Although very different, George Orwell and Ray Bradbury both utilized similar characterization in their dystopian novels published in the late 1940s early 1950s. Eric Arthur Blair, who used the pen name George Orwell, focused many of his works on social justice, dystopian societies and democratic socialism. Identifying a futuristic government, in 1949 Orwell published 1984 revolving around one “Big Brother” that knew everything, even one’s individual thoughts. In contrast, Ray Bradbury had a much more scientific approach to his novels, screenplays, and television scripts. American-born Ray Bradbury focused his works on science fiction, dystopia, and mystery novels. He constructed Fahrenheit 451 in 1953 focusing his book on unknowing and the diminishment of all …show more content…
Through their novels, Orwell and Bradbury create characters who directly relate to one another throughout their own societies. The protagonists of each book, Winston Smith in 1984 and Guy Montag in Fahrenheit 451 each serve as contrasting, but comparable characters. Winston Smith, a thin man, spent most of his time contemplating the actual meaning of “truth.” At the age of 39, Winston worked at a government facility, The Ministry of Truth where he edited released publications in efforts to always favor the government. Even though his job easily identified him as an ideal party member of Oceania, Winston secretly dreamt of rebellion. He often found himself writing wishes of the breakdown of Big Brother, the oppressing government of Oceania. Similar to Winston in many ways, Guy Montag struggled with oppression in Fahrenheit 451. Also working in a government job, Montag worked as a fireman. However, the firemen in Fahrenheit 451 did not put out the fires, but instead started