Technology in “The Pedestrian” and “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury
Watching television is one of the main things there is in a person’s life. This also includes being on your phone or tablet, and even if it is just texting or calling, having technology is a huge part of our lives, used for good and bad. The story “The Pedestrian,” has a major problem in the world we live in by not seeing the full aspect of life and having it revolve around technology which strictly connects to the story “Fahrenheit 451”. The two stories call out on the world not being able to see and examine what is around us and not thinking of weather something is wrong or right, therefore, people are more interested in electronics than actually experiencing life on their own or interacting with each other.
Having to wonder what is going on in the world is incredibly crazy, we have our phones and television to find out any new news happening all around the world. That is what Leonard Mead experienced in the story “The Pedestrian” by Mead just taking a stroll one day and then being harassed by the police for walking, instead of not being in the house watching television or hanging out with his wife. “Ever since a year ago, 2052, the election year, the force had been cut down from three cars to one” (Bradbury “The pedestrian”). This shows us how technology has changed the world and how we are so connected with the internet that we have barely any crime which is a good thing but is it such a bad thing when Mead went out for a stroll causing no trouble but since he is not inside watching television, it is a bad thing according to the police. “To the Psychiatric Center for Research on Regressive Tendencies” (Bradbury “The Pedestrian”) This is where Mead was taken because the police think it was normal for someone to just go out for a walk. This connects to the story “Fahrenheit 451” by both of the stories sharing what will happen in the future involving technology and how we get along with each other by it showing us how we are so wrapped around television, we do not communicate with people around us.
The story “Fahrenheit 451” talks about this whole other side of technology and how in the future it will take over all of us. “Will you turn the parlor off?” he asked. “That’s my family.” Milread is so hitched onto the television, she calls the characters her family instead of listening to her actually family which is her husband. The story “The Pedestrian” relates to this by technology being so controlled by the people, that it changes everyone to think that there is nothing else to do but just to watch television, they feels so pinned to it that it has the television become a part of them.
All in all, both of the stories “The Pedestrian” and “Fahrenheit 451” have a similar connection with technology and having to socialize with each other. The world we live in is where technology is the center of what we do, we are so involved in it we barely talk with the people around us. The two stories both gave us a hint of what will happen in the future and by having technology advance every year, you can see it has already got a hold of us.
