Reply
Sun 1 Jun, 2008 10:22 am
Fahrenheit 451 is set in a future dystopian society where books have become illegal. Since this book represents a dystopian society, it easily lends itself to be compared and contrasted with both '1984' and 'Brave New World'.
Like the other two dystopian books mentioned, Fahrenheit 451 works on the basic premise of general happiness throughout an entire society. In 1984 the goal was to have the people happy with the current workings of government and their status in life. Brave New World instilled happiness by conditioning people to a predestined life, thereby making them happy with their assigned role in society. Fahrenheit 451 seeks happiness for the people by keeping life simple and childish. It outlines what I see to be a superficial happiness that is founded on pleasure through base entertainment.
One of the aspects I enjoyed most about this book is that I generally did not know what was going to happen, and I want to preserve this enjoyment for those on the forum who have not read the book. However, there are a few points that I would like to make.
As opposed to 1984 and Brave New World, the dystopian society in Fahrenheit 451 is not represented by an overarching government that tries to keep their respective societies happy through conditioning. The only government control is the law that books are illegal, and this came about not because the government thought it was best, but because the people they represented did. The people felt that all books led to was despair and controversy, which lead to unhappiness. Happiness, the people thought, was to be found in base entertainment and simple living. Thinking became something that was looked down upon . Intellectuals were seen as loonies because the populace at large deemed higher education useless and destructive.
I find this to be a warning to any society where thinking comes second to entertainment. While I can hardly say that America is going down hill because of television, I do find that without moderation the passive entertainment that television provides can severely hinders ones ability to expand their minds and grow as a person, both socially and intellectually.
Another point that this books (candidly) makes is our need to have 'Gadflies' in our life. I derive the term gadfly from Plato's 'Apology'. The main character is awoken from his state of superficial happiness by a little girl who does no more than have simple conversations with him about how he feels. She asks him one very important question: "Are you happy?" I feel that this is the turning point in the main characters life. His 'awakening' could not have happened if it was not for this little girl's simple question. It is easy to fall into the trap of becoming unknowingly arrogant. And sometimes, the only way out of this arrogance is to have a strong bite of humility right in the rear end.
Regarding the literary aspects of the book, I have recently discovered that novellas are excellent because of their heavy content that is condensed into a quick read. I found the authors style unbecoming. But, since this book is a novella, the style can be easily overlooked.
@Professer Frost,
I'm so glad this was brought up it was one of the first books that I was introduced to when I entered into Junior High. I own it and I love reading it over and over again. I'm glad this post got so much interaction.
p.s. sorry about being gone so long. I'll be around more nowadays
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace