Fahrenheit 451 Comparison Essay

Thomas Paine once said, “Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness.” In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Montag, the protagonist, works as a fireman. Throughout the novel, he begins to discover his true self. In this utopian society, people are conceited and have little or no emotions. Similarly, many in our society are self-centered and have limited feelings. Even though both societies have numerous characteristics in common, the two societies have multiple differences.

Firemen are there to keep the peace. Beatty even says to Montag "I don't think you realize how important you are, we are, to our happy world as it stands now (62)". He is implying that they, being the firemen, keep the world that they live in happy, because that is the world they are used to being happy in. Their land of nonsense information is their dream world that people live in without thinking of other possibilities for living. The beauty of the real world is masked by the tall buildings of the city, which the firemen keep up to make the people happy. When people are discovered hiding books in their houses, they are letting the light of the real world show through. Outside of the city, the real world really shines through. The gang of men who memorize books is showing that the real world does exist, though it cannot fully be real without the actual books. In the poem Dover Beach, Arnold says "the world, which seems to lie before us like a land of dreams, so various, so beautiful, so new, Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light, Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain...". This can be compared to Bradbury's dream world of the city, which is a land of dreams, yet has no real love, joy, or peace. Yet, "we are here as on a darkling plain".

Every society has its own societal issues. Whether that's problems over religion, science, class, or greed. Everyone has the option to pick what side of history they want to be on--what they want to be remembered for. Whether that’s fighting for transgender rights as can be seen in the 21st century, or fighting to be considered a free man as can be seen in the 19th century. This fight can be seen throughout history books and literary classics such as Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. In Fahrenheit 451, the main character, Guy Montag is fighting against the technological revolution taking place in the 23rd century. He battles with a society full of censorship, where everyone is too caught up with their

Fahrenheit 451 is a book by Ray Bradbury, written after World War II and it examines the corruption of technology in a dystopian society. This book explains how a dystopian society works and how people are so attached to television and cars and do not enjoy the natural world. People in a dystopian society are full of fear and sadness. They do not have equality or freedom, they are all so soaked up in technology that it is illegal for them to do simple stuff, such as, reading books. The book, Fahrenheit 451 explains how firefighters start fires rather than stopping them. A firefighter’s job is do burn books, since books are illegal to have because they go against the power of technology and modernization. In a dystopian society, people should be unhappy, unequal, violent, and brutalized and that is what is exactly being seen throughout this book. As Ray Bradbury captures the attention of many readers, he captures our attention on how the future could be if technology would become so extreme. Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451 is not about control, but it is a novel about how television destroys curiosity in reading literature.

In a dystopian society, everything may seem fine and normal, but underneath all that is an unstable society that may crumble with the right spark. Lord of the Flies by William Golding and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury are two characters who have to face the dystopian world and the nature of humankind. Although, a quest is actually depicted in both, as the characters undertake similar journeys of self-knowledge. In Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the dystopian traits where the boys are deserted on a sterile island show that they are slowly turning into savages and plotting against one another due to the destructive society that they are in. Meanwhile,

11. Montag’s society programs thoughts so completely that “firemen are rarely necessary”. The firemen are used for burning books, to make sure that no one in the society reads or owns them. The firemen aren’t really necessary because the society already doesn’t read books or seem to care about them. They are in the world of technology and don’t want to gain knowledge or have anything to do with learning new information or facing the real world. Montag’s society programs their thoughts to have fun and be care-free. Books are something they already naturally don’t want to read or think about. This is why the firemen aren’t really necessary.

Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, is a dystopian novel about a society living under the concept that no one should be sad, and this goal is achieved by mandating all the firemen to burn books. Firemen being ordered to burn books seem strange, but books have the ability to make people sad, with the ideas that are in them, however, this is a misconception that the characters of Fahrenheit 451 have. The government wants everyone to be happy, and by banning books, the government thinks they are doing the right thing. The author, Ray Bradbury, is explaining that the government banning something as an attempt to solve a problem actually makes the society suffer more.

The world created by Ray Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451 mostly relates to today’s society in that both societies have banned books, which leads people to become dependent on technology; This dependence prevents people from being a part of the community and thinking for themselves. However, the extent Bradbury portrays the insensitivity towards violence creates an extremely dangerous world, whereas today’s society is more aware and sensitive to violence.

happy and that is what we spend our lives doing, trying to be happy. This is what

Imagine a society where owning books is illegal, and the penalty for their possession—to watch them combust into ashes. Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, illustrates just such a society. Bradbury wrote his science fiction in 1951 depicting a society of modern age with technology abundant in this day and age—even though such technology was unheard of in his day. Electronics such as headphones, wall-sized television sets, and automatic doors were all a significant part of Bradbury’s description of humanity. Human life styles were also predicted; the book described incredibly fast transportation, people spending countless hours watching television and listening to music, and the minimal interaction people had with one another. Comparing

Montag rested his head on the tree next to him, his deep, heavy sighs playing a quiet song in his head.

Despite the many similarities between the dystopias of Fahrenheit 451 and the United States, based on comparisons of technological advancements, government, and intellectuality, the United States is the better society to live in.

Fahrenheit 451 is one of the most celebrated and adored books of the 21st century. Ray Bradbury creates a futuristic world that is meant to make the reader examine their own world more closely. This book is an allegory about the dangers of societal censorship and technology. The author uses symbolism and imagery to enhance the allegory’s hidden meaning. This allegory touches on issues so poignant that they are still as relevant today as they were in their own time.

The book “Fahrenheit 451” is about a world where books and poems are illegal because they ruin society by making people have they’re own independent thoughts against the government's idea of society. If someone is caught with books in there home or with them the books and they’re home will be burned and they will be arrested.

In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury uses the government’s use of technology for censorship and absolute rule illustrate the worldview of a dystopian society from an attempt at a utopia, where the ideas of words and literature are banned. The attempt at the Utopia through censorship is seen in how the programs on the television are heavily restrained and restricted to only be used as a government stamped distraction for the public (26-27). The attempt of the utopia creating a dystopia is seen and evident in how the world sees the firemen as an evil to be feared rather than a just a simple government service (3). The dystopia is displayed through the constant violence between teenage children in society as an outlet to their aggression and hatred, rather than words, because of the mandated conformity and inability to do so by their society(14). This all shows Bradbury’s commentary against the high governmental control of freedoms such as speech, communication, and literature prominent in the story.