Distinctive civilizations have risen and fallen in the persisting search for a perfect society, known as a utopia. The definition of a utopia is constantly being modified because of time and cultural values. Through out history, there have been many works of literature that have been written about dystopian societies, which are communities that are undesirable or frightening. Nonetheless, there are those with a more scornful or more realistic view of society, and they comment on future or current trends. These individuals look at how to solve the problems of society with the use of power or control. This society is not alluring, and has become known as a dystopian society. In the books, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and Oryx and Crake, by Margret Atwood, both authors portray dystopian societies with horrific similarities. Bradbury and Atwood emphasize the theme of knowledge. Knowledge is a strong aspect of a dystopian society because people will go out of their way to use their abilities to control the lives of others. In Fahrenheit 451, the government controls civilians’ ability to think by banning books. While in Oryx and Crake, one of the main characters uses his knowledge to fix the overcrowded world, but in the end he destroys humanity. While both novels focus on wisdom and characters fight for knowledge, the truth of knowledge is shown to be dangerous since in both novels knowledge leads to the destruction of society.
In Fahrenheit 451, the theme of wisdom is gained through experience and knowledge. “The story can also be seen as one man’s discovery of intellectual life in a society that both overtly and covertly discovers such endeavors”(Bohanon and Huston). In the novel, a man goes on a journey of inquisition of wh...
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...t find a hope. Dystopian societies are like our society because there will always be rebellion, oppression, and the rebels will always be weaker than the oppressors. Dystopian novels question what is wrong with society, like Fahrenheit 451 and Oryx and Crake question the repression in intellectuals. But, the intellect of these characters causes chaos in society and it perishes. The ones who ruin society are people who have a voice because they cannot live with the status quo. Knowledge can get people in hot water because in futuristic society the government only has say. Both these novels are so different, but they send the same message. Society has fears. But, despite all your knowledge, it cannot change those fears. Learning about a futuristic world is engrossing, but it is fearful. These novels warn the reader of the possibilities of what the future would like.
In the book Fahrenheit 451 the theme is a society/world that revolves around being basically brain washed or programmed because of the lack of people not thinking for themselves concerning the loss of knowledge, and imagination from books that don't exist to them. In such stories as the Kurt Vonnegut's "You have insulted me letter" also involving censorship to better society from vulgarity and from certain aspects of life that could be seen as disruptive to day to day society which leads to censorship of language and books. Both stories deal with censorship and by that society is destructed in a certain way by the loss of knowledge from books.
Today we have several dystopian novels out, such as; Divergent and The Hunger Games. While we know all the different societies we still have trouble trying to decide which one we believe the most, which one is the most realistic. There is older novels that most people really haven’t even heard of, like Fahrenheit 451. In Divergent and Fahrenheit 451 we were showed both authors visions of our future and how it compares to our modern day. There are so many ways that these two novels are alike, through characters, authors, and the time difference, but I believe that Fahrenheit 451 is a better overall view of our world today.
To begin, the culture in this dystopian society is greatly different than our own. First, thinking is greatly looked down upon in this society. Every aspect of the world is designed
Often, dystopian novels are written by an author to convey a world that doesn’t exist, but criticizes aspects of the present that could lead to this future. Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 in 1951 but discusses issues that have only increased over time. The encompassing issue that leads to the dystopic nature of this novel is censorship of books. The government creates a world in which it is illegal to have any books. Firemen are enforcers of this law by being the ones to burn the books and burn the buildings where the books were found. By censoring the knowledge found in books, the government attempts to rid the society of corruption caused by “the lies” books are filled with in hopes the people will never question. In Fahrenheit 451, censorship is a paradox.
The theme of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 can be viewed from several different angles. First and foremost, Bradbury's novel gives an anti-censorship message. Bradbury understood censorship to be a natural outcropping of an overly tolerant society. Once one group objects to something someone has written, that book is modified and censorship begins. Soon, another minority group objects to something else in the book, and it is again edited until eventually the book is banned altogether. In Bradbury's novel, society has evolved to such an extreme that all literature is illegal to possess. No longer can books be read, not only because they might offend someone, but because books raise questions that often lead to revolutions and even anarchy. The intellectual thinking that arises from reading books can often be dangerous, and the government doesn't want to put up with this danger. Yet this philosophy, according to Bradbury, completely ignores the benefits of knowledge. Yes, knowledge can cause disharmony, but in many ways, knowledge of the past, which is recorded in books, can prevent man from making similar mistakes in the present and future.
Every person has been censored by the government. The government has taken away all of the freedom from the people. The firemen now burn books and start fires instead of putting them out. Fahrenheit 451 emphasizes that a government's attempt to create a utopia can lead to dystopia because in the novel people are uneducated, careless
The Hunger Games and Fahrenheit 451 are both great examples of dystopian fiction. A dystopia is a fictional world that takes place in the future that is supposed to be perceived as a perfect society, but it’s actually the opposite. Other things that a dystopian society might display are citizens both living in a dehumanized state and feeling like they’re constantly watched by a higher power. Dystopias are places where society is backwards or unfair, and they are usually are controlled by the government, technology, or a particular religion. The Hunger Games and Fahrenheit 451 are both in the dystopian fiction genre because the societies within them show the traits of a dystopia. Both of them also have characters that go against the flow of the normal world.
Both Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451 are futuristic novels that offer an insight into what the authors expected man, society, and life to be like at some future time. In Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451 a similar type of society is presented. Both societies live in a totalitarian world. According to definition.com, totalitarian means of or pertaining to a centralized government that does not tolerate parties of differing opinion and that exercises dictatorial control over many aspects of life. In both of the books, the societies punish the humanities such as reading, art, music, and history. Also, both societies placed emphasis on material objects and this kept the people from thinking. The emphasis on material things means that people obsess over objects instead of ideas. Again, both societies aimed to stop individual thought.
In Fahrenheit 451 and Harrison Bergeron, the society the character's live in is a dystopian society, which means everyone is the same. This may sound like a great way to live, but the way everyone is forced to be the same isn't great for the people.
Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 leads from an average beginning by introducing a new world for readers to become enveloped in, followed by the protagonist’s descent into not conforming to society’s rules, then the story spirals out of control and leaves readers speechless by the actions taken by the main character and the government of this society. This structure reinforces the author’s main point of how knowledge is a powerful entity that would force anyone to break censorship on a society.
Dystopias in literature and other media serve as impactful warnings about the state of our current life and the possible future. Two examples of this are in the book Fahrenheit 451 and the movie The Truman Show. Both works show the harmful effects of advancing technology and the antisocial tendencies of a growing society. The protagonists of these stories are very similar also. Guy Montag and Truman Burbank are the only observant people in societies where it is the norm to turn a blind eye to the evils surrounding them. Fahrenheit 451 and The Truman Show present like messages in very unlike universes while giving a thought-provoking glimpse into the future of humanity.
Dystopian novels are written to reflect the fears a population has about its government and they are successful because they capture that fright and display what can happen if it is ignored. George Orwell wrote 1984 with this fear of government in mind and used it to portray his opinion of the current government discretely. Along with fear, dystopian novels have many other elements that make them characteristic of their genre. The dystopian society in Orwell’s novel became an achievement because he utilized a large devastated city, a shattered family system, life in fear, a theme of oppression, and a lone hero.
Fahrenheit 451 is a perfect book to show the element of dystopia. People weren’t allowed to read, causing them to loose such valuable knowledge they need to make wise decisions. They also had no say in the government, the government regulated so much that they didn’t even let the people have opinions. Everybody had to be the same, and everybody was living in a horrible fantasy. People can’t communicate because there isn’t anything to talk about. They are all also tied up so much in their technology that they feel it’s their family. People need to be more aware of their surroundings and let others run their life as long as it doesn’t put someone else in harms way.
A dystopian society can be defined as “a society characterized by human misery”. 1984 by George Orwell and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury both demonstrate dystopian societies. However, that does not mean they do not their differences. In each society the government has different ways of controlling and limiting its citizens for doing only what they want them to do. In 1984, violators are brainwashed into loving and following Big Brother as if they never knew the truth and return back to their everyday lives. Fahrenheit 451 also punishes violators in a way that makes them regret and scared to ever do it again instead of making them forget.
The Majority of people today believe that the society in Fahrenheit 451 is far-fetched and could never actually happen, little do they know that it is a reflection of the society we currently live in. In Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451 books are burnt due to people's lack of interest in them and the fire is started by firemen. Social interactions is at an all time low and most time is spent in front of the television being brainwashed by advertisements. In an attempt to make us all aware of our faults, Bradbury imagines a society that is a parallel to the world we live in today by emphasizing the decline in literature, loss of ethics in advertisement, and negative effects of materialism.