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Importance of literature in culture
Relationship between literature and the Society
Relationship between literature and the Society
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It is actually quite common that an idea accrues its greatest significance in a different time period in which it was conceived. Both Galileo and Poe were rejected during their time period for the ideas that they presented to society. They were simply too ahead of their time to be fully appreciated for the brilliance that they possessed, and it was not until later that they were uncovered for the intellectuals they truly were. Neither of them were extremely rare cases, however. In fact, this dilemma of “delayed discovery” is actually much more common than one would think. Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451, was certainly one of these cases. Although Fahrenheit 451 held some significance during the time period in which it was written, it warrants much more significance when applied to today’s contemporary society. Indeed, the “present” in which we are living may in fact be the “future” in which Bradbury envisioned in the novel. As the world becomes evermore connected in the “digital age” by mediums such as social media, and as society continues to be increasing its dependency on simply “what’s online,” perhaps our tendency now of quick, short, habitual intakes of information has destroyed our ability to reflect in our truest expression of actual thought. Our obsession of “quick consumerism” to have more physical stuff has, in turn, incapacitated our mental mouth—depriving it of the intellectual stuff that is just as needed. This is what Ray Bradbury argues. This is why he wrote Fahrenheit 451, and this is why the novel still holds incredible significance today. Life and Background: Little Baby Ray Ray Bradbury was born on August 22, 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois. Bradbury’s love for reading started at a very young age. He indu... ... middle of paper ... ... Fahrenheit 451 Dies at the Age of 91." New Statesman (6 June 2012). Rpt. In Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 333. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Literature Resource Center. Web. 31 Oct. 2013. Sisario, Peter. "A Study of the Allusions in Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451." English Journal 59.2 (Feb. 1970): 201-205. Rpt. In Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Deborah A. Stanley. Vol. 98. Detroit: Gale Research, 1997. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. Slusser, George Edgar. "Fahrenheit 451." The Bradbury Chronicles, The. Borgo Press, 1977. 52-54. Rpt. In Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Deborah A. Stanley. Vol. 98. Detroit: Gale Research, 1997. Literature Resource Center. Web. 31 Oct. 2013. Umland, Samuel J., and Inc Cliffs Notes. Fahrenheit 451 : Notes .. Lincoln, Neb: Cliffs Notes, 1994. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
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.
Fahrenheit 451 is a science fiction book that still reflects to our current world. Bradbury does a nice job predicting what the world would be like in the future; the future for his time period and for ours as well. The society Bradbury describes is, in many ways, like the one we are living in now.
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. 60th Anniversary Edition. New York, NY: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1951. 001-158. Print.
Fahrenheit 451 Montag, a fireman who ignites books into glowing embers that fall into ashes as black as night. In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, a message in which society has opened its doors to mass devastation. Guy Montag, a “fireman”, burns houses that have anything to do with books instead of putting fires out like the job of a real fireman. In Montag’s society, books are considered taboo, and owning books can lead to dire consequences. Ray Bradbury portrays a society in which humans have suffered a loss of self, humanity, and a powerful control from the government resulting in a fraudulent society.
One of the most prominent themes throughout the book Fahrenheit 451 is the lack of human communication and social relationships. Ray Bradbury, who is the author of the novel, Fahrenheit 451, emphasizes the poor or almost non-existent relationships between many of the characters in the novel. The dilapidation of human contact in this work makes the reader notice an idea that Bradbury is trying to get across. This idea is that human communication is important and can be even considered necessary, even though our technology continues to advance.
Imagine a society where owning books is illegal, and the penalty for their possession—to watch them combust into ashes. Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, illustrates just such a society. Bradbury wrote his science fiction in 1951 depicting a society of modern age with technology abundant in this day and age—even though such technology was unheard of in his day. Electronics such as headphones, wall-sized television sets, and automatic doors were all a significant part of Bradbury’s description of humanity. Human life styles were also predicted; the book described incredibly fast transportation, people spending countless hours watching television and listening to music, and the minimal interaction people had with one another. Comparing those traits with today’s world, many similarities emerge. Due to handheld devices, communication has transitioned to texting instead of face-to-face conversations. As customary of countless dystopian novels, Fahrenheit 451 conveys numerous correlations between society today and the fictional society within the book.
451 degrees, the temperature at which paper burns. In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, people are emotionless and powerless against the controlling government; the book describes a destructive, dystopian society. Guy Montag, the main character goes through a change throughout the book on his views of his society. Montag’s society is like a rock on the edge of a cliff, bound for destruction. His society lacks curiosity, emotions. and government control.
The North Korean government is known as authoritarian socialist; one-man dictatorship. North Korea could be considered a start of a dystopia. Dystopia is a community or society where people are unhappy and usually not treated fairly. This relates how Ray Bradbury's 1953 novel Fahrenheit 451 shows the readers how a lost of connections with people and think for themselves can lead to a corrupt and violent society known as a dystopia.
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).
Wood, Diane S. Essay on: "Fahrenheit 451" Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol.1. Detroit: Gale1997.pg 153-55
Paradowski, Robert J. “Ray Bradbury.” Critical Survey Of Long Fiction, Fourth Edition (2010): 1-9. Literary Reference Center. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
Kerr, Calum A. “Literary Contexts in Novels: Ray Bradbury’s ‘Fahrenheit 451.’” (2008) Literary Reference Center. Web. 1 March 2011.
Ray Bradbury was born Waukegan, Illinois on August 22, 1920. Bradbury was an avid reader of adventure and fantasy books and was influenced by the tales they had delivered to his childhood. All the novels that Bra...