Distraction and Happiness in Fahrenheit 451
Distraction
"The room was indeed empty. Every night the waves came in and bore her off on their great tides of sound, floating her, wide-eyed, toward morning." (p. 12)
Emotional and physical disconnection
"‘Will you turn the parlor off?’ he asked. ‘That’s my family.’" (p. 46)
Replacement of real family with virtual family
"And in her ears the little Seashells, the thimble radios tamped tight, and an electronic ocean of sound, of music and talk and music and talk coming in, coming in on the shore of her unsleeping mind." (p. 12)
Constant bombardment of information
"No matter when he came in, the walls were always talking to Mildred." (p. 42)
Inescapable presence of media
"‘It’s really fun. It’ll be even more fun when we can afford to have the fourth wall installed. How long you figure before we save up and get the fourth wall torn out and a fourth wall-TV put in? It’s only two thousand dollars.’" (p. 20)
Materialism and consumerism
"The converter attachment, which had cost them one hundred dollars, automatically supplied her name whenever the announcer addressed his anonymous audience, leaving a blank where the proper syllables could be filled in." (p. 18)
Artificial personalization
"She was beginning to shriek now, sitting there like a wax doll melting in its own heat." (p. 90)
Emotional suppression
"The parlor was exploding with sound." (p. 69)
Escapism through noise
"The three empty walls of the room were like the pale brows of sleeping giants now, empty of dreams." (p. 10)
Emptiness of artificial life
"He felt her there, he felt him move away in the dark, walking toward the dead lights." (p. 20)
Isolation despite proximity
"He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back." (p. 9)
Happinness
False happiness
But Clarisse’s face, turned to him now, was fragile milk crystal with a soft and constant light in it." (p. 5)
Innocence and genuine happiness
"It’s not books you need, it’s some of the things that once were in books." (p. 78)
True contentment from meaningful experiences
"That’s my favorite subject, Myself." (p. 23)
Self-awareness and personal growth
Pursuit of knowledge and understanding
"There must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing." (p. 48)
Empowerment and action
"I’m going to do something," said Montag. "I don’t even know what yet, but I’m going to do something big." (p. 60)
Peace and reflection
"The river was very real; it held him comfortably and gave him the time at last, the leisure, to consider this month, this year, and a lifetime of years." (p. 140)
Legacy and significance
"We’re nothing more than dust jackets for books, of no significance otherwise." (p. 153)
Renewal and hope
"The world was full of burning of all types and sizes. Now the sun burned every day. It burned Time..." (p. 154)
Rebirth and rebuilding
"To everything there is a season. Yes. A time to break down, and a time to build up. Yes." (p. 159)
Fahrenheit 451 -reminder of the importance - confront distractions-true happiness and fulfillment
