Similarities Between Firemen And The Government In Fahrenheit 451

There is no such thing as a Utopian society. In Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” the main character, Guy Montag lives in a society where books are banned, Creative thinking is prohibited, and firemen start fires. The government who run this city have brainwashed every citizen to think that they live in a perfect civilization, when in reality they are living as mindless beings. Deep down, the people of the city know there is something wrong with their lifestyle, but their minds are so influenced by the government that they do not allow themselves to feel those negative feelings. The society portrayed in this novel is almost the complete opposite from modern society today. A few differences between the two are books, firemen, and the government.

In “Fahrenheit 451”, instead of driving past the speed limit and destruction of property being against the law, books are. Having possession of a book is a crime and the punishment is that the owner’s possessions to be razed in flames. The firemen were the ones who burned down the houses of the innocent people who had committed this act. Montag was a fireman, he loved the feeling of power he got when he lit a match and set someone’s home ablaze. He too was caught up in the government’s web of lies, so when he was asked by a peculiar young girl, “Do you ever read any of the books you burn?”He laughed.” He would simply answer “that’s against the law!” (page 5). Somehow, the authorities successfully convinced the citizens that books are nonsense that will only fill the mind with unneeded information and so they have chosen to eliminate all books from their lives. Montag slowly became more intrigued by the limited knowledge of books that he had. Beatty, the chief captain of the firemen realized this and told Montag that he has “had to read a few in his time, to know what he was about, and the books say nothing! Nothing you can teach or believe.” (page 59). On the other hand, in modern day society, reading and learning from books are highly encouraged by the state and law. Everyone is aware that books are full of knowledge and are written by

The government controlled everything from the advertisements that are shown to the thoughts that the citizens think. The people in the city acted as mindless robots while the government was their programmers. The authorities brainwashed everyone, and were so inside their heads that they even controlled the things that the people say and do. They did not want anyone to realize how messed up their society is, so they kept them dumb. They would “cram them full of noncombustible data, chock them so damned full of ‘facts’ they feel stuffed, but absolutely brilliant… then they’ll feel they’re thinking.” (page 28). Right when a child was born they would practically take the child straight from the womb to boarding school. There they would grow up learning only what the government wanted them to know. Instead of having math and english class, they would have tv and sports class. They would be taught unnecessary information just to keep them farthest away from figuring out the truth. Once the children grew up and were done with school, they would start their real lives using all of the ‘skills they learned. The government wanted to have the assurance that no one would find out the truth ever, so in every citizens ear there was “little seashells, the thimble radios tamped tight, and an electronic ocean of sound, of music and talk coming in.” (page 10). These