Part 1: Pages 21-40

Focus Question:

How, and to what extent, will advanced technologies affect the lives of ordinary people? 

My Ideas:

I think that in the future technology will not only affect peoples’ lives but it will become their lives. People will be so reliant on it and they will stop going outside, stop socialising and stop using their brains, for both creative and intellectual thinking. Of course there will most likely be positive aspects of technology advancing such as for medical and educational purposes, however it may block peoples’ imaginations and creativity.

What The Text Suggests:

The text shows that technology will govern the lives of ordinary people in the future and also that its purpose is to keep people permanently distracted with “entertainment”. The people are all aware that something is not quite right in their society, they aren’t sure what it is but they know that there is something wrong but, they continue being fed this idea of “the perfect world”.

How the text presents these ideas:

Mildred is so excited at the prospect of playing a role in a new TV show that she doesn’t even want to interact with her husband, or anything else for that matter. She puts pressure on Montag to buy a fourth wall screen even though the third one was expensive and put in only a few months earlier. This demonstrates her lust for material wealth, and also the need to have the latest things so she will never be truly satisfied as technology will continue to advance and upgrades are always going to be available.  

In contrast to this, Clarisse is in the care of a psychiatrist as society deems her behaviour abnormal. “The psychiatrist wants to know why I go out and hike around in the forest and watch the birds and collect butterflies.”  She also says “They want to know what I do with my time. I tell them that sometimes I just sit and think. But I won’t tell them what. I’ve got them running.” What this demonstrates is that what is considered normal in their society is to be permanently distracted and that being alone with your thoughts makes you “crazy”.