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Fahrenheit 451 analysis commentary
Analysis of fahrenheit 451
Analysis of fahrenheit 451
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How can self-discovery lead to revolt against government censorship to facilitate growth and maturity?
It is true that self-discovery can lead to revolt against government censorship which is evidence of growth and maturity. While revolt against government censorship is evident in today’s society, it is also prevalent in the world of literature. First, self-discovery through an individual’s place in society, can lead to revolt against government censorship which is evidence of growth and maturity. An individual’s place in society refers to the social position of an individual within society, and includes their occupation, family and role in the lives of others. The place of an individual in society, aides in the recognition of the social position which helps the individual observe the impact of their social position on the function of a totalitarian nation. For example, self-discovery through an individual’s place in society, can lead to revolt against government censorship especially in Ray Bradbury’s classic novel Fahrenheit 451 through protagonist Guy Montag and Mildred. Margret Atwood’s Canadian novel Oryx and Crake, is also a valid representation of self-discovery through an individual’s place in society, can lead to revolt against government censorship through Jimmy. Second, self-discovery through the actions of an individual to overcome conformity, can lead to revolt against government censorship which is evidence of growth and maturity. In a nation with authoritarian leadership, conformity, the behaviour is accordance to social conventions, stems from the strict submission to the authority due to the fear of punishment and social ostracism. An individual’s rebellion of governance through the struggle to overc...
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... of the manner of defeat, Lord Rama replies “‘[Vali] should learn to forgive and treat his people with respect’” and that Lord Rama’s duty is “‘. . .[t]o spread righteousness and punish evils through any means’”(Ramayana Vol. IV-268). Self-discovery through the process of the realization of an individual’s vocation in life, can lead to revolt against government censorship which is evidence of growth and maturity, especially through the necessity to violate of societal laws through the utilisation of unlawful principles to provide justice to a dictator. To conclude, self-discovery through the process of the realization of an individual’s vocation in life, can lead to revolt against government censorship which is evidence of growth and maturity, especially through the preservation of faith, the acceptance of knowledge and the necessity to violate of societal laws.
In Fahrenheit 451, the government exercised censorship supposedly for the purpose of happiness. Through technology and media, the government was able to eliminate individuality by manipulating the mind of the people into believing the propaganda of what happiness is. The people’s ignorance made them obediently abide that they failed to realize how far technology and the media have taken control of their minds. The free thought of characters such as Montag and Clarisse collided with that of Captain Beatty, who strongly believe in and enforce the censorship, and the firemen, whose role was to burn illegal books; these clashes were Bradbury’s way
You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty (Gandhi). The power society has over citizens is explored in the two texts Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut. The story Fahrenheit 451 depicts firemen who start fires instead of stop them. In this society censorship is valued and books are a main reason firemen burn. Books give you knowledge and knowledge is power which is what this society tries to prevent. In the short story “Harrison Bergeron” the topic similarly is about censorship in a more extreme way. People must wear masks and handicaps to prevent them from being different or unique. Intelligent people get a sharp noise in their ear every twenty seconds to prevent people from taking unfair advantage of their brains.
In “1984,” Orwell portrays Winston’s secret struggle to undermine the totalitarian rule of Big Brother and the Party in Oceania. The different government agencies, such as the Thought Police and Ministry of Love, exercise unrestricted totalitarian rule over people. Winston actively seeks to join the rebellion and acquire the freedoms undermined by the Party. On the other hand, Heinlein’s brief narrative, “The Long Watch,” depicts a contrasting struggle championed by Dahlquist against the power hungry Colonel Towers and the Patrol. In his struggle to prevent the total domination of the world by the Patrol, Dahlquist chooses to sacrifice his life. Le Guin’s “The Ones who walk away from Omelas,” illustrates a communal form of injustice tolerated for the benefit of the entire city but necessitating the inhumane imprisonment of a child. He portrays the ambiguity of human morality and the individual struggle to determine right from wrong. The authors address social change and power in different ways, reflective of their individual perceptions. Hence, in each narrative, the author illustrates the individual’s role in effecting social change and the conditions under which such change becomes possible.
...es of individuals can be used to explore a broader social wrong, in this case the injustice of a totalitarian government. Both authors use their protagonists to depict how a dictatorial state can destroy all sense of individuality, Orwell by presenting Winston in his fight against “The Party” and Niccol by depicting Vincent in his battle against society. Both authors also use individuals, who must isolate themselves in order to survive to expose how an unjust authoritative government can manufacture isolation. Orwell and Niccol also present conflicting views on the possibility of individual rebellion in an oppressive society, reflected by the success of Vincent and failure of Winston. In their prophetic dystopian texts both George Orwell and Andrew Niccol use the experiences of their protagonists to explore the broad social wrong of a totalitarian government.
To conclude, because the government was able to use censorship and promote ignorance, they were able control and manipulate their citizens. This novel also has resemblance to our world, this novel is a reminder of how powerful media can become if used the right way, society can be mislead into thinking false things. By promoting ignorance, the citizens started having very bland lives with no depth. People did not talk about ideas and feelings because they were obsessed and dependent on instant pleasure, they will start denying they own feelings because of this. Television and easy access to entertainment made books nonexistent.
Imagine living in a world where you are not in control of your own thoughts. Imagine living in a world in which all the great thinkers of the past have been blurred from existence. Imagine living in a world where life no longer involves beauty, but instead a controlled system that the government is capable of manipulating. In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, such a world is brought to the awareness of the reader through a description of the impacts of censorship and forced conformity on people living in a futuristic society. In this society, all works of literature have become a symbol of unnecessary controversy and are outlawed. Individuality and thought is outlawed. The human mind is outlawed. All that is left is a senseless society, unaware of their path to self-destruction, knowing only what the government wants them to know. By telling a tale of a world parallel to our own, Bradbury warns us of a future we are on a path to -- a future of mind manipulation, misused technology, ignorance, and hatred. He challenges the reader to remain open-minded by promoting individualism, the appreciation of literature, the defiance of censorship and conformity, and most importantly, change.
Similarly, in Fahrenheit 451, Montag begins to doubt the government’s views on literature, proved when he states, “There must be something in those books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house” (Bradbury 51). Montag’s proclamations introduce a battle within himself, because he must now decide whether to conform to society’s ban on literary works or transgress by exploring a book’s contents. Because the government in both Anthem and Fahrenheit 451 restricts certain knowledge from its citizens, Equality and Montag face the internal conflicts of deciding whether to comply with society’s dictums or to contravene laws in order to obtain this knowledge.
In Bradbury’s dystopia, books are banned and are to be burned if found, because they cause people to become too intellectual. In The Giver, a supposed utopia, the government tells the members of the community what jobs they will have, and how many children are acceptable in each family. In each of the novels, the main characters, reveal their deep animosity towards the government and its policies. They work to end the prolonged oppression faced. The Hunger Games and Fahrenheit 451 attempt to change for the better; On the contrary The Giver takes a turn for the worst. Contemporary works, such as The Hunger Games, Fahrenheit 451, and The Giver, portray utopic and dystopic societies through the eyes of the narrators, and the properties of these societies are inverted as the government’s of each novel oppress the citizens. The elements of idealistic societies, generally develop into dystopias; Whereas dystopian societies begin to adapt to quixotic ideals as the narrators begin to see the world
United States Justice, Potter Stewart once said “Censorship reflects on a society’s confidence in itself” Ray Bradbury used this concept when building the story Fahrenheit 451. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury addresses the subject of censorship, suggesting that the major problem in society is self censorship. Ray Bradbury brings us one specific type of censorship, rather than censorship from ruling authority, he uses self censorship. This censorship is the cause of the many smaller problems in this society. In Fahrenheit 451 the citizens are censored from many things.
It’s no doubt that the plots of Fahrenheit 451 show Ray Bradbury’s worry about the society’s progression as well as his irritation about censorship.Throughout the novel, characterizations and symbolisms illustrate that most people such as Mildred, her friends, and Beatty all lose his or her conscience and abilities as a human. Fortunately, there still exists some people such as Montag and Faber observed the crisis in the society, and these people contributed effort to rebuild culture and civilization.Reflect to today’s society, people are still facing social problems such as lack of communication and technologies replace culture. These phenomenons should catch attentions and be solved.
Much can happen in a matter of minutes; a man can go from thinking he is happy to thinking his life is falling apart, or can change from hating someone to loving them. These experiences sound outlandish, but they happened to Guy Montag, the main character in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, and Winston Smith, the main character in George Orwell’s 1984. These two dystopian novels are about the characters discovering major problems in their societies, and then trying to fix them. Montag lives in a society where television controls people’s lives and books have become illegal. On the other hand Smith lives in Oceania, a territory led by a totalitarian regime. This regime is headed by Big Brother and is referred to as the Party. By examining Fahrenheit 451 and 1984, it is seen, not only through the dehumanized nature of society, but also through the theme of lies and manipulation that both Orwell and Bradbury wish to warn of a horrifying future society.
Censorship is an issue that civilizations have struggled with for hundreds of years. The question that leaders ask themselves is, “Is censorship the problem or solution?” In Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, he answers this question. The novel is set in the future where books are banned, and firefighters set houses on fire that hold books. The main character, Montag, is a firefighter that hates his life and his job. He meets a girl, Clarisse, and she reminds Montag of all good things life is. He starts saving books from the houses he burns down, and eventually his wife, Mildred, turns Montag in to the fire chief. With the help from Professor Faber, he flees to the outskirts of the city where he finds refuge, and the city is blown up. Bradbury conveys the dangers of censorship through not only the plot but also the use of characterization. In the novel, Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury conveys the theme by the
Conformity is an entity that occurs in the lives of the ordinary; an infinite precedent and inner machination of the enigma people call human nature. Consensus from hordes of people and authority influence independent thoughts, actions, and consciousness, a fundamental social mistake that consequently leads to stripped individuality and ultimately orthodoxy. In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, all plebeians’ voices are spoken as one and are universal. The plebeians display no debate or disagreement and are easily moved by the speeches of Brutus and Antony. In George Orwell’s 1984, the proletarians are all content; they have no need to rebel. Winston, the protagonist, is desperate to guard the ‘spirit of humanity’ while withholding his will to seek truth, yet he falters and joins the majority that will continue to maintain class hierarchy. Both, works delve into the instinct of human beings and the power of social pressures, showing that many will adopt views and beliefs even without realization, ultimately giving up one’s own individuality and free thinking. The fickle love of the plebeians in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and the ignorance of the proletarians in George Orwell’s 1984 portray conformity through the majority’s natural instinct to follow authority.
Imagine a society in which its citizens have forfeited all personal liberties for government protection and stability; Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, explores a civilization in which this hypothetical has become reality. The inevitable trade-off of citizens’ freedoms for government protection traditionally follows periods of war and terror. The voluntary degradation of the citizens’ rights begins with small, benign steps to full, totalitarian control. Major methods for government control and censorship are political, religious, economic, and moral avenues. Huxley’s Brave New World provides a prophetic glimpse of government censorship and control through technology; the citizens of the World State mimic those of the real world by trading their personal liberties for safety and stability, suggesting that a society similar to Huxley’s could exist outside the realm of dystopian science fiction.
Orwell shows how those who do not conform will end up being taken down by those with the power, and there is not much anyone can do about that. Those who believed in change and tried to change the society only ended up meeting failure as majority rules, those with more power will overpower the weak and succeed. Works Cited Wilcox, Cody, and Cody Bahler. The "Internet Censorship" North Korea and the Kim Dynasty. N.p., n.d. Web.