Similarities Between The Hunger Games And Fahrenheit 451

Several types of societies exist in today’s world, dystopias - miserable societies of oppression- and utopias - ideal societies of political or social perfection. Dystopias are illustrated in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, which extensively follow the characters, Katniss Everdeen and Guy Montag, and their quests to rebel against government control. The Giver by Lois Lowry, an ostensibly utopian community, succumbs to the typical, corrupt dystopian society, where the government is in total control of every aspect of the community. Although each novel, on the surface, has a diverse plot, they share a comprehensive idea: the effects of the government on society. In The Hunger Games, the government,

The community is initially utopic in the eyes of Guy Montag; However, he begins to realize he lives in a dystopic community full of hatred and disapproval of intelligence. Lisa Sikkink, contributor to the Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato, declares, “Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is a futuristic American Society… In this dystopian novel the goal of the government is to prevent social unrest by eliminating intellectuals”. Sikkink explains the purpose of the government and its policies in the novel. Reading books and receiving and education is anomalous in Montag’s community. According to literary critic Donald Watt, “Guy Montag is a fireman whose job is to burn books and, accordingly, discourage the citizenry from thinking about anything except four-wall television”. Initially, Montag, a fireman in the community, assumes that the government is always right and he believes he lives in a perfect community. In the beginning of the novel, Montag exclaims, “It was a pleasure to burn”(Bradbury 3). He enjoys burning books, and he is content going to work, burning down a few houses, then returning home to his wife. The overall satisfaction of Montag and his wife’s daily routine, depicts the perfect community. He portrays his community as idealistic because the government has always provided them with everything they ever needed. However, his outlook on

In the beginning of the novel, Lowry discusses the rules of the community. Each family may only have two children, a male and a female, and names of newborns are not to be discussed until the Naming Ceremony. No pilots are allowed to fly their planes over the community. Children must give up their comfort objects at the ceremony of 8s and no children may ride their bikes until they have reached the ceremony of 9s. Families are supposed to tell their feelings at night during dinner, and then they must discuss their dreams at breakfast. Also, the community runs off of a rigid, daily schedule. These are just a few of the rules in the community. At first, this seems normal, and one could argue the government is focused on the safety of its members; However, as the novel progresses the community gradually reaches a state of turmoil. Literary Critic Carter F. Hanson asserts, “Lois Lowry’s novel “The Giver” (1993) inhabits the discursive space of dystopia, and like most dystopias, “The Giver” begins in an imagined world intended to be worse than the reader’s own, although it is initially inviting”. Hanson expresses his feelings towards the novel. He finds The Giver to be a developing dystopia; Although it originally portrays a utopia. Lowry exposes the dystopic features of the community when she writes, “It’s just the