Dystopian has always been a part of the human condition. Books like “Fahrenheit 451”, “The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials” and the motion picture film, “Gattaca” all show the signs of being a society that has been forcly changed to fit the word “Perfection”. Reading or watching dystopian based novels and movies makes us humans feel like our lives are ten times better around the realm of reality. But, a society can’t be ‘perfect’ without having some consequences. In Fahrenheit 451, both Clarisse and Montag reveal the risks of having limited amount of knowledge. In Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, it shows the Government controlling people’s minds to betray them. The film Gattaca has doctors genetically modifying the brother of the protagonist to …show more content…
make him almost the perfect offspring of his parents. Ray Bradbury, James Dashner, and Andrew Niccol all use their full capabilities to advise the audience of dictatorship societies. “It was a pleasure to burn” (Bradbury 1).
Those are the words of Ray Bradbury, author of one of the best dystopian literature. Filled with over consumption of entertainment and surveillance over the society, Fahrenheit 451 is not really the perfect world to live in. In the first part of Fahrenheit 451, main character, Montag, a thirty-year-old fireman is introduced in the book. The books’ setting is based on it being the twenty-fourth century and Montag’s job is to burn and burn books one after another, with the daily lives of people constantly watching tv on big screens and not to mention, owning a book is against the law (and therefore, to read) books. Therefore over consumption of entertainment is one issue of dystopia. Not far into the book, Montag meets a seventeen year-old girl named Clarisse, she's very unique and with her questionable mind starts to make Montag question himself and about his job. Also, we know that a part of dystopian novels include surveillance. Reports are reported by the people of their neighbors then told to the fireman to burn the books. This meaning, the citizens that the type of society is dysfunctional and corrupted that their own people spy on each other. Further more into the book, Montag takes a slow process into reading books and finally achieves to read …show more content…
one. Not only does “Fahrenheit 451” use dystopian features, “The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials” uses dystopian features as well.
Which included governmental issues, manipulation, and issues with memories being erased. “The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials” is written about a facility named, World Catastrophe Killzone Department, (W.C.K.D). Thomas and his fellow past friends (gladers) which have escaped the horrible facility once and has been imprisoned before and need to figure out a way to escape the soldiers and leave that harshly ran government for good. Not only that, but with a long way back home Thomas and his friends go against many obstacles and new mysteries.The way the W.K.C.D government was running things is one out of three issues in this dystopian based novel. For instance, fear is a trait that always filled through their minds, waking up having no knowledge at all about what will happen in the next five
minutes. The film Gattaca draws on concerns over reproductive technologies which facilitate eugenics, and the possible consequences of such technological developments for society. In their time, doctors have been trying to attain the peak life-form of humans and have finally made a major breakthrough in genetics where they are able to use the parents chromosomes to conceive a strong and healthy child in a lab. Farther space travel has also been achieved and the main protagonist in this movie is trying to reach the planet Titan which is a moon of Saturn. But there are two major differences in this movie. Offspring who were modified at birth are considered ‘valids’ while children who were conceived naturally were considered ‘invalids’. Andrew Niccol (director) and Slawomir Idziak (cinematographer) show different colors and light to give the mood of occurrences happening in the film. Color plays a major role in representing the timeline of this movie. To sum up, the two books, “Fahrenheit 451” and “Scorch Trials” both use dystopian views in many ways including the film, “Gattaca” as well. All sharing the same society issue, wanting to be “perfect”. With the do’s and the don'ts, we all end up having come kind of consequences along our life. The dystopian genre allows and helps us realize the aspects of our own world that aren't right.
“It was a pleasure to burn,”(3) that was the idea Ray Bradbury was trying to get across in the novel Fahrenheit 451. This novel takes place in the future, where governments only law is to burn books. In this novel, you will see how Bradbury explains the life of Guy Montag, a fireman who burns houses for a living. However one day he burns a house with a woman in who is willing to die for her books, this made Montag have the urge to steal a book. The stealing of the book is what lead him to believe society is lead by censorship. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury shows us a world in the future, in which free thought is controlled through censorship, which leads to an ignorant, insensitive, and non independent society.
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
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.
Ray Bradbury introduces in his novel, Fahrenheit 451 (1953), a dystopian society manipulated by the government through the use of censored television and the outlaw of books. During the opening paragraph, Bradbury presents protagonist Guy Montag, a fireman whose job is to burn books, and the society he lives in; an indifferent population with a extreme dependence on technology. In Bradbury’s novel, the government has relied on their society’s ignorance to gain political control. Throughout the novel, Bradbury uses characters such as Mildred, Clarisse, and Captain Beatty to show the relationships Montag has, as well as, the types of people in the society he lives in. Through symbolism and imagery, the audience is able to see how utterly unhappy Clarisse, as well as Faber and Granger, represent the more thoughtful minority population.
There is a quote by Ray Bradbury that goes “You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” (Bradbury). In the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury books are considered illegal and should not be preserved. In our world fireman are known to put out fires, but in the book fireman are known to start the fires because of books. Technology is put above books, and the main character Guy Montag starts to realize he does not like the world he lives in, and there needs to be a change. Bradbury conveys many messages throughout the book. He somehow warns us about our future. He shows that technology is taking over our lives, and censorship is limiting our freedom. Bradbury's message of society can destroy itself
Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, is a dystopian novel about Guy Montag, whose job is to burn books in the futuristic American city. In this world, fireman burns books instead of putting out fires. People in the society do not read books, do not socialize with each others and do not relish their life in the world. People’s life to the society are worthless and hurting people are the most normal and everyday things. Ray Bradbury wrote the novel Fahrenheit 451, to convey the ideas that if human in the future relies on technology and the banishment of books and stop living. Then eventually it will take control their lives and bring devastation upon them. He uses three symbolisms throughout the novel to convey his thoughts.
Ray Bradbury's vision of a disordered world was expressed in his book Fahrenheit 451. Set in the future, it deals with a man's struggle between his destructive government position and his inner self-conscience. Guy Montag was a fireman but he did not put out fires. Instead, he created them through the burning of books. This was what Bradbury was trying to imply through the title of his book, Fahrenheit 451, the temperature at which books burn. Montag was leading a fairly happy life until he met a girl, Clarisse, who aroused his deepest feelings and fears. He became curious about the contents of books and wondered why they were so feared. This led him through a series of events which changed his life forever. When Montag asked Beatty about the burning of books he was told, "If you don't want a man to be unhappy politically, don't give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none." The futurist government displayed in Fahrenheit 451 tried to prevent any feelings or opinions contrary to their own because they did not want to be challenged. Instead, they fed unwanted junk into the minds of their people through the parlor, a wall to wall television. This machine, that does not inspire the thinking process, lead them to make the conclusion that their world revolves around it and nothing else.
...very night the waves came in and bore her off on their great tides of sound, floating her, wide-eyed, toward morning”. In Fahrenheit 451, technology is so pervasive, so omnipresent, that it takes up all of everyone’s time. They are so immersed, they never have any time to think about anything, All of their free attention is sucked up by their addiction and reliance on technology, that they never think about their own happiness, or that of the people around them. They never stop to question their happiness, so they assume that they are happy. If one never thinks about it, then they automatically assume that it is okay. For instance, if one doesn’t think about an animal attacking them, then there must not be one, for if there was, then they’d be thinking about it. This is an instinctive trait in humans, and the Fahrenheit 451 government is using it to their advantage.
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.
Imagine a world where you could not read or own any books. How would you feel if you had someone burn your house because you have books hidden within the walls? One of the most prevalent themes in Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451 is the idea of censorship. In Bradbury's fictional world, owning books is illegal. A fireman's job is not putting out fires like one may assume. In Fahrenheit 451, a fireman has the job of starting fires. Firefighters start fires in homes containing books. If this were reality, there would be no homes to live in. Books have become an integral part of American life. However, the theme of censorship is still relevant in American life.
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.
Of all literary works regarding dystopian societies, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is perhaps one of the most bluntly shocking, insightful, and relatable of them. Set in a United States of the future, this novel contains a government that has banned books and a society that constantly watches television. However, Guy Montag, a fireman (one who burns books as opposed to actually putting out fires) discovers books and a spark of desire for knowledge is ignited within him. Unfortunately his boss, the belligerent Captain Beatty, catches on to his newfound thirst for literature. A man of great duplicity, Beatty sets up Montag to ultimately have his home destroyed and to be expulsed from the city. On the other hand, Beatty is a much rounder character than initially apparent. Beatty himself was once an ardent reader, and he even uses literature to his advantage against Montag. Moreover, Beatty is a critical character in Fahrenheit 451 because of his morbid cruelty, obscene hypocrisy, and overall regret for his life.
Fahrenheit 451’s Relevance to Today Fahrenheit 451’s relevance to today can be very detailed and prophetic when we take a deep look into our American society. Although we are not living in a communist setting with extreme war waging on, we have gained technologies similar to the ones Bradbury spoke of in Fahrenheit 451 and a stubborn civilization that holds an absence of the little things we should enjoy. Bradbury sees the future of America as a dystopia, yet we still hold problematic issues without the title of disaster, as it is well hidden under our democracy today. Fahrenheit 451 is much like our world today, which includes television, the loss of free speech, and the loss of the education and use of books. Patai explains that Bradbury saw that people would soon be controlled by the television and saw it as the creators chance to “replace lived experience” (Patai 2).
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.
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.