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Summary Of Fahrenheit 451 And Equilibrium

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Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and Equilibrium, directed by Kurt Wimmer are dystopian works of fiction told in futuristic settings that have as much in common as they have in difference. Both main characters rebel against their totalitarian societies that squash forms of emotional expression with brute force. However, the stories show some differences between their protagonists and themes. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and Equilibrium, directed by Kurt Wimmer tell the tales of men who defy the guidelines set in place by their brainwashed society, each one delivering the story with both similar and different themes. In both Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and the movie Equilibrium, directed by Kurt Wimmer, the protagonists are among the elite in their respective societies. They spearhead the war against emotions, dismissing them as vulnerabilities of the human race. This decision was driven by fear and disdain. Captain Beatty from Fahrenheit 451 states that “the word `intellectual,'... became the swear word it deserved to be.”(page 58), and “surely you remember the boy in your own school class who was exceptionally 'bright,'... wasn't it this bright boy you selected for beatings and tortures after hours? ... We must all be alike.”(page 58) Beatty shows contempt for books because they give people who read books knowledge that others don’t; creating “mountains to judge themselves against.”(page 58) By the same token, in Equilibrium, the narrator states “that our own volatile natures could simply no longer be risked” and the “true source of man's inhumanity to man” is his ability to feel. The firemen in Fahrenheit 451 commit government-sanctioned arson if they suspect a household is in possession of books. In Equilibrium, Clerics destroy material deemed a form of individuality or emotional expression, and kill those guilty of possessing said materials. They are also charged with destroying a resistance movement named the “Underground” which aims to topple the government. Additionally, members of society are required to take a drug that nullifies all feeling and empathy. People who do not comply with policies are incinerated. Eventually, the protagonists begin to learn more about what they are

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