Henry David Thoreau, a famous American author, once said that “What good is a home if you have no tolerable planet to put it on?” In essence, Thoreau believed that although most individual people are tolerable, society as a whole is not. Ray Bradbury reflects on Thoreau's ideas in his novel titled Fahrenheit 451. In the novel, Guy Montag, the protagonist, realizes that his supposedly utopian society is actually a dystopia. Montag finally realizes this when Clarisse, his young neighbor, asks him if he is happy. Although Montag believes he is happy, it becomes clear later in the novel that he is not. Montag finds countless flaws in the society he lives in. Throughout the novel, Bradbury's goal is to show the reader some flaws in today's world, such as our education system and the effects of technology on lives. The reader should see that Bradbury uses Clarisse several times in the novel to criticize the education system. Montag has known Clarisse for some time now and asks her why she doesn't go to school. She responds by saying that she doesn't go to school because she is considered "antisocial" (33). Bradbury criticizes the fact that the system expects students to come to school, sit silently during class and understand all the information they are taught. Students are not expected to ask questions and actually think and be productive. The system wants to brainwash students into believing everything they are taught. Students will eventually become average just like most people in society. Shortly after this statement, Clarisse describes her experience at school. She tells Montag, “you know, we never ask questions, they [the t...... middle of paper ...... Helle Hackman, a high school sophomore, realized that her friends , rather than engaged in a conversation, were “more likely to text each other” (Huffington Post). Michelle also realized that over forty percent of people suffered from anxiety when they were separated from their phones. This clearly shows that we are connected to the technology that we use, but that we also suffer from the use of technology. We spend more than half of our day using some type of technology, whether it is a computer, a telephone, a television or a radio. Technology is becoming a prevalent part of our lives and we cannot live without it. Technology has become our family and part of us. Works Cited Bradbury, Ray. "Fahrenheit 451." 2013.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tania-ketenjian/are-kids-addicted-to-text_b_3999267.html