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Historical influences on literature
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The government can lead the world to being exuberant, or it can bring society into utter mayhem. In 1984 the government relies largely on brainwashing and totalitarian policies such as spies. Unlike the government in 1984, the government in Fahrenheit 451 keeps tabs on all those who deviate from the majority. They do not care much about the thoughts of rebellion, they instead use television to numb the minds of the population. Politics of The Party in 1984 have taken control of everything, making the whole population their minions. Both authors, George Orwell and Ray Bradbury, involved war as a background, but they fundamentally differ from each other. Orwell’s concept of war is that of a tool for the perpetuation of scarcity and paranoia. On the other hand, in Bradbury’s case it is all-out total annihilation. Enfranchised will is extinguished by the falsification and change of history records, love being outlawed, and the invasion of privacy. …show more content…
In both books one of the major themes is the alteration of history.
History in our world today is a necessity for our society. It allows for dignitaries to see previous mistakes and learn from them. Once history becomes a lie, society may suffer as a whole, whether it is physically or mentally, as it is shown in 1984. It is similar in Fahrenheit 451, books have ideas and knowledge which is a threat to the government, making it easier for them to control a dumb society. Ideas and knowledge make the people question how things are, it makes them see all the faults in the world. “Do you realize that the past, starting from yesterday, has been actually
abolished?”(pg.155) “Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every effigy and street and building has been renamed, every date has been altered.”(pg.155) The parties only way to have more power over the people is to change history, highlighting how awful it would be to live in that time. Winston begins to realize that history being said by The Party is all a lie. He begins to feel helpless, and no matter how much he tries to change history to what he believes he remembers is correct, everything will be erased and eventually gone forever. Unlike how Winston failed and was submitted to brainwashing, Guy Montag triumphed- he evaded the government, found peace in a community of like-minded people, and escaped the destruction of the nuclear war. The destruction of history affects the people in various ways but, it is a great advantage for the government to control the society. For the people in 1984 the destruction of history causes the people to obey the party more and become mindless objects to the party.
Dystopias in literature and other media serve as impactful warnings about the state of our current life and the possible future. Two examples of this are in the book Fahrenheit 451 and the movie The Truman Show. Both works show the harmful effects of advancing technology and the antisocial tendencies of a growing society. The protagonists of these stories are very similar also. Guy Montag and Truman Burbank are the only observant people in societies where it is the norm to turn a blind eye to the evils surrounding them. Fahrenheit 451 and The Truman Show present like messages in very unlike universes while giving a thought-provoking glimpse into the future of humanity.
In most stories we enjoy, may it be from childhood or something more recent there is many times a theme that shows a clear hero and a clear villain. But ordinarily this is not the case in real life, there are few times that this is quite that simple. There are many sides to each story, and sometimes people turn a blind eye to, or ignore the opposing side’s argument. But if we look at both sides of a situation in the stories we can more clearly understand what is going on, moreover the villains in the book or play would seem more real, instead of a horrible person being evil for no reason, these two people have their own agenda may it be a ruthless vengeance or misplaced trust.
Between the poem, ¨ No one died in Tiananmen Square¨ by William Lutz and the novel, 1984 by George Orwell there are multiple similarities. Subjects such as their government, their denial of history, and the use of doublethink and re-education are all parallel between the novel and the poem. For instance, both the governments have a highly strict government. Their governments are so controlling of their people that they use brute force in order to help re-educate them. For example, in 1984 the main character, Winston Smith was trying to go against their government, The Party, and because he tries to do so, he is placed in The Ministry of Love and brutally beaten by the man whom he assumed was a part of the Brotherhood, O'Brien. O'Brien claimed
In the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell uses a product of his time and use narrative conventions to communicate the universal truth that totalitarian dictatorship should not be tolerated and nations shall do whatever it takes to stop a totalitarian dictator even if it means war to restore peace. The theme of his novel and universal truth goes further through the use of language, war, dictatorship, manipulation, oppression, and rebellion. Based on 1984, Orwell explains in his view what the world would be like after World War Two (WWII) based on the events that took place and explains his universal truth that nations shall do whatever it takes to stop a totalitarian dictator even if it means war to restore peace.
Kofi Annan said, “Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family” but not in the society of Fahrenheit 451 or the world we live in today. The two societies are similar in the way that social status is focused on and that many people hide their guilty pleasures due to what others think. A difference between the societies is that thinking is punished for in Fahrenheit 451 while in the world today you're encouraged to think by elders but discouraged by your peers.
Fahrenheit 451, originally published in 1953, is considered one of the best works of Ray Bradbury, a well-known writer for his sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and mystery writings. This book is especially interesting and fun to read for those who’d love to get some wild and futuristic sci-fi novels. It is definitely different from any other book I’ve read because of it’s one of a kind setting and plot. Even though the book may seem boring at first, believe it or not, it makes a heart race as the story slowly reaches the climax.
The novel 1984 is one that has sparked much controversy over the last several decades. It harbors many key ideas that lie at the root of all skepticism towards the book. With the ideas of metaphysics, change, and control in mind, George Orwell wrote 1984 to provide an interesting story but also to express his ideas of where he believed the world was heading. His ideas were considered widely ahead of their time, and he was really able to drive home how bleak and colorless our society really is. Orwell wrote this piece as a futuristic, dystopian book which contained underlying tones of despair and deceit.
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 on 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.
Much can happen in a matter of minutes; a man can go from thinking he is happy to thinking his life is falling apart, or can change from hating someone to loving them. These experiences sound outlandish, but they happened to Guy Montag, the main character in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, and Winston Smith, the main character in George Orwell’s 1984. These two dystopian novels are about the characters discovering major problems in their societies, and then trying to fix them. Montag lives in a society where television controls people’s lives and books have become illegal. On the other hand Smith lives in Oceania, a territory led by a totalitarian regime. This regime is headed by Big Brother and is referred to as the Party. By examining Fahrenheit 451 and 1984, it is seen, not only through the dehumanized nature of society, but also through the theme of lies and manipulation that both Orwell and Bradbury wish to warn of a horrifying future society.
Dystopias come in all shapes and forms, there are some that are Big Brother paranoia mixed with an extreme violence then there are others that destroy originality, take advantage, and control through manipulation, but all teach lessons. Through various dystopian elements, the author develops comments and forms reflections on today’s society within his work. Fahrenheit 451 incorporates government control and censorship as a way to introduce dystopian features that relate to society today. However, that doesn’t mean everything should be taken literal. Government control and censorship are dystopian elements that the author, Bradbury, cultivates to support his commendation on various issues, which relate to today’s society without being identical.
This leads to the need to alter history. In 1984, everything from newspapers to books were changed to make it seem like Big Brother has always been in charge and doing what was right for the people of Oceania. On the other hand, in Fahrenheit 451 books and newspaper were not allowed in order to keep people desensitized to what really went on before their time and to keep them from thinking too much. Television screens were also used to control information by only allowing people to see what they approved and making people so hooked to them that they would fill the walls of an entire room with them and refer to them as the
“WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.” Part 1,Chapter 1,pg. 6. These three principles were repeatedly emphasized throughout the book and helped lay the foundation of the dystopian society George Orwell imagined in his novel 1984. Fear, manipulation, and control were all encompassed throughout this dystopian society set in the distant future. The freedom to express ones thoughts was no longer acceptable and would not be tolerated under any circumstances. Humankind was rapidly transforming into a corrupt and evil state of mind.
George Orwell’s intent in the novel 1984 is to warn society about the results of a controlling and manipulative government by employing mood, conflict, and imagery.
Some may argue that 1984 is not even close to what’s happening in today’s society and while we don’t have thought police and a “Big Brother” watching everything we do, society is a lot more similar to 1984 than some may think. For example, on page 46 of 1984 it states, “Today he should commemorate Comrade Ogilvy. It was true that there was no such person as Comrade Ogilvy, but a few lines of print and a couple of faked photographs would soon bring him into existence.” Page 47, “Comrade Ogilvy, unimagined an hour ago, was now a fact.” The quote above shows how the changing of history was something that happened in the totalitarian society of 1984 because when the book was written it was so unimaginable and seen as so wrong. While when it comes to today’s society, the changing of history happens very often and is supported by more people than one would think. For example, World.edu states, “With classics like Mark Twain’s Huck Finn being rewritten to replace words like nigger with slave, and Injun with Indian, we find ourselves stepping ever closer to a world of revisionist history, where instead of learning from the mistakes of the past we erase it from memory altogether.” The quote above shows that in today’s society, we see America’s racist past and decide that we need to erase it and pretend it didn’t happen rather than learn from it. This is similar to how in