Fahrenheit 451: Life and Death

           A major and reoccurring theme in Fahrenheit 451 is Life and Death. Many things in the novel are described as both alive and dead. We all know that this is impossible and an oxy-moron, but the way Bradbury describes these things make it seems so real and possible. Mildred is one of the things that he describes as both alive and dead. She spends her day watching and interacting with her “family” on the three walled television (Bradbury). At the end of the day she was so brainwashed by the show that she does not even remember what had happened during it. This can be relatable to our world now, once again proving Bradbury’s very good prediction skills. Many people of our generation spend so much time watching television that they never go out and do things worthwhile and active. At the end of the day if you ask them about a certain episode they watched they might not even remember. It is like if we see an episode, we may or may not remember if we have seen of before because we watch so much of it. This makes Mildred alive and dead because she is obviously living and carrying out daily activities, but she can barely remember it, as though she was a zombie all day. Another thing described by Bradbury as both alive and dead is the old woman in the house full of books. The firemen ask the woman to exit the house and she refuses because she would rather die than live without them (Bradbury 39). Beatty also says a quote that relates to life and death: “The people in those books never lived" (Bradbury 39). This is also irony because he is in a book and never lived. They are alive and dead because some of them lived, and some did not, but reading the books makes them seem alive. The theme occurs throughout the novel in minor parts.   

 Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. Print.