The Epic Battle Between Nature and Technology in Ray Bradbury’s Dystopian Novel, Fahrenheit 451

Abstract

In Bradbury’s dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451, written in 1953, there is an influential conflict between nature and technology. The story is about a future world in which people can access different sources of entertainment via technology. Regrettably, during the course of the tale, nature and its inspiring glory is overlooked and substituted by technology in the life of the majority of the characters. Guy Montag, the protagonist of the story, undertakes a voyage of liberation from oppressive authority to the fulfillment of forbidden knowledge. Nature in the book is the haven he resorts to both spiritually and physically to achieve his aim. This study explores the struggle between nature and technology by portraying instances of the state’s ill use of technology and its negligence of nature in an oppressive society. The paper argues that though technology might seem appealing in this age, the construction of the protagonist’s personality would not be possible without the restoration of the function of nature in the future man’s life. The paper concludes with a brief account stating that nature reigns supreme at the end of the conflict.