Paradoxes Bob Laing

Paradox= a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.

I remember one of the first things I wrote in my notes of Fahrenheit 451 was how I noticed Bradbury’s use of paradoxes to help the reader understand and think about the happenings of Fahrenheit 451. These Paradoxes really got me thinking and helped me understand more about the book. One of the first Paradoxes I noticed in Fahrenheit 451 was how Bradbury used these paradoxical statements to describe the “Snake” stomach pump and, later in the book the Mechanical Hound. These paradoxes question the reality of people and things that appear to be living but are spiritually dead. Mildred and the rest of her society seem to be very machine-like, thinking only what they are told to think and relying on government controlled technology and papers to get their information. The culture of Fahrenheit 451 is a culture of fake happiness and Montag is trying to escape this fake happiness and seek more substantial truths in the books he is beginning to read. Also in the beginning of The Hearth and the Salamander, Montag’s bedroom is described as “not empty” and then it is described as “indeed empty” I believe that Montag feels this sense of emptiness because Mildred is physically in the bedroom, but her thoughts and feelings are not present in the bedroom. Bradbury’s repeated use of these paradoxes is usually used to describe Mildred’s acts, suggesting that her empty and almost zombie like actions are those of everyone else in this society. Mildred is our connection to the society and culture of the people in this new world that Bradbury has created.

I believe that we will see many more paradoxes through the rest of the book. I also hope that these paradoxes will help you to take a deeper look at Fahrenheit 451.