Dandelion Wine Essay essays

Dandelion Wine Essay essays As we all grow and progress, we gain a desire to make our lives easier for ourselves. Advancements in technology help us carry out some of the chores and jobs in our lives. Although it may seen beneficial, too much dependence on technology might abolish our self-reliance. This idea is suggested by Ray Bradbury in his novel, Dandelion Wine. In his novel, Bradbury criticizes new technology, and it's ability to take over our lives. In the book we meet a character named Douglas who sees things in his life as "machines". The Green Machine is really a low powered vehicle that is meant to transport people more efficiently to their desired destination, but it ends up injuring another being. The Happiness Machine is intended to make people happier, but it just makes people miserable. The Time Machine, who is actually Mr. Freeleigh, entertains children with his stories from the past until his untimely death. Douglas and the people of the town rely heavily on these "machines", but when they "breakdown", they're left to experience the pains of life. The Green Machine represents the excessive pride that Miss Fern and Miss Roberta have. The two old women want people to envy them, hence the Green color of the car. When they hit Mr. Quartermain, they are not able to face the problem. Instead, they get scared and hide, too frightened and too prideful to accept the consequences. They wait in the attic, hoping the problem will go away. They even try switching the blame onto the salesman who sold them the car. " Our pride has ruined us. Pride and that electrical contraption."(90). The car has fed their ego and now that it is gone, their pride is too large for them to accept the consequences of their actions. Miss Fern's and Miss Roberta's selfish desire for the "machine" has left them having to deal with the pain of facing their consequences. When Leo Auffman invents the Happiness Machine, his intenti ...