In modern society, technology takes over the citizens’ lifestyle and overrules how the people think and interact. Ray Bradbury, the author of the novel “Fahrenheit 451”, showed his point of view on this thought. Bradbury has been recorded saying that in our society, “we bombard people with sensationalism which substitutes for thinking.” He used rhetoric strategies, such as allusion, figurative language, hyperbole, and mood, to reflect his ideas on how sensationalism affects man in society. Bradbury made his position clear in the book when he inferred that people will noticeably act different when they are separated from distractions. The people in this book are so into “ritual” (in a way) because they’re all brainwashed to do the same things at the same time. These people are distracted by televisions, fires, drugs, parlors, and fast-moving vehicles. When these citizens are distracted, they always fall into the same patterns, same routines. The mood the author gives off is robotic and stiff; because of technology, people are drifting from being identified as individuals. Furthermore, Bradbury incorporates the Bible into the novel indirectly. He uses allusion and refers to “Him” as Montag recites excerpts from the Bible and tells the audience what section it is from. By saying “He” and commenting about the scripture and what it contains, the reader can predict that Montag is talking about the Bible and God.
Moreover, Bradbury exaggerates and uses a hyperbole when describing the world they live in. He constantly describes how easily and softly they walk and he is constantly reminding the audience of the robotic-like way the characters lived. People in the modern, real-world are more likely to talk and act in a way that is more lively or more involved with what is going on. Most people aren’t the same everyday as the people in the book are explained as. This is also an example of hyperbole because the author said the characters go about their day like the last one was and how the next will be. The characters are “always” in their parlors with their shows and all at the same time. All of the characters watch the same shows and this makes all of the people in this story almost exactly the same. All in all, technology in the world is portrayed to control and overrule how people think and interact. Bradbury has proved his position on this theory in his book “Fahrenheit 451″. He told his audience that “we bombard people with sensationalism which substitutes for thinking,” and by him saying this, he has showed the audience that he does not necessarily support the fast-moving activity of technology. This theory is slowly becoming part of a reality in modern day society, and Bradbury was one who predicted it.
