Secretive Subjugation In Fahrenheit 451, By Ray Bradbury

1325 Words3 Pages

Kairav Maniar
English 9H - Class 3A
Mrs. Cannata
3.31.14
Secretive Subjugation
Power is a capability, a potential to do something, yet it is very often misunderstood for the façade it dresses in. Many people see power as strength, or brute force, the ability to cause pain. Others see power in a more positive perspective, in relation to offering assistance and having the ability to give it. Though these are all examples of power in use, neither strength nor altruism allow one to be powerful. In Ray Bradbury's award-winning novel, Fahrenheit 451, society feels the true weight of those who are powerful, the government, but the beauty of it is that the people do not realize it. The government works to destroy all books and knowledgeable material, and essentially eradicate all the individualism, the personal opinions of the people. Guy Montag, the main character and protagonist, makes an effort to resist the oppressiveness of the government, yet soon realizes that his sole efforts will never be sufficient to bring awareness to the oblivious people, as the government had removed all judgment and personal opinion, destroyed any evidence of their existence. The people had been lost to the power of the government. Hence, Fahrenheit society falls victim to the government because the people allow their minds to be overtaken and their individualism to be destroyed.
The people of Fahrenheit society are bereft of the individual drive to succeed. Human nature is such that luxury is an attainment that should be achieved at any cost. Fahrenheit people have been essentially brainwashed by their government, to the point where they lack a normally common trait, the lust for prosperity. Mildred, Montag's wife and a prime example of Fahrenheit society...

... middle of paper ...

...e feat of altering people’s mindsets, about literature in this case.
Fahrenheit government is an oppressive, powerful force, insuperable by any singular person. Not only has this group of dictators suppressed the individuality of the people, they have turned each person against the best interests of society itself. Montag, the main character and do-gooder protagonist of the novel, tries to revolt against the government, yet soon realizes its true strength. The governing administrators of Fahrenheit’s America prove to have attained true power; the power to alter people’s minds to control and manipulate them. Power is not what it is commonly believed to be: one is truly powerful when they can completely obliterate the personalities of each human, and make them, essentially, robots, whose minds can be not only influenced, but operated, by this one powerful individual.

Open Document