Mrs. Jenkins 

English 10-7

4/18/18

In the book  Fahrenheit 451  Ray Bradbury points out the issue of mental health. In particular, he shows that depression is becoming the normal in society and this has a strong correlation to American society today especially through substance abuse and suicide. 

Mrs. Jenkins

English 10-7

4/30/18

Analysis of Mental Illness

Mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in thinking, emotions or behavior. They are associated with distress, problems functioning in social and family relations, and difficulty working with others. Nineteen percent of all Americans will experience some form of mental illness sometime in their lives and about four percent of Americans will experience a severe mental illness. In  Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag’s wife, Mildred Montag has some sort of mental illness. Mildred is constantly in a daze or just not thinking straight. She also doesn’t seem to be very happy as a person at all. Mildred seems to be very paranoid with what Guy Montag is doing, she overreacts and gets very uneasy. This could be a sign of a severe mental illness. Being constantly paranoid and worried is a sign of severe anxiety. The signs Mildred show are similar to the signs of anxiety in real life. People who experience this can have much shorter life spans and increase their chances of cardiac arrest or issues with the brain. Mental illnesses cause people to live shorter lives and living with must require some sort of help from a counselor and such. People diagnosed with anxiety today are constantly worried about what may go wrong at any given moment. Like in the story, Mildred is always concerned about Guy Montag and what he is doing, because she feels like he is putting them in danger.

Mrs. Jenkins

English 10-7

5/1/18

Depression 

Depression has been a growing concern in the United States. This study says 2 in 5 people will suffer from depression at some point in their lives. Depression is starting to become found normally in society today. Bradbury predicted this is his book. Mildred Montag shows all the signs of depression. She is unhappy, always concerned, and comes off snappy, these are all signs of severe depression. Depression can lead to even more severe results, severe depression can lead to self harm and even suicide. Usually depression is found among older people who are lonely and can also be found in teens today. Depression can be a result of neglect, loneliness and/or bullying. Today, we have so much more means of communication like our smartphones. This also leads to more ways to bully. This is the biggest cause of depression in young teens. People who don’t get help with their depression usually end up even lonelier or commiting suicide. We find a lot of cases of young teens killing themselves today in society. Depression has become very commonplace and in Fahrenheit 451 we see what happens to Mildred Montag who suffers from depression. She is never happy and just seems like she’s out of it. These same signs are real life signs of depression in humans today.

Mrs. Jenkins 

English 10-7

5/2/18

Analysis of Mental Health Conditions

Like in real life, the signs of mental illnesses can be very hard or extremely easy to identify. In Fahrenheit 451 Mildred Montag’s condition is very easy to identify. First off the signs of mental illnesses can include nervousness, constant state of fear, trouble socializing, ect.. Mood swings are a sign of severe mental illness. Mental illnesses are mostly found in older people and people who are lonesome without good socializing skills. Depression is a result and if not taken care of, can lead to severe depression and even suicide. In the book, Mildred comes off as very snappy, unhappy person. We see this because of her diction. She talks very gloomily and is always fearing and worrying about something. This shows us that she is in a constant state of fear, which is one of the signs of mental illness. We see that Mildred’s condition is very similar to the people with anxiety in the world today. The author depicts Mildred in a realistic way to the real world and the issue of anxiety and mental illness. He is trying to show how mental illness is becoming a growing concern in the world and when it was written in the 1950’s Bradbury did accurately predict the severity of mental illnesses becoming the “norm” in society today.