Fahim Belfatmi
Hr. 4
Mrs.Jungwirth
It’s been said that the truth hurts, but a lie is worse. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury and “By the Waters of Babylon” by Stephen Vincent Benét connect in many ways, one of the many would be by theme. Although some differences between the two books are evident the similarities are pronounced. The similarities would be how the past is kept from the people with lies in both stories, also how both are curious and want to find the truth, and lastly how they both have a character change. Early on in Fahrenheit 451, we see how the past is kept from the people with lies at one point in the book Clarisse said, “Is it true that long ago firemen put out fires instead of going to start them” (8). That says a great deal about how the people aren’t even aware of what firemen used to actually do, later in the book they're actually told a lie that firemen have always burned houses and books. In the short story “By the Waters of Babylon”, John is told to withhold the truth about how the so called “Gods” were human at one point he says, “I wished to tell all the people but [My dad] showed me otherwise” (184). His dad later tells him how and why he can't tell his people by saying, “ Truth is a hard deer to hunt. If you eat too much Truth at once, you may die of the truth” (184). In the first quote it shows that the truth and past are withheld from the people. The second quote shows a metaphor that basically says that maybe the people can't handle the truth. In both Stories the past is kept from the people to supposedly keep them safe, but the two characters John and Montag are curious to find the truth. Both Montag and John are curious and will stop at nothing to find the truth. Even if it means breaking laws or doing the forbidden. Montag seeks out the truth by reading books which is against the law. John seeks out the truth by going east, crossing the river, and going to the gods land which are all forbidden. Montag's curiosity was really struck when he was talking to Mildred and told her, “ There must be something in books things we can't imagine to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don't just stay there for nothing” (51). That shows he's
Another incident that stayed in Montag 's mind is the old women who set her self and her books on fire. However, Montag tried stopping her by telling her that the books were not worth her life. Before she burned herself, Montag took one of her books and kept it. At that time Montag did not think about what did the old lady burned herself with the books, he did not think about it might be the value and morals that books hold to teach is. The old lady knew the importance of these books and what do they have, so she preferred to burn herself with them, and not watch the firemen burn them, who do not even know the importance of books. But they do know that books are unreal and there is so importance of them, plus they are against the law!
In Montag 's case, he understands that he is unhappy with the way he is living, and he begins to rethink his ways of destruction. In like manner, a literary criticist, Rafeeq McGiveron, gives a good analysis of the character of Montag when he says that Montag has a “blithely clear and pathetically blank conscience” towards burning books until he relives his childhood through walks with Clarisse (p.6). Clearly, Clarisse tugged and Montag 's heart and helped him understand the heartlessness of burning books. Most definitely, it was Montag 's hand and not his brain or mind that was the true monster. In another example, the reader sees Montag 's private life during a conversation between he and Mildred, his wife, when she says, “when can we have a fourth wall television put in? It 's only two thousand dollars” and Montag responds by saying that two thousand dollars is one-third of his yearly pay (Bradbury 33). The example presented adds more depth to the grim life of the main character because Montag is married to a woman that is selfish and has no interest for any part of Montag 's life. Similarly, because Montag is faced with unhappiness in both his professional and private life, he is quick to accept the words of Clarisse that there is a better and brighter life possible for him. Overall, Bradbury successfully acomplishes a sense of sympathy for Guy Montag by revealing the
Fahrenheit 451 relates to Plato’s "Allegory of the Cave" in the sense that there was a false truth of the world. The people in the story didn't know the "real world". For example, in Fahrenheit 451, people believed that firemen always set fire to homes, not put them out. In "Allegory of the Cave" the prisoners are "forced to keep their head immobile", much like the people in Fahrenheit 451 are forced to burn all books. These two things are similar because they both hide the truth.
In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury shows the importance access of other people’s knowledge. We need the knowledge of others and of our past. We need this knowledge so we can learn from our mistakes and will not repeat the mistakes from our history. In Fahrenheit 451 the society has forgotten its past and is slowly dissolving into mayhem. This is a perfect example of the theme. The theme of Fahrenheit 451 is, we need the knowledge of others to survive.
Throughout the novel, Montag evolves as a character, he slowly comes to grips with reality. He begins the story as a happy, content, and everyday member of society, and after a few choice interactions, begins to feel progressively unhappy. In search of a solution to this confusing and growing unhappiness, Montag becomes rebellious towards the value of the commonly accepted facts of his society. This is most clearly demonstrated by Montag’s opinion of books. As he slowly eases into reading books, Montag comes to the realization that despite him not knowing the meanings of the books he reads, they do have a profound and deep impact. Once
A theme for Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is that knowledge can prepare us for the future. According to Fahrenheit 451 it states,”Montag had done nothing. His hand had done it all, his hand, with a brain of its own, with a conscience and a curiosity in each trembling finger, had turned thief.” This supports the theme because the only reason Guy Montag stole the books was because he wanted to know more about his job to see if his job isn’t helping his society which supports the claim since he taking resources from the scene of where the fire was and using the books to his advantage to see if he can stop the problem of his job. According to Fahrenheit 451 it states, “Do you ever read any of the books you burn?” He laughed. “That’s against the
Fahrenheit 451 and “The Allegory of the Cave” relate in the sense that society is ignorant and fears facing reality. In both, the discovery of something unknown or unfamiliar changes the characters’ views on the world, especially after being exposed to something so different to what you have spent your whole life knowing.
Montag and John are similar in their motivation to begin their journey. Their motivation is similar in these ways. Montag is from a time in the future where no one reads books, and they are all invested into TV and have all grown accustomed to violence. For one thing Bradbury clarifies, “‘Are you happy’ clarisse said ‘Am I what’
In stories there is always something to take away, something to learn. Whether it’s that the main character is unsure and naive or wise and independent there is always an overlaying theme. In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and the short story ¨By the Waters of Babylon¨, by Stephen Vincent Benét the main characters are always learning and following the overall themes. Fahrenheit 451 and ¨By the Waters of Babylon¨ have several similar themes that will be thoroughly explained. Three themes that are seen throughout these stories are, identity crisis, humans will cause their own destruction, and that technology impacts society.
In Ray Bradbury's mind he pictured what would have been today, with heartless people burning books, to the courageous, standing up for their beliefs .Within this novel and our society today, there are many similarities in culture. There are also many positive aspects as well as negatives, but they put many harmful threats to the two different point of views in our time, to when the book was published. I believe that in Ray Bradbury's book, Fahrenheit 451 technology, censorship, and knowledge have many similarities to today's world.
My name is Destiny Ross and today i will be sharing my understanding of the connection between the two novels “The Great Gatsby” and “Fahrenheit 451”. The themes in my comparison will include pleasure
Many, if not all, novels portray a theme, a subject of discourse, discussion, meditation, or composition, within them. The theme is the heart of the story. It is used as the central focus, and expresses the intended lesson, conclusion, message, or point of view of the author. Countless novels share communal themes, some of which include Fahrenheit 451 and Oryx and Crake. These are two distinct novels with many dissimilarities, yet they share common similarities within them, both carrying parallel themes. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury paints a dystopian future where the government has forbidden books and orders them to be burned through the work of fireman. These firemen include the likes of Guy Montag, who begins to question his life after an encounter with his young neighbor. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood takes a whole different turn, her story centers on Snowman, who used to be known as Jimmy before the world was wiped out by a deadly plague. Snowman, who’s now the only human to survive, is tasked with conveying his wisdom and morals onto the Crakers. Although these novels seem to be completely diverse, they both are about the fall of society through the censoring of information.
To first discover what makes these novels similar, they must first be analyzed to see their plot. Fahrenheit 451 is the story of a fireman named Guy Montag. Montag is no ordinary civilian, he is a fireman, the law enforcement that burns down house and arrests people if they have been proven to be hiding books. The story goes that Montag has a wife who has very little purpose in life. Her only desire is to be with her “family”, the actors on television who make programs where the viewer feels they are involved in the show. Eventually, Montag meets a young girl named Clarisse who talks with him when they walk together on the sidewalk, says to him “You’re not like the others” (Page 21), and who has been deemed by society as “peculiar” as she expresses herself in many artful ways. Montag talks with Clarisse until, one day, Clarisse is hit by a car,
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief are similar in multiple ways. One example being that they both end rather realistically.
The main theme expressed in these novels is mass censorship on society. The authority figures shape society to believe what they want society to believe. In 1984, a group called “the party” exterminates and modifies any literature or documentations of history to get society to think what the party wants them to think. The party uses monitoring screens in homes and “thoughtpolice” to monitor citizens actions and thoughts. In Fahrenheit 451, the authority does not modify any literature or documentation. The authority chooses to exterminate any form of literature and documentation. Therefore, the society has no knowledge about history and what goes on in the world. This censors the thoughts of society and does not allow citizens to speak freely and express their thoughts about anything.