ipl-logo

Fahrenheit 451 Harrison Bergeron Analysis

773 Words4 Pages

Imagine living in a world where you are forced to sacrifice everything, but gained nothing. The government is strictly controlling your every move and you have nowhere to turn. This is how life is in Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 and Kurt Vonnegut’s short story satire “Harrison Bergeron”. Bradbury was most commonly known for his scientific and fantasy writing style (Barron), as Vonnegut was known for writing about incredible inventions and space travel (Saltzman). Three common themes that exist between Fahrenheit 451 and “Harrison Bergeron” are the failure of rebellion, the sacrifice for peace, and the lack of society’s knowledge. One common theme that exists between both stories is that the simple idea of rebellion does not …show more content…

Many characters in Fahrenheit 451 have sacrificed common, simple things for their peace. They can no longer read books, drive slowly, or have meaningful conversations. If they do any of those things, they could be arrested or even get their houses burned to the ground. This theme is supported by the scene when Montag first meets Clarisse. She is speaking of the conditions the government forces them under that she is not fond of. Clarisse does not approve of how people are forced to drive fast, burn books, and think shallow thoughts. Her uncle thinks as she does, and she was speaking of his driving when she says to Montag, “He drove forty miles an hour and they jailed him for two days”(Bradbury 6). This scene then makes Montag think of all the things that people used to be able to do, that is now sacrificed for their country’s peace. Vonnegut’s character, Harrison, and his community has to give up their individuality to make everyone equal. “Handicaps” are placed on these people so no one person is stronger, smarter, prettier, etc. unless they have a high ranked job in the government. The Handicapper General puts weights on stronger people, masks on more attractive people, and loud noises in the heads of the intelligent people. This makes all of the society unstable, unattractive, unintelligent, but also

Show More
Related
500 Words | 2 Pages

Nobody had ever borne heavier handicaps”. The author shows how Harrison is dress differently from everyone to show that he is the person that has been set apart from society. The plot in each stories are

Read More
1119 Words | 5 Pages

"A book is a loaded gun in the house next door" (Bradbury 56). This quote was from Fahrenheit 451, a book where technology takes over a society and diverse knowledge is banned. People who own books are deemed crazy and have everything burned down. It connects to Harrison Bergeron, a short story by Kurt Vonnegut, where everyone is equal by bringing everyone down to the lowest average. People in this dystopian society are handicapped mentally and physically and when someone decides to rebel they are met with grave consequences.

Read More
379 Words | 2 Pages

There are similarities between Kurt Vonnegut’s short story “Harrison Bergeron” and Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 that can be found in their characters, equality, government power, and overall themes. The first sentence of “Harrison Bergeron” starts by saying, “The year was 2081…” Both “Harrison Bergeron” and Fahrenheit 451 are set in a future society where everyone is made happy. The characters are another example of a similarity. George and Hazel Bergeron could be compared to Mildred and Guy Montag at the beginning of Fahrenheit 451.

Read More
901 Words | 4 Pages

The two stories, “Harrison Bergeron” and Fahrenheit 451, both have common themes. The common themes of the stories may include; our reliance on technology can spiral out of control if we let it, knowledge is joyful and painful, and that we can be confined by our own self-censorship. All of these themes are exhibited throughout both stories frequently. Whether it is as Montag has conflict with his wife over books or as Harrison’s parents forget right from wrong in their society. In Fahrenheit 451, their technology definitely gets out of control.

Read More
612 Words | 3 Pages

Webster’s Dictionary defines character as, “the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual”, these qualities can range from a simple opinion, to an action, to a character’s lifestyle. While Guy Montag from Fahrenheit 451 and Wade from Ready Player One are both uniquely distinct, they share many qualities that unites them as one. The first similarity of the two characters is that they both come from a world where modern technology consumes everyone’s daily lives, and both Wade and Montag must realize that a virtual reality, whilst perfect in sense, is not the truth. Montag realizes this after Clarisse asks him if he is truly happy, his immediate answer is a defensive yes, but after his wife tries to commit suicide, and Montag starts to think about his situation, he realizes that his response to Clarisse was a lie.

Read More
309 Words | 2 Pages

Individuality is worth the potential risks involved in Fahrenheit 451 and Harrison Bergeron because Professor Faber and Harrison Bergeron were able to become truly happy devoting their lives to something bigger than themselves. In fact, Faber says in Fahrenheit 451 that “‘I feel alive for the first time in years’” (Bradbury 133). Being an individual made Faber feel alive and happy for the first time in a long time, and it shows us that individuality can make people feel better about their circumstances and that they are doing something important for their world. Individuality also made Faber less afraid about his life.

Read More
1050 Words | 5 Pages

    Prior to his transformation, Montag upholds the ideals of conformative society; the citizens see no reason to doubt because they all demonstrate the principles the controlling government enforces such as dehumanization and ignorance. When Montag meets Clarisse McClellan, she says the citizens “all say the same things and nobody says anything different from anyone else” (Bradbury 28).  Clarisse strays from the typical beliefs and behavior, instead choosing to question the community’s core principles; due to this, she has the ability to understand the similarities between the citizens in the dystopian society. In contrast, Montag cannot comprehend how the inhabitants are all reflections of one another. Owing to this, Montag is unable to

Read More
820 Words | 4 Pages

“There’s no reason to change.” In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Captain Beatty, the Captain fireman said this quote, but Montag was able to prove him wrong by changing. Prior to this quote, the main character, Guy Montag is a fireman, and his job is to burn books at people’s houses because they are illegal in the society that they live in. He realizes that he is not truly happy with his life and with this society, so he decides to steal books and then read the hidden ones in his house.

Read More
1260 Words | 6 Pages

In Fahrenheit 451 Montag and the rest of his society have to live in a government that nearly controls everything. One character in the beginning, Clarisse, points out many flaws about their government and how controlling it is, which can also be applied to the book and power struggle throughout the novel. When talking to Montag when around the time they first met, she says, "Oh, just my mother and father and uncle sitting around, talking. It 's like being a pedestrian, only rarer. My uncle was arrested another time-did I tell you?-for being a pedestrian.

Read More
830 Words | 4 Pages

Fahrenheit 451 and Harrison Bergeron: Will it be Handicaps or Freedom Fahrenheit 451 was written by Ray Bradbury and published in 1953, it is regarded as one of his best works (Fahrenheit 451). It is a science fiction novel written about the future where books were outlawed and it was the firemen’s jobs to burn any book or any home that contained a book. Books were considered a form of judgment to the people in the future. Reading certain ones could put someone in a bad position due to gaining knowledge from a book, and could affect someone in a way that the government did not approve of.

Read More
852 Words | 4 Pages

Clarisse mentioned to Montag that she was afraid of kids her age because they go out and kill people like it’s normal. She said six of her friends had been shot in the last year alone while ten of them died in car wrecks. On top of that, Clarisse herself was killed by a hit and run. This shows how lenient they could be about the law but for things that should not be lenient at all. The lenient law shows that unhappiness and fear is what they strive for in society.

Read More
311 Words | 2 Pages

I believe Poe, who wrote “The Masque of the Red Death” 200 years ago could have been talking about modern day Ebola. There are many reasons for this. First, Poe would not have known about Ebola, since it didn't exist, and therefore couldn't have written his story based on it. Second, the symptoms in his story for the ‘Red Death’ do not match the symptoms of Ebola. In the story, it says there were “sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution”.

Read More
1823 Words | 8 Pages

People who are not equal get handicapped in a way. George and Hazel Bergeron are the parents of Harrison, who was taken away from them when he was fourteen by the Handicapper General. George and Hazel are not even sad that their son was taken away. Hazel has average intelligence so she can only think of things in short bursts. On the other

Read More
913 Words | 4 Pages

In the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, an old woman commits the act of self-immolation, or the “deliberate sacrifice of oneself by fire.” Before burning herself to death, she says a quote said by Hugh Latimer too Nicholas Ridley right before they were burned to death in favor of their society because of their controversial religious beliefs: “Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.” By saying this quote, she is really saying to be strong like the stereotypical ‘man of the house’ would be thought of. However, she is also hinting to something other than this literal meaning of the quote, just as Latimer was when he first said it back in October 16th

Read More
349 Words | 2 Pages

In this short story, everything has to do with equality. No one can be more intelligent, stronger, or more attractive. Handicaps are making people unequal. People in this short story isn’t equal because the most intelligent people have to suffer because of the handicaps. “Every twenty minutes or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantages of their brain” (page 2).

Read More

More about Fahrenheit 451 Harrison Bergeron Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document