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Essay / The destructive power of technological progress in the novels of R. Bradbury
Imagine if all these fortune tellers and palm readers are right and their "predictions" make sense. Think about how much that would change our world today. Everyone would have the opportunity to change the negative aspects of their future. Through his writings, Ray Bradbury can be considered a soothsayer. Reading his stories, the reader feels like Bradbury is issuing a warning about the future and technology. In Rocket Summer, There Will Come Soft Rains, and Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury warns of technology's effect on the environment, its destructive power, and its control over society. Bradbury's writings warn the reader of the consequences that arise from the reckless development of technology. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Bradbury warns the reader about the negative effects of technology on the environment. In Rocket Summer, Bradbury takes a winter scene and turns it into summer in the blink of an eye: "The rocket stood in the cold winter morning, creating summer with every blast of its powerful exhausts." The rocket created the climates, and summer spread for a brief moment on the earth. (Bradbury 1). Bradbury made a drastic change from winter to summer to emphasize the effect of rockets on the environment. The change in time warns us not to forget the environment as technology develops, otherwise technology will change it completely. The rocket destroyed its environment, changed the season, its landscape, and therefore man: “Man's failure to live in harmony with nature is man's failure. » (Eller 1). By neglecting nature, man has forgotten that the land is essential to meet his basic needs such as food and water. By ignoring these necessities, man fails to meet his own needs and will suffer the short and long term consequences of the rocket's environmental impact. Bradbury creates drastic environmental change to warn against environmental neglect. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury takes a different approach to the destructive potential of technology on nature; he completely ignores nature. Bradbury creates a world so filled with technology that it distracts the reader not only from nature, but also from the characters: “I bet I know something else you don't know. There is dew on the grass in the morning. He couldn't remember if he knew it or not, and it made him very irritable. (Bradbury 50). Montag lives in a world so overwhelmed by technology that he is distracted from the nature around him. Bradbury explores the idea of being trapped in a world of overwhelming interference from technology to demonstrate man's neglect of the environment. Bradbury uses the drastic change in weather patterns and disregard for nature to warn of the negative effects of technology on the natural world. Bradbury uses fire to warn the reader of the destructive power of technology. It includes many images of fire because fire, like technology, can easily get out of control. The amount of destruction caused by the fire in Fahrenheit 451 obviously has some significance. The fire destroys not only books, but also entire houses and people. Throughout the novel, the destruction of fire is possible through technology: "With the brass nozzle of the flamethrower in his fists, with that great python spewing its venomous kerosene onto the world, his hands were those of a amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of fire and conflagration"(Bradbury 3) The flamethrower allows firefighters to burn books and houses, the salamander (the fire truck) allows them to access books. The flame gun allows Montag to kill the woman and Beatty. The technology is so developed in Fahrenheit 451 that it makes things easy that would normally be impossible to understand (burning an innocent woman alive). Technology essentially mitigates the consequences of crime. Without consequences, there is no incentive to stop, leading to continued destruction. In There Will Come Soft Rains, Bradbury further develops the destructive power of fire and technology through its inevitable destruction of itself: "Bradbury's themes are structured around fire and death as if it were necessary to announce the arrival of an America determined to destroy itself. » (Zip 11). When a fire gets out of control, it burns everything around it and eventually runs out of things to burn. Without anything to burn, the fire dies. In There Will Come Soft Rains, technology does the same. Every aspect of the house is run by technology and there is no need for human control: “The house was an altar with ten thousand servants, great, small, serving, assisting, in choirs. But the gods were gone and the ritual of religion continued in a senseless, pointless way. (Bradbury 3). It's no surprise that after the house ran out of people to use it, food to prepare, dishes to clean, and dogs to pick up, the house caught fire: "A cleaning solvent, in a bottle , broke on the stove. The room burst into flames in an instant! (Bradbury 4). Bradbury warns that technology allows endless destruction due to lack of consequences and is an inevitable destruction of itself. Along with the fire, Bradbury uses the setting to further emphasize the destructive power of technology. Bradbury describes Rocket Summer as a "classic" Ohio winter: "One minute, it was Ohio winter, with the doors closed, the windows locked, the windows blinded by frost, icicles lining every roof, children skiing on the slopes, housewives thrashing around like big black bears. in their furs along the icy streets. (Bradbury 1). Even though the setting is futuristic, it makes it very easy to visualize. The reader can have such a clear picture of winter in Ohio in their mind, which makes the unexpected change from winter to summer even more surprising. This highlights the destruction the rocket caused on the setting when it completely changed the weather. Bradbury does the same thing in There Will Come Soft Rains. However, this time Bradbury uses the setting of a wasteland destroyed by the radiation of an atomic bomb: “The sun came out behind the rain. The house stood alone in a city of rubble and ashes. It was the only house left standing. At night, the ruined city gave off a radioactive glow visible for miles around. (Bradbury 4) The wasteland itself emphasizes the destruction of technology, particularly nuclear war. The setting - once a thriving town - and the detailed details of the now isolated house, allow the reader to emotionally connect to the story, making the destruction of the atomic bomb more impactful. Bradbury uses the setting to emphasize the destruction of technology, warning the reader of its potential. Bradbury explores the idea of materialism to warn the reader of technology's control over society. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury uses futuristic entertainment to demonstrate the control of technology through materialism. “It’s really fun. It will be even more fun when we canallow the installation of the fourth wall. How long do you think it will be before we save up and tear out the fourth wall and install a fourth wall-mounted TV? It’s only two thousand dollars” (Bradbury 19). Bradbury creates a society that worships technology solely for entertainment purposes. “Bradbury drew the sword against materialism and against society as an equation between producer and consumer.” (Church 17). The control of technology lies in consumer spending. The more people spend on technology they don't need, the more they begin to rely on it, giving technology control. In There Will Come Soft Rains, Bradbury demonstrates the control of technology through an autonomous house. “In the kitchen, the breakfast cook heaved a wheezing sigh and ejected from its warm interior eight pieces of perfectly browned toast, eight fried eggs, sixteen slices of bacon, two coffees and two glasses of fresh milk. “It’s August 4, 2026,” a second voice says from the kitchen ceiling, “in the town of Allendale, California.” He repeated the date three times for memory purposes. "Today is Mr. Featherstone's birthday. Today is Talita's wedding anniversary. Insurance is payable, as are water, gas and utility bills. lighting." (Bradbury2). Bradbury demonstrates technology's control over humanity through the house that does everything for the people who live in it. By doing everything for the owner, technology controls everything. Bradbury emphasizes that people shouldn't give away control of technology by depending on it to do something as simple and necessary as making breakfast. In Rocket Summer, Bradbury shows the control of technology through the reaction of Ohio citizens to the rocket's impact on the weather: "The rocket stood in the cold winter morning, creating summer in every breath of its powerful exhausts. The rocket created the climates, and summer spread for a brief moment on the earth. (Bradbury 1). Before the rocket, people didn't need to use technology to alter the weather, Mother Nature did it for them. However, after the rocket destroyed the environment, people became more materialistic and had to depend heavily on the rocket. Now, technology has gained more power and control over the citizens of Ohio. Bradbury warns the reader against materialism and demonstrates the control of technology through entertainment, the self-driving house, and the rocket. To warn the reader of the control of technology through fear, Bradbury uses animal imagery. In Fahrenheit 451, animal imagery is used to demonstrate how technology controls us through fear of what it might become: "The mechanical dog slept but did not sleep, lived but did not live in his gently buzzing, gently vibrating, softly lit kennel. .” (Bradbury 64). Montag's fear of the dog affects his actions throughout the novel. Montag is reluctant to return to the fire station because he knows the dog will be there. Ultimately, it is the dog's fear (technology) that he must overcome to escape the city. Hound dog imagery is used because dogs can be depicted as both vicious and adorable. Montag is not afraid of the dog; he is afraid of what the dog can do to him. Bradbury demonstrates that it is not our fear of technology that controls us, but our fear of technology's potential. In There Will Come Soft Rains, Bradbury uses animal imagery to demonstrate how technology controls us through the fear of living without it. “She shuddered at every noise, the house did. If a sparrow brushed against a window, the blinds would rise. The bird, surprised, flew away..