Comparing Fahrenheit 451 And Divergent By Virginia Roth

Dystopia vs Reality
Dystopian novels. They are completely fictional and very far away from today’s ideologies, which makes them easy to enjoy. But are they that far off? Well, dystopias often include real-world issues but are highly exaggerated and warped. In our world, we have immense opportunities, unlike dystopian novels, where the protagonists are forced to defy conformity for liberation. Though they are different in many ways, both scenarios show government control and manipulation. In dystopian novels like Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and Divergent by Virginia Roth, the controllers of society restrict individual freedom and creativity while mocking our world. In dystopian novels, our world is mocked with an expectancy of conformity and restriction of individual freedom. Dystopian fictions often contain relations to our world but present them in a metaphoric or exaggerated form that appears ironic and sometimes comedic. On page 56 of Fahrenheit 451, the fire chief says, “You must understand that our civilization is so vast that we can’t have our minorities upset and stirred”(Bradbury). In this quote, the fire captain is explaining how books became banned. This connects to our world. Many books are banned because people become

In dystopian worlds, this is not the case. In books like Divergent, the government is incredibly manipulative and controlling, but it is very overstated. In Divergent, they divide the entire community into 5 factions based on interest and personality. “Every faction conditions its members to think and act a certain way” (Roth 441-442). This shows how the government fits the entire community into different groups, limiting creativity and opportunity. Yes, we have government division, but it is not as extreme. While some dystopian novels show copious amounts of government control and manipulation, our society does not show the same level of