(MIP-1) The society is lacking knowledge and memory, but the people preventing them from getting this believe there is a reason to hide it from them. (SIP-A) Many people in Fahrenheit 451 are lacking memory and knowledge. (STEWE-1) Mildred and Montag both experience a lack of recollection, “The first time we ever met, where was it, and when?.. I don’t know” (40). Montag and Mildred both forgot where they met, usually something that a husband and wife would recallI. (STEWE-2) Most of the members of society lack knowledge of the war, “Ten million men mobilized,’ Faber’s voice whispered in his other ear.
But say one million. It’s happier” (88). The government has kept the amount of men going to war a secret, so people have no idea then there is 10 times more troops were mobilized than they thought. This also occurred with the bombers flying over the city, “Every hour so many damned things in the sky! How in hell did those bombers get up there every single second of our lives! ” (69). Not many people know why there are so many bombers are in the sky, they only know the general information, that they are bombing something. SIP-B) The people who prevent members of society from getting knowledge and emory say they are giving people happiness, but in reality they are giving them fake happiness. (STEWE-1) Beatty describes to Montag how the knowledge being hidden, specifically books in this case, makes people happier, “Today, thanks to them, you can stay happy all the time, you are allowed to read comics, the good old confessions, or trade journals”(55). Beatty is telling Montag how the people choose for books to be hidden and kept what they wanted.
He describes burning books as one of the only things that keep people happy, otherwise everyone would be getting agitated with each other. STEWE-2) Montag goes to Faber for guidance because he is realizing that society isn’t truly happy, “We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren’t happy. Something’s missing” (78). (CS) There’s many examples of characters lacking knowledge and memory, but believing the lie that is makes them happier. Second Body Paragraph: (MIP-2) People in society lose a lot because of the lack of knowledge and memory. (SIP-A)
Many people lost opportunities because they lacked the wisdom to take that opportunity. STEWE-1) Mildred lost opportunities throughout her lifetime, “I hink of her hands but I don’t see them doing anything at all. They just hang there at her sides or they lie there on her lap or there’s a cigarette in them, that’s all” (149). Mildred didn’t and couldn’t do anything with her life because she lacked the schooling and memories to take opportunities and to change the world, even in a small way. (STEWE-2) People stopped wanting to learn about certain topics, “That was the year I came to class at the start of the new semester and found only one student to sign up for Drama from Aeschylus to O’Neill” (85).
Jobs that involved intellect became less and less popular as the overnment slowly got rid of the knowledge and memories in society, so, many students lost the opportunity to have those jobs. Beatty explains how classes and jobs like that one became less popular, “With school turning out more runners, jumpers, racers, tinkerers, grabbers, snatchers, fliers, and swimmers instead of examiners, critics, knowers, and imaginative creators, the word ‘intellectual,’ of course, became the swear word it deserved to be” (55).
Beatty is explaining to Montag how the lack of books, and therefore knowledge and memory, came to be, during this conversation he tells Montag how being smart ecame a negative thing so no one took classes that involved being intelligence. (SIP-B) Many people in their society know very little about what is going in the government and other major events that affect them. (STEWE-1) People in Fahrenheit 451’s society were lacking lots of knowledge about the war and they found out the consequences of lacking that information, “. then the city rolled over and fell down dead. The sound of it’s death came after” (153).
Since the people didn’t know that they were in danger of being bombed, everyone stayed in the city, and because of that, went down with the city. STEWE-2) The people even lacked information about the chase and capture of a criminal, “The innocent man stood bewildered, a cigarette burning in his hand. He stared at the Hound, not knowing what it was. He probably never knew” (142). The government had portrayed a innocent man as Montag to the people to save face and to give their audience a quick and exciting ending, “So they’re sniffing out a scapegoat to end things with a bang.
Watch. They’ll catch Montag in the next five minutes! ” (141). They never knew that the actual Montag was still out there. (CS) Lacking knowledge and memory means that you are lacking power and control over your own life, and the characters in Fahrenheit 451 experience that all the time. Third Body Paragraph: (MIP-3) People who have positions in power gain from the society’s lack of knowledge and memory. (SIP-A) The people who have influence in their society gain control of the people who lack the ability to comprehend and remember. STEWE-1) The government has the power to trick people to feel as if they are smart and know a lot, “Give the people contests they win by remembering the words to more popular songs or the names of tate capitals or how much corn lowa grew last year.
Cram them full of non-combustible data, chock them so damned full of ‘facts’ they feel stuffed, but absolutely ‘brilliant’ with information. Then they’ll feel they’re thinking, they’ll get a sense of motion without moving. People think they know lots of information but really it’s just random and useless information that is only there to make sure that they don’t try to learn anything the government doesn’t want them to. (STEWE-2) The people who have supremacy over others also use other methods to make sure people don’t try to learn what the houldn’t be trying to learn, “They run us so ragged by the end of the day we can’t do anything but go to bed or head to a Fun Park to bully people around, break windowpanes in the window smasher place or wreck cars in the car wrecker place with the big steel ball” (27).
The government tires out students so they can’t do anything meaningful after school. This prevents the students from realizing that there is something wrong with society and the people with influence. (SIP-B) The people who have authority gain the ability to harm and prevent those with a ack of education and memories from reaching their goals. (STEWE-1) Beatty is easily able to outplay Montag and win the conflicts between the two men, “You towered with rage, yelled quotes at me.
I calmly parried every thrust” (103). Beatty has a better grasp of books and other topics than Montag, because he holds sway in society, so he is able to easily able to outdo Montag and win the conflict as well as make Montag question his beliefs, “Then if what the Captain says is true, we’ll burn them together, believe me, we’ll burn them together” (63). (STEWE-2) The government is able to prevent people from eaching their goals or thinking in other ways than using people, “Shut up, shut up, shut up! ‘ It was a plea, a cry so terrible that Montag found himself on his feet, the shocked inhabitants of the loud car, staring, moving back from this man with the insane, gorged face, the gibbering, dry mouth, the flapping book in his fist” (75). The sounds inside the train were so obnoxious and loud that Montag and the other people on the train couldn’t focus or think. (CS) Just as people who lack remembrance, knowledge, and power are negatively affected, people who do have that gain.
