A dystopian society is one that has been dehumanized, where the citizens live in constant fear. A dystopian society usually has a firece authoritarian, totalitarian government that controls every aspect of life. This authority imposes harsh rules on the people, enslaving the entire poplation in pursuit of equality and sameness.
"An atmosphere of alienation is established by Bradbury in the opening scenes of Fahrenheit 451, which details a "fireman's" growing dissatisfaction with his conformist society."
The dystopian society that Ray Bradbury creates in Fahrenheit 451 is illlustrated through many aspects of the novel such as the mechanical hound, the lack of emotional connection between the characters, there is no love between Guy and Mildred Montag, they are married, but they do not communicate, they exist in the same house. All these elements create a bleak, dark existence dominated by fear.
There is no thinking allowed, the Seashell radio that plays in Mildred's ears all day makes sure that she does not have any original thoughts, feelings or actions.
This is made even more clear when Montag meets Clarisse McClellan who is a secret rebel who actually shares conversation within her family, stops to contemplate the world and enjoys forbidden things like walking in the rain and observing nature.
Montag's world is a society turn upside down, where fireman set fires not put them out. Bradbury tells us that over time all buildings became fireproof, so the role of the fireman an a fire extinguisher became obsolete, they then were turned into the tools of destruction when the powers in control decided that books were no longer needed in society.
There is no compassion in this society, that views the elimination and extinction of learning, institutions of learning and books as enemies of the state. There is no need in a santized society, fire is a purifying agent, for inequality among its people.
"We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the constitution says, but everyone made equal . . . A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon. Breach man's mind." (Bradbury)
The best way, Bradbury suggests, to control a society is to dumb them down, to help make them more ignorant, that way they are easier to control, for example, Mildred Montag's entire world, revolves around her television family. This is illustrated through the use of full wall size television screens in the living room with the goal being to have all four walls covered in super surround sound and pictures so that she can feel like a part of the drama playing out before her.
The family, the television actors, are more important to her than her own husband.
Bradbury is suggesting in this book that society can become like this if we fail to see how technological advancement can isolate us and keep us from real contact with each other. The consequences of this type of behavior create a world where no one knows anyone, no one cares, there is not emotional connection between people, Mildred calls in her own alarm, reporting her husband who has secretly sneaks books into the house.
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