back together again, and most men can, nowadays, is happier than any man who tries to slide-rule, measure, and equate the universe, which just won’t be measured or equated without making man feel bestial and lonely.” (pg 61) that quote sounds like how many of the people in my society today act.
After reading part one of Fahrenheit 451, I noticed a major indifference that the society in the book faces. This indifference is the way they feel about knowledge. Burning the books takes away past knowledge that allows people to think differently and uniquely. Without that early knowledge present, people can only think the way the government allows them to. In the book, the government only allows them to think in terms of fun and happiness, but not in terms of knowledge. Captain Beatty says, "Once books appealed to a few people, here, there, everywhere. They could afford to be different....Films and radios, magazines, books leveled down to a sort of pastepuding norm...." pg. 54 This quote easily shows how books made people DIFFERENT and allowed them to think DIFFERENT. Now, according to Captain Beatty, everyone is "norm".
I believe our society faces a similar indifference. We are faced with the question every day, "How is technology affecting the way we think." Many have indifferent thoughts on this. Some say that technology is taking away past knowledge, while others say it is only advancing the way we take in the past knowledge. One thing we have to think about though is the amount of technology devoted to fun and games. That could easily decrease the amount of knowledge we take in. Indifference is present in Fahrenheit 451 and also in today's society.
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