Comparing Power In Fahrenheit 451 And The Wave

Strength through burning As Thomas Jefferson, founding father of the United States of America and the main author of the Declaration of Independence, once said, “Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, prevented it into tyranny.” He is saying that someone who receives too much power will eventually turn this power into something bad. There are examples of this happening in both Fahrenheit 451 and The Wave. Both of these novels had an abundance of power gave to people, which made the group or world turn bad. Starting with The Wave, where a teacher, Ben Ross, turned his whole school upside down for a teaching experience; it all started

They had books burned to where no one could ever receive the knowledge they hold. The books were replaced with technology, which started to rule the lives of the people. They did not communicate as much, as shown with the main character and his wife who was too absorbed in her technology to notice that Montag was starting to see the problems in the world. When Montag started to question if not having that knowledge was ok, he had a power struggle within himself: not knowing whether to obey the power or do what he believes. He was pushed in the right direction with the help of a mysterious girl. So, he would take books instead of burning them and was turned into the firemen, the very people he used to work for, and was sent to burn his own home. Which, instead he burnt the fire chief and ran starting a man hunt. Montag shows that standing up against the power was the right thing to do. He was different though, which was disliked by the people with power because he did not obey. Montag took the knowledge and read it to people, which scared with the thoughts of reality and that people in power are not as big as they seem. Montag became the very thing the government feared: an

Mr. Ross showed taught that if the students would have kept going with the path they were taking off just following what is said and not thinking for themselves they would have become the next generation of the Nazi Youth. While, Montag learned that the people placing the rules are not always right, they could be hiding something as powerful as knowledge. Both these novels showed that asking questions and sharing your own thoughts instead of being just a part of the group could change how the world around you are. Montag and Mr. Ross both learned that power is something that should not be handed around lightly. Also, these novels showed what not questioning and just going along with what you are told can lead to. These novels were both at different times, but both can show how easily things can change. A history class turned cult and a man’s life was changed because of his curiosity. People who questioned anything in both these novels were shunned in different ways, from exile to a killer man hunt. There was shown how power can be evil and too much power is good for nobody. Also, to question what is going on, to not go with whatever you are told to do and do not obey. Be an individual, create a course of action; do not follow