In Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451, a troubled society has emerged from a lack of literature caused by the governments control over censorship. The reader becomes aware of this by many literary techniques including symbolism and the portrayal of the setting and the characters. Also, Bradbury's inspiration for this novel helps us understand why he would write such a novel.
             To begin, the novel was written in relation to the situation of the worlds society at the time. The novel was written in the 1950's. The political situation in Europe was suffering. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, known from this point as the USSR, was the major military powerhouse along with their adversaries the United States. The Cold war was running high leading up to the Cuban Missile crisis to take place in the next few years. The invention of the Atom Bomb showed how technology could be used as a form of mass destruction. Also, communism was a major political obstacle during that time period. In a communist government, the freedoms of speech and opinion are abolished. Bradbury, being a novelist and human rights advocate, was strongly opposed to communism and dictatorships around the world. He used novels such as Fahrenheit 451 to show his distrust of technology and also his distrust in a society without a heart. When Bradbury describes machines as "mechanised pieces of anti-culture", "alive yet not alive", it is easy to se his dislike for the human dependance on technology. Television was becoming a major form of communication in the 50's and Bradbury believed that it was reducing society to very mediocre tastes. The novel is a defence of literature. Bradbury shows us the importance of book by portraying the misery of a society without them.
             In addition, the setting and the characters aid Bradbury in depicting a dystopian society. The time the novel takes place in is not mentioned anywhere in the book but is impli...