Fahrenheit 451 Comparative Essay

Imagine living in a society brainwashed by propaganda, where you only can think what you are told. From 1929-1953, citizens of the Soviet Union had to endure this under the rule of Joseph Stalin. Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union in 1929 right after the death of Vladimir Lenin, the first leader of the Soviet Union. From the moment he came into power, Stalin started instilling fear in the population, and those he viewed as a threat were sent to his gulags

In the book Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury uses style to convey multiple meanings inside his work. For example on the very first page in the book he says that “It was a pleasure to see things burnt and eaten.”(3). This quote tells us that most people in the main characters society are obsessed with fire and what it does to things such as books.

After reading John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, some similarities found in both books relate to the theme of friendship. These two books are very different in showing their types of characters and storylines with Of Mice and Men being a type of realistic fiction novel which takes place during the Great Depression, while Fahrenheit 451 is an all-around fictional novel which takes place in a dystopian society. The protagonists, and most of the characters as well, have and form friendships with many different characters throughout the books’ storylines. These friendships are formed from losses or from a character’s personality traits. These formations of friendships are what make these two books very similar to each other. In both Of Mice and Men and Fahrenheit 451, there are many unexpected mutual friendships, interdependent friendships, and friendships formed in order to achieve a common goal.

Books have a history of impacting the views of the masses, influencing thought and bringing about the most spectacular inventions; the Bible, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, The Republic, and so many more. With books playing such a role in society, it is hard to imagine a world without literature. This is the goal of Ray Bradbury’s book, Fahrenheit 451: to explore a world where reading is outlawed, and to show how books, or the lack of, change the way people feel and connect. The general people who do not read, including the protagonist, Guy Montag, seem discontent with their lives and derive no real joy. Conversely, the readers and the thinkers are kinder, bolder, and humorous; Faber and Clarise, for example, leave powerful impacts on Montag with their thinking. Even those who do not like books yet are well-read, like Montag’s boss, Captain Beatty, are incomplete yet interesting in a way the other characters are not. The connection between books and personality is direct and proportional. In Fahrenheit 451, there is a clear difference in the quality of life between people who read and those who do not, as those who do read seem more engaging, interesting, and generally

Information, independent thought and freedom are restricted is a major characteristic in both works. In Fahrenheit 451, people are not allowed to have books. The reason for not being allowed to read or

The novel Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury is a dystopian science fiction. The main character, Guy Montag begins as a firefighter who ignites fires rather than extinguishing them. A corrupt government and society uses its citizens to destroy the past. By burning books and promoting technology and propaganda, citizens become numb to reality. Bradbury gives Montag pieces of Bible verses to help him understand the meaning of life and hope to move forward. As Montag is on a job, he secretly takes a Bible before it is burned. He does not understand what it is, but as he reads it, he realizes the importance of the book for himself and for the society he hopes to rebuild.

The novel, Fahrenheit 451, presents a future society where books are prohibited and the firemen burn any that are. The title is the temperature at which books burn. It was written by Ray Bradbury and first published in October 1953. In this novel, protagonist Montag changes his understanding in various aspects such as love or his human relationship throughout the book. However, among all of these, fire – the main theme of this novel – has the most significance as it also changes his understanding of knowledge from books. Bradbury portrays how Montag’s perception of fire and burning books with his personal development changes by the different choices he makes throughout the novel.

John Dos Passos once said, “Individuality is freedom lived.” The root of individuality lies in freedom. Without freedom, there is an inability to think for oneself and share one’s ideas. In a society where this freedom is lacking, people will not think for themselves and submit to whatever rule is enforced over them. In Fahrenheit 451, the government attempts to control freedom as a means towards reaching a perfect society. The “perfect” society that is created, comes at the cost of individuality. In Ray Bradbury’s, Fahrenheit 451, the individuality of the citizens is threatened by the amount of government control in their lives, and can be seen through the Utopian goals, the government punishments, and the citizens’ conformity in response to this.

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, is a uniquely shocking and provocative novel about a dystopian society set in a future where reading is outlawed, thinking is considered a sin, technology is at its prime, and human interaction is scarce. Through his main protagonist, Guy Montag, Bradbury brings attention to the dangers of a controlled society, and the problems that can arise from censorship. As a fireman, it is Guy's job to destroy books, and start fires rather than put them out. After meeting a series of unusual characters, a spark is ignited in Montag and he develops a desire for knowledge and a want to protect the books. Bradbury's novel teaches its readers how too much censorship and control can lead to further damage and the repetition of history’s mistakes through the use of symbolism, imagery, and motif.

Imagine a world where firemen start fires instead of putting them out. Fahrenheit 451 is set in a utopian, or dystopian to us, society, where books are burned and people rarely have real social interaction. Although Fahrenheit 451 seems nowhere close to our society, we are both alike and different to their world.

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, is a novel about a futuristic society where books are banned and firemen burn books rather than put out fires. The main character Montag is a fireman who lives with his wife Mildred. Montag ends up stealing books which is against the law especially because he is a fireman; and Mildred is against anything that has to do with books. Society wants everyone to be happy but there 's an alarming mechanical hound in this novel that kills people and is asymbol of fear. Bradbury’s novel shows how a society overcomes the eradication of books through the use of symbolism, motif, and imagery.

In the book, firemen are manned with flamethrowers instead of fire extinguishers to burn books. People are brainwashed that books are dangerous and that they must be destroyed. Several book burning incidents in his lifetime had influenced Bradbury to plot the story in this way. According to Weller (2013), Bradbury wrote about the influence of Hitler’s and Stalin’s book burnings in a later introduction to Fahrenheit 451 which was published in 1966. This clearly shows that book burning was at the forefront of his mind when he wrote his novel. Plus, in an interview, he mentioned the book burnings in China, Germany and Russia. The book was published eight years after the World War II, not really far from the time when book-burnings were an important part of the national socialism in Germany(Interesting Literature, 2013). In the interview, he also talked about the book burnings in the McCarthy era. In that period, 30,000 books which were written by communist sympathizers or contained pro communist themes, were banned and removed from the shelves of public libraries. He was widely upset with this and said, “Anything that touches the library, touches me(YouTube, 2011).” Since he was self educated in the library, he had special feelings to it. This was the reason why Bradbury encompassed concerns about book burning in his

“Stuff your eyes with wonder, he said, live as if you 'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It 's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.”(Bradbury 82).

Films that are based off books create a scene for the audience while bringing the words on the paper to life. They usually address the same issues as the original content, but adds additional details to stand out from the book. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is a book that was transformed into a movie in 1966. The book and film discuss similar themes such as censorship, dystopian society, and propaganda, but does different work with the same story of books being destroyed in a society. This is especially true when considering how the film introduces new ideas, eliminates characters, and changes important scenes from the book.

The sci-fi novel Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, is a warning to Americans. The characters of the novel are Montag, a fireman, Mildred, Montag’s wife, and Captain Beatty, Montag’s fire captain. Some of the characters in the novel stand out more than others. In the novel, Mildred and her friends sit in the parlor all day and watch television. The walls are filled with a screen that plays senseless television shows. The novel Fahrenheit 451 is a warning to Americans predicting more people will become suicidal, watch television all day, and that our brains will be full of nothing but senseless thoughts if all books are gone.