Power, Corruption and Rebellion in Dystopian Narratives

Power corruption and rebellion are interconnected. Abusive power tends to arouse opposing forces due to unfairness and struggle for control. Both authorities in Fahrenheit 451 and Catching Fire seek maintenance of power by constructing inimical social beliefs and harsh rules into the society. The dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, authored by Ray Bradbury, depicts how the Capital sustains its authority though mental manipulation and exploitation of technology. Whereas the party in Catching Fire directed by Francis Lawrence manipulates people through coercion and extreme violence. In spite of different schemes, both central characters develop rebellious spirit and place themselves opposition to the dictatorial law. Hence, in Fahrenheit

Both parties in Catching Fire and Fahrenheit 451 aim at asserting their power through manipulation and intimidation but take different methods to accomplish their goal. Instead of language censorship held in Fahrenheit 451, the party in Panem concentrates in distorting reality and misinformation since some of them contain undesirable social traits like rebellion, sign of freedom. Katniss is obliged by President Snow to pretend that she is in love with Peeta when Haymitch alerts her “Snow is watching us. If he wants you to pacify the districts, I 'm promise you, he 's not happy. Instead of being love you two sound like you 're reciting from a drilling manual.” (Lawrence, 2013) Under President Snow’s tyranny, Katniss is restrained to express her thoughts and live the life she desires. Similarly, citizens in Panem conceal their opposing voices but show devotion to the party for survival. It shows verbal irony when Haymitch says President Snow is trying to “pacify” the public. However in reality, President Snow abuses his power by allocating brute Peacekeepers to destroy all forms of authorities and retain his authority. The way how the government eradicates rebellion reflects its self-deception and silliness. In addition, the party’s predatory power is demonstrated through “hunger game” to weaken objection and inspire fear. “But they were games. Would you like to be in a real war? Thousands of your people dead.” (Lawrence, 2013) The government exposes its selfishness and unjustified cruelty through isolating tributes and risking innocents’ lives to entertain themselves rather than promoting domestic tranquility. By difference, citizens in Fahrenheit 451 feel fine to follow what the Capital asks them to do. Whereas people in Panem dislike the dictatorship of President Snow and his idea of Hunger game. Owing to more uprising, the