Wake Up, Mildred!

Here in our hallowed corner of the world, many of us have a hard time believing that there is a huge segment of American society that does not put any faith in our “honors” sensibilities. Many of us would like to believe that everyone holds the same values, enjoys the same entertainment, and has the same sense of what is right and wrong, moral and immoral. Some of us even believe that we are admired because of the “accelerated curriculum” we pursue. Ah, fools! Fools all! You’re nothing but a bunch of Mildreds! Even in this enlightened age, where information is a prized commodity and technology is the answer to every need and desire, Ray Bradbury’s predictions are coming true. We are becoming a society like the one in Fahrenheit 451!

I am in a unique position to see this transformation. I teach here at Fairfield all day, including this one class of honors English--presumably the most challenging English class in the school, where we probe deeper and develop our higher-level thinking skills--but in the evenings, I teach night school at the “alternative” high school, which is home to all the kids in the district who, for one reason or another, cannot function in a traditional classroom. And I got news for you, Mildreds: You got your heads in the sand!

The first student I met at Mountain High, Eric, began our relationship by informing me that he would be off probation in two weeks and then the electronic tracking bracelet would be removed from his ankle. Eric took his dad’s car out for a cruise--at 160 miles an hour, under the influence of various mind-altering substances--and landed himself in what’s known as “juvie lock-up.” I like Eric. He really does want a diploma, and he is the only student who attends every class, but his 18 years are filled with television. Like Mildred in Fahrenheit 451, Eric admittedly spends most of his time when he is not at work or school in front of the boob tube. It is a proud accomplishment for him that he has digital cable. The important aspect of this is not only that Eric watches a lot of TV--because certainly most of America watches at least an hour or two a day--but also that he is watching programs designed to dumb down the world. “World Federation Wrestling,” for example, is one of Eric’s all-time favorites. He knows it isn’t for real, but “Man, it is so cool!” He delights in watching these “wrestlers” body slam one another, especially when chairs and other weapons are involved. Eric also likes “The Real World” on MTV, which is not real at all, given that the people in it know they are on stage 24 hours a day. “Celebrity Deathmatch,” also on MTV, is a satire of pro wrestling, but Eric likes it because it’s cool to see blood spray and brains splatter. Then there are the music videos that appear occasionally on what was once the all-music TV station; Eric loves them, especially the ones by hard core rap bands that use the f-word a lot and refer to all women as “biatches and hos.” How do I know this? Because on the first day of class, I handed out a survey, and Eric happily filled all this in. When it came to writing a paragraph about himself, he could only conjure two lines, but he filled the page with all of his “interests.” Now consider this: the reason that there are so many programs that appeal to Eric is because there are millions of others like him who will tune in. In fact, there are a lot more Erics than there are honors students. And before you begin to feel that elitist, condescending glow brought on by your obvious superiority, consider the results of our own in-class survey: Everyone in the class had at least one TV; half of you have one in your bedroom. Eric isn’t the only one watching TV. In fact, in many cases it is the wealthier, more “blessed” families (like ours) who have the money to spend on all the latest TV technology like digital cable, satellite TV, video players, DVDs, laser disks, and big-screen TV walls like Mildred’s. Watching TV numbs the brain, and in short bouts, that’s okay. But according to the averages, we’re watching 1200 hours a year! We’re buying the products the commercials advertise, and we’re staying tuned for all the latest entertainment. For many people, not just Eric, TV is reality. It is something you can go home to every day and be entertained or occupied by so you don’t have to think too hard about that homework or that research assignment. (The rest of us probably go home to our fancy, expensive computers and let the Internet fill that same role.)

Television is our window on the world, but it is not only that which makes us like Mildred. Our sense of fun and of what is entertaining also indicates that we are turning into Fahrenheit 451. Clarisse said early in the novel that she was afraid of kids her own age because they were so busy going to the car smasher arcades and hurting each other. Violence and speed is their primary form of diversion. We see the same thing happening in America right now. In most of the popular movies that come out, violence is a solution to all problems. The Die Hard movies are a mild example of the type of thing that people are making into movies nowadays. Even “comedies” like Rush Hour contain loads of violence, and it seems that Disney is on the bandwagon; Lion King, Hunchback, Mulan, and Tarzan all contain some degree of violence. Our society tolerates violence, and this is clearly apparent in the type of movies and entertainment we turn in to blockbusters. Many of the most popular video games are also predicated solely on violence; in fact, according to some of your own essays, there are video games in which the point is simply to kill by any means necessary...and then you get to watch the bad guys explode, their guts and blood oozing into a gory mound on the three-dimensional display. “But this is all just entertainment,” you say. “It isn’t real!” That’s true, but gangs are. The problem of gang violence is growing yearly. You have grown up in a world where “drive-by shooting” is a common term. Also consider “road rage,” a phrase that didn’t exist ten years ago, but grew out of our desire--much like that in Fahrenheit 451 where it is against the law to walk anywhere or to go slower than 100 miles an hour--to always move faster!

Finally, whether we know it or not, we too are a society of book burners. Like Beatty said in his lecture, you don’t have to burn books if people quit reading them, and most of American society has. The average working person reads for a total of five hours a year! Books require you to do some of the work, to imagine, to create. But most of us are more willing to let TV or a computer or a stereo do the work for us, including most of the folks in this “honors” English class. We will read a lot of “classic” literature this year that many of you will find boring because you have never been required to focus on an image or a description long enough to give it feeling and meaning. And I don’t know if there is anything I can do to change that.

I can, however, kick your butts with rigorous assignments and force you to present and defend your opinions with clear, precise, and logical evidence. I can and will call you “Mildreds” and “Bubbas” when I hear you complaining about having to think. I can and will require you to read and find meaning in literature. It’s not much, but maybe it’s a start. And maybe if enough of you see the light I’m trying to share, we won’t become a world like Fahrenheit 451 after all.

Fahrenheit 451 Essay Assignments