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Totalitarian Government Fahrenheit 451

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The type of government presented in a nation or society can say a lot about how that particular place functions. Each variety of government has its own set of distinguishable traits. And of all the governments, totalitarianism is arguably the most recognizable. Although it may be difficult to distinguish the signs at first, they eventually become apparent; signs such as fear of the government, banning of key symbols or items, and decrease of knowledge with the common public. Both Lord of the Flies and Fahrenheit 451 show these signs of a totalitarian government. The first sign, fear of the government, is largely shown in both novels. The first example comes from Lord of the Flies, where Piggy and Ralph are starting to realize what they could …show more content…

In Lord of the Flies, Golding shows that the savages became afraid of life outside of Castle Rock without Jack. He has installed a sort of fear in them about rebelling against him, and a fear of a stick sharpened at both ends. Although the savage fear Jack, he has made them fear the unknown more, thoughts of the beast or Ralph roaming the island. However, in Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury shows three different types of knowledge that is shielded from society. First, the knowledge of history. Clarisse gives Montag the idea that firemen used to put out fires, not start them. Beatty informs Montag that he is wrong and gives him a little history lesson. "Established, 1790, to burn English-influenced books in the colonies. First Fireman: Benjamin Franklin" (Bradbury 34). Several rules follow this history lesson, and Montag has almost no reaction. The second knowledge being withheld from the people is the knowledge of the truth. The government lies several times in large-scale announcements to the society, once claiming that one million men were deployed for war, when in reality, ten million men were deployed. Another time they lied was when they caught and killed "Montag". They needed to lie to show the community that no one gets away with a crime. The last knowledge is that of common knowledge. Montag thinks that he realizes that he needs books to be happy, but Faber sets him straight. "Books were only one type of receptacle where we stored things we were afraid we might forget. There is nothing magical in them at all" (Bradbury 82). Faber tells Montag that he doesn’t need books to be happy, he needs the knowledge that the government has taken away. They made books illegal, shortened movies, documentaries, plays, and radio

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