Are The Similarities Between By The Waters Of Babylon And Fahrenheit 451

How closely related can two stories written decades apart really be? “Fahrenheit 451” written by Ray Bradbury in 1951 and “By the Waters of Babylon” by Stephan Benet written in 1937 both have heaps of information on the topic of nuclear annihilation. “Fahrenheit 451” and “By the Waters of Babylon” correlate but still deviate with remarkable characters, brilliant themes, and detailed literary elements. The characters in “Fahrenheit 451” relate to those in “By the Water of Babylon” But they still have their own unique qualities. The two main characters are Montag and John. Montag is the main character in Bradbury's novel and John is the main character in Benet’s. Both of these characters share a corresponding goal. The goal is to venture on

The themes within both stories are centered around knowledge and the amount we intake as a society at a given time. The main reason the societies failed in both stories had to do with them intaking a dangerous amount of knowledge at once. The society in “Fahrenheit 451” took in great amounts of knowledge all at the same time and they became vastly technologically advanced to the point where robots were doing simple jobs for them. When this occurs the people within the society stop thinking for themselves and let the computers do it for them in turn making them “brain dead.” Mildred is an excellent example of this. Mildred becomes so attached to technology that she spends all her time with her “T.V. Family.” Both selections have a background theme that revolves around religion. Revelations is used in Bradbury’s novel which refers to a tree of life. The tree of life is used to represent the rebirth of the society. The title, “By the Waters of Babylon is an allusion to Psalms. In Psalm King Nebuchadnezzar II destroys the city which is parallel to the people destroying their own society in Benet’s

Bradbury’s novel showcases a society that is highly technologically advanced. The advancements include massive wall televisions, small ear pieces, and cars that travel at monumental speeds. The technology in this story was not even invented when the book was written yet it is shockingly related to the technology one might have in the 21st century. On the other hand Benet’s novel has a society with a primal and almost prehistoric aspect to it. There are positions listed in the novel such as hunter and priest which are more associated with earlier times. Another detail that relates the two stories together is the topic of nuclear weapons which did not even exist till the 1950s. Both stories are inferred to have used nuclear weapons to annihilate the