The Unraveling of the Human Race 

As a society, we have the ability to love, to foster relationships and emotions, to make decisions and act upon them, things that are taken for granted. In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. there are various dehumanizing factors that account for the loss of these abilities as well as unawareness of emotion and disconnect to people and the world around them. In Fahrenheit 451, books are outlawed and burned in order to better control the population and technology becomes extremely prominent as well.

“Harrison Bergeron” is a short story where not only is technology present, but individuality is also stripped by handicaps, which make all of the citizens “equal”. Throughout the stories, there are prominent things that stand out and are clear factors to the dehumanization within the societies.

The citizens in the dystopian societies lose all sense of individuality and unawareness of emotion due to the overwhelming amount of censorship and technology. In Montag’s world, technology has replaced most things, creating an empty, emotionless wasteland with little to no regard for human life and feelings.

The characters are not only reliant on the technology, but don’t even realize that they are. This is prominently shown in the novel when Mildred regards the parlor walls as “‘[her] family’” when Montag asks for her to “‘turn the parlor off’”(Bradbury 48). Family is typically regarded as something special, meaningful to most, but due to the lack of emotional perception in the dystopia, it is used very loosely to describe the televisions.

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Mildred has become so infatuated and obsessed with watching her TV programs, that she has begun to give her shows more attention than her own husband.

She has also began to allow the TV to provide her with “happiness” that is really just surface gratification. Mildred is distant and closed off, and a perfect example of how far from reality the citizens really are. Family is regarded and valued as loosely as one might feel about the cashier that was seen one time at a store. Nothing has meaning, especially to Mildred who’s life has become consumed with television and does not even understand that her life is completely dependent upon the technology and entertainment provided by the parlor walls. The parlor is also a non-literal wall between her and Montag, who feels closed off and exiled from her life and thoughts because she seems to care so little about anything besides her TV walls. The presence and effects of technology are also shown when