Taylor Robinson Mr. Skeggs ENG 4U1 - 04 20 April 2018 Promotion of Rebellion in Totalitarian Societies A1 Social oppression, the control of societies, is prevalent in both books and is demonstrated through symbols that show that the government manipulates and stripes people's individualities with burning books and dehumanizing women's bodies. In Fahrenheit 451, books represent the individuality that is controlled by the government. The Republic of Gilead uses propaganda to manipulate people's opinions by burning books, because it destroys vast amounts of information that can form people's opinions. To the government books can contain ideas which could contradict the propaganda of the ruling government. Without the information from books, and media is the only thing that is feeding Montag’s society and individuals …show more content…
A further example that reveals propaganda is when Montag asks Beatty if firemen ever put out fires, and the firemen pull out the rulebook that contains brief histories of the Firemen of America and it states: Established, 1790, to burn English-influenced books in the Colonies. First Fireman: Benjamin Franklin. RULE 1. Answer the alarm swiftly. 2. Start the fire swiftly. 3. Burn everything. 4. Report back to firehouse immediately. 5. Stand alert for other alarms (Bradbury 37). In Montag’s society due to books no longer being a source of information, Benjamin Franklin's historical record has been altered to be that he was the first firemen, when he was actual involved in the first founding of the first fire department. This shows that the current government and fire department has taken out and removed of any historical records of Benjamin Franklin's involvement in the fire department, and twisted the historical records to meet their propaganda. By creating and having propaganda it deprives people of their individuality and their ableness to express themselves. A literary essay, “Mass