Fahrenheit 451: Reflection of history, behavior and social issues

This novel was set into the future, so it is hard to think of some historical reference involved in this novel.  However, maybe the story was inspired by a historical happening.  The only reference that is strong in my mind is the fact that during World War II, there were anti-Semitic book burning events.   This was because Hitler was very racist and did not want anyone to be exposed to Jewish literature and culture in general.  Hitler's plan was to create a perfect society, much like this novel.  This novel was possibly a comparison to what would happen if someone so narrow minded tried to establish the perfect society.  The burning of the books just represents that the leader wants to keep opinions related to theirs.  The only way to make a world perfect is to brainwash people into thinking it is perfect.  Even so, human nature will shine through and it will eventually collapse.  This is a historical reference to this because it is so similar.

Some behavioral and social issues relate with the history.  The brainwashing of these people are social and behavior issues because it helps them keep in check so there are no uprisings or resistances.  It is slightly more behavioral because they want the people to act and think in a certain way.  The brainwashing prevents them from desiring to have creativity and imagination.  This behavioral issue is in the novel because it is a popular theme within futuristic novels.  Many people think that the future will develop into a narrow minded and lazy society where free thought will be eliminated.  The reason for this is because of the corruption of leaders that we have in today's society.  The longer someone has power, the more corrupted they seem to get.  This is a projected future behavioral issue because it seems likely for the future.  The social issues in this novel is that no one wants to be social.  They would rather listen to the radio or perhaps watch television.  The reason for this is because conversations encourage creativity, and that is not necessary in this society.  Bradbury did a great job showing these issues in this futuristic novel.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine, 1996. Print.