Dangerous Pleasure-Seeking in Fahrenheit 451 and 'Masque of the Red Death'

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These societies were happy and merry. Everyone had everything they needed to be happy. They had lots of fun and their lives were perfect. In Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, and “Masque of the Red Death”, written by Edgar Allan Poe, both of these societies show how they are full of pleasure-seeking. The similarities in theme of pleasure-seeking as a priority are extreme and they are worthy of full discussion. It is good to make yourself happy, but it can backfire on you. The people in these stories only cared about making themselves happy but they ended up dying. These points show up in both Fahrenheit 451 and “Masque of the Red Death”.

For the people in both of these stories the world revolved around themselves. In Fahrenheit 451, Mildred didn't even care for her own husband. While Montag was sick Mildred did not …show more content…

In Fahrenheit 451, Beatty tells Montag, “You understand that our civilization is so vast that we can't have our minorities upset and stirred…. People want to be happy…. Don't we keep them moving, don't we give them fun? That’s all we live for, isn’t it?” (Bradbury, 59). Happiness is what their society lives for. Mildred claims she is happy but earlier in the story she tried to commit suicide. Their whole society claims to be happy, that's what they want to be, but everyday there are many cases of suicide. This shows that they are not happy. Prince Prospero was known for being happy. Edgar Allan Poe described, “Prince Prospero was happy, dauntless, and sagacious” (PG#). Everybody at the party was happy and having fun. They were having the time of their lives at this extravagant party but every time the ebony clock struck every hour they stopped and listened. It reminded them of the Red Death but it showed that they have lived another hour of their lives. Both of these societies wanted to be happy. They censored all the bad things in life but it ended up making their lives

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