ipl-logo

Similarities Between 1984 And Fahrenheit 451

547 Words3 Pages

1984 and Fahrenheit 451: Under Totalitarian Regimes Imagine a world where the government controls every aspect of life. In George Orwell's novel 1984, Winston goes head to head with governing forces in Oceania. The government, called the Party, constantly monitors people's behavior and thoughts through telescreens. Winston realizes he has solidified his fate when he starts a journal where he shares his contempt for the Party. In Fahrenheit 451, Montag's journey begins as a fireman who burns books to a rebel who reads them. He lives in a repressive society that strives to make people happy without complications, eradicating all causes of complexity and contradiction. In the novels; 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, themes of paradox, propaganda, and …show more content…

The Party exhibits an unrivaled strength in every aspect of citizens' lives. Their slogan "Who controls the past, … controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.” (Orwell 34) underlines the principle that influencing history is essential to keeping power. The Party uses that power to enforce a single view of history upon the people and change it whenever they see fit. Their “Control is maintained by … the Ministry of Truth (involved in falsification), the Ministry of Peace (concerned with war), the Ministry of Love (maintaining law and order), and the Ministry of Plenty (responsible for chronic shortages)” (Burt Nineteen). Together, these ministries function as a system of governance over the people of Oceania. They are a crucial part of the Party’s objective to hold total control over society. Another way the party exercises their control over the citizens is through Newspeak. “The immediate goal of Newspeak is to reduce the English language to only a few hundred words with functional and extremely narrow meanings; its larger goal is to eliminate dissent by eliminating the ability to express dissent” (Bloom Nineteen). In essence, reducing the vocabulary of a language is a powerful tool that has the power to control the way people think and communicate. Overall, 1984 exhibits the struggle against propaganda, the manipulation of history and language, and the Party's ultimate aim of complete control over

Show More
Related
177 Words | 1 Pages

In the world of Fahrenheit 451 they don't give you enough time to think but in the world of 1984 it is illegal. Fahrenheit 451 by ray bradbury and 1984 by george orwell both are dictatorships that censor the media. 1984 is a harder to overthrow dictatorship in 1984: the government gives no power to people, has more severe punishment and does not give anybody time to think.

Read More
662 Words | 3 Pages

You may be thinking, 1984 by George Orwell and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury are completely different societies than ours, but it is not too far away from our society in terms of how we could be controlled by the government or follow rules that were put in place to keep civilians at bay. This is because Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 both have the same dystopian element: people/citizens are forced into following their society’s rules without thinking, and sometimes we also have this dystopian element in our own lives and society. In 1984 people were not forced to do anything, they just didn't speak out against the party knowing that if they did then they would be hanged as a political or war criminal. This is because, in the book 1984 on page 126,

Read More
711 Words | 3 Pages

Comparing and contrasting Montag and Winston Individuality is one of the key aspects of life that makes us humans unique and special in our own way. Unfortunately, what if that was taken from everyone in the world? Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and 1984 by George Orwell both describe a world where the independent mind is unheard of. In 1984 Winston, the main character, lives out a dull, supervised, life serving the government. Montag, the main character from Fahrenheit 451, serves as a fireman destroying books wherever they exist.

Read More
727 Words | 3 Pages

Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury is a dystopian novel set in the future in a society where books are banned and burned by “firemen” if found. The novel follows the protagonist (Guy Montag), a fireman who becomes disillusioned with the oppressive society that he lives in and decides to rebel. Bradbury proficiently uses narrative techniques to Illustrate the development of Guy Montage throughout the book. Fahrenheit 451 goes beyond warning about the risks of an oppressive government/society and censorship, as it portrays the character development of Montag. Bradbury uses techniques such as foreshadowing, third person point of view and allusion to depict Montage's development.

Read More
1075 Words | 5 Pages

George Orwell's novel 1984 and Ray Bradbury’s book Fahrenheit 451 feature many similarities. The authors share similar backgrounds and wrote these two books within a few years of each other. Their writings depict many fears that were based upon events happening in the times they were living in. World War II had just ended and the world was dealing with many new ideas and technological advancements. Orwell and Bradbury were fearful of society and politics.

Read More
847 Words | 4 Pages

Both books contain warnings about a overly controlling society that alters history. In Fahrenheit 451 it is more physically controlling meaning they hunt people down and automatically use force if seen as a threat . In 1984 it is more mental based controlling through the combination of manipulation and fear. The Thought police is an example of how their society is kept regulated. They see into the minds of the people and scrutinize everyone who crosses their path.

Read More
175 Words | 1 Pages

Newspeak is a major part of how Big Brother controls the people in 1984 because Newspeak is the way to keep creativity to a minimum, to limit the knowledge of the people, and to eliminate the ways people can speak out about Big Brother. Newspeak contrives to consistently revive Doublethink or the action of believing two completely different and contradictory ideas at once in order to control the brain of its speakers. Newspeak is destructive in nature because of its destruction words that are “useless,” but all words have a specific meaning even if their definition is close to another word. “It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words. Of course the great wastage is in the verbs and adjectives, but there are hundreds of nouns that can

Read More
1359 Words | 6 Pages

Ray Bradbury, an author of this era, wrote one of his most famous books, Fahrenheit 451, inspired by the new technology and government corruption in the 1950s. Through Bradbury’s use of effective character development and symbolism, he is able to illustrate the problems of government censorship and technology in his futuristic dystopia in his novel Fahrenheit 451. Fahrenheit 451 is separated into three different parts that represent the changes Guy Montag, a fireman whose job is to burn books banned by the government, undergoes. Each part contains a new character that sparks this transformation the reader sees in Montag. In the beginning of the novel, Montag is a conformed citizen who is brainwashed by the corrupt society of mindless entertainment provided through wall TV’s and radios that can fit in a

Read More
708 Words | 3 Pages

It is no accident that the Founding Fathers of America made the First Amendment to the US Constitution to embody the idea that a free citizenry must have the right to express themselves freely. Freedom of speech and freedom of thought go hand-in-hand. Therefore, it is also no accident that in George Orwell’s 1984 novel, the government of Oceania created “Newspeak,” a government-mandated language aimed at curbing unsanctioned thoughts. In 1984, the political party uses this newly developed language to subliminally coerce civilians into submission and completely eradicate any chance of rebellion within the state.

Read More
624 Words | 3 Pages

Their only resource is Big Brother propaganda, leaving them in a state where it is unlikely to rebel. Lastly, the ability to act on one’s own free will is taken away from the mass majority. As surveillance and technology advance against the party members and

Read More
1505 Words | 7 Pages

“The punishment for any sort of rebellion is met with physical and mental torture” (Themes, Motifs, and Symbols in 1984). This is how the Party keeps absolute power, by making sure no one rebels against them. The Party even goes as far as to use symbolism for further control. For instance, Big Brother is the head of the totalitarian government and also serves to represent control via propaganda and surveillance. “The concept behind Big Brother represents more than just the leader of Oceania, but rather the dictatorial presence over the nation” (Themes, Motifs, and Symbols in

Read More
1046 Words | 5 Pages

In 1984, somebody could not go as far as thinking for themselves and one’s inner thoughts were even said to be a crime, a “thoughtcrime.” Big Brother is everywhere in 1984, the regime has cameras, audio recorders, the youth reporting on adults, thought police, etc. The government knows, hears, and sees all that is happening in its society. In Fahrenheit 451, the government does not allow any of the people to read or write books because that is the expression of one’s individualism or self beliefs. The government controls how people think and perceive things through the television they watch, and if found with a book or anything in that nature, they will burn it and sometimes maybe even the person involved in

Read More
834 Words | 4 Pages

The party manipulates information and knowledge that the citizens hold and prohibits the members from keeping records of their lives. As a result of this, they manipulate the past experiences of the members as a way to control their present lives. An example of the manipulation used in book 3 is when Orwell made the statement “Never again will you be capable of love, or friendship, or joy of living, or laughter, or curiosity, or courage, or integrity. You will be hollowed out. We shall squeeze you empty, and then we shall fill you with ourselves” (Orwell

Read More
1487 Words | 6 Pages

The Party, the ruling class, manipulates people to accept opposing viewpoints as true by using Newspeak and Doublethink to control their thoughts and beliefs, restricting their freedom of thought. "War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Strength" (Orwell 4). This statement is a juxtaposition due to the twisted logic and propaganda used by totalitarian regimes to control citizens. According to Marxist theory, To keep the proletariats under control, the ruling class use propaganda. In the novel, the Party employs propaganda to maintain its hold on the people by influencing their beliefs and actions.

Read More
421 Words | 2 Pages

By limiting the vocabulary, Newspeak is essentially “unintelligible” and hence controls the people’s understanding of the real world. Orwell emphasises that language is of utmost importance as it structures and limits the ideas individuals are capable of formulating and expressing. In 1984, language is used as a ‘mind control tool’. The party slogan, “war is peace, freedom is

Read More

More about Similarities Between 1984 And Fahrenheit 451

Related Topics

Open Document