Since the book Fahrenheit 451 was written in the 1950s, it belongs to an era starkly different than the present. There exist quite a few differences between modern society and that discussed in the novel, however, there are several ideas discussed and presented by its writer which are similar to today’s society as well.
There are several similarities such as the need to have fast cars and always seem to be in a hurry. In the novel, the people are shown to have an urge to drive cars very fast. This approach is quite relevant today as people want to drive the fastest luxury car and arrive everywhere speedily (SparkNotes). Moreover, the people in the book are hasty and careless and keep getting into car accidents. In the present day, this is still true because even if people have developed better cars, they are still prone to accidents. Even the adolescents in the novel are similar to those in the modern society. Using television and ‘sea-shells’ to block out the world is common today as well. Also, in the book, the people seem to be reliant on using public transportation for various purposes, and this is relevant to today’s society as well (“Fahrenheit 451 Vs. Our World - Elena”).
Also, career-building is the only reason why students attend schools and gain an education. This is true of today’s society as well because people study only so they can have good careers and can make money out of them (CSCI 70 Blog).
There are several differences as well, such as the people living near one another only on the basis of education and affluence. As compared to the modern world, people live with other people irrespective of their education or careers (CSCI 70 Blog). The governmental system is also different because the government in the book allows people to burn books which go against the country’s values. However, today’s governments allow freedom of speech and no such act is permissible. Moreover, everyone in the book is hateful of books. They see a book and burn it, however, in today’s world, books might not just be read, but they are never burned (Shrewsberry).
Work Cited
CSCI 70 Blog. Computing technology, society, and culture at Drew University. 26 Oct. 2011.
Web. 4 Aug. 2016.
“Fahrenheit 451 vs. Our world - Elena.” emaze presentations, n.d. Web. 4 Aug. 2016.
Shrewsberry. Fahrenheit 451 and similarity to our world today. 2016. Web. 4 Aug. 2016.
SparkNotes. Fahrenheit 451. 2016. Web. 4 Aug. 2016.
