Fahrenheit 451: Taking risks

Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451. pages 3- 66

"Mildred backed away as if she were suddenly confronted by a pack of mice that had come up out of the floor. " ( Bradbury 66)

Ray Bradbury writes this line when Montag reveals to his wife that he has been hiding books behind the grille from the air conditioner.

This quote was chosen because of the powerful imagery that's used. The imagery enables the reader to understand exactly how threatening Montag's wife, Mildred, views the books which Montag has hidden. The obvious reason why Mildred fears them is because it is against the law to own any books, and any individual which owns books will often get caught and burned with the books.

This quote also helps the reader comprehend what type of society Montag resides in; it's a society where people fear being educated. Thus, the books in this quote also symbolize knowledge or education. And the reason why Mildred fears them, and backs away from them as if they are rats, is due to the fact that everything she does throughout her daily life does not consist of learning in any way. Therefore, her backing away represents her "fear of the unknown" and the unknown in this case is being educated.

Ray Bradbury wants to make the readers aware of the fact that as a society, we are often lenient when it comes to learning, and instead prefer doing something that doesn't require us to think. For example, people often prefer watching television, or pursuing other similar activities. Another focal point that Bradbury is trying to make is that we also love having things simplified for us. But this process of simplification also "waters down our minds" because we are no longer challenged to achieve something by ourselves. And by not facing small challenges often, when we do happen to face one it often happens to be a crucial one, and because our lack of expertise in dealing with something new which requires us to think for ourselves, we are often incapable of solving that problem. Bradbury also wants to make his readers aware of the fact that if we continue in such a way, we will fall into a pattern and refuse to face the real world because of weaving ourselves into our comfort zone.

1984 & Farenheit 451: Connections

1984 and Fahrenheit 451

Some of the elements which 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 have in common are elements of irony. For example, in 1984 the Ministry of Peace deals with war, while the Ministry of Truth is all about rewriting the past. While in Farenehit 451 the protagonist is a fireman. Although Montag is not the type of fireman that one is familiar with nowadays: he initiates fires in order to burn books, rather than extinguish them. Another element of irony which exists in Bradbury's novel is that what is considered anti-social in their society matches our definition of a social individual. For example, Clarrisse is thought of as an anti-social individual at her school, but she is on the contrary, very talkative and social.

Another element which both books have in common is that both Winston from 1984 and Montag are rebels in some way. Winston fits the definition of a rebel more than Montag does, because of having idologies and thoughts which are considered unorthodox by the party. Another thing which also makes him a rebel is his behaviour. Winston risks his life by meeting Julia on several instances, and also joins The Brotherhood. Taking those risks is the equivalent of digging himself a grave, because sooner or later he will perish, once caught by the Thought Police. In regards to Fahrenheit 451, the rebelliousness of Montag is a more subtle one (at least for the time being). Montag proves capable of being a rebel when the reader finds out about the novels which he has been hiding behind the grille from the air-conditioning system. The number of novels turns out to be surprisingly high which explicitly shows for the first time ever that Montag has the ability of being a rebel.

1984: Going with the flow

" How easy it all was! Only to surrender, and everything else followed. It was like swimming against a current that swept you backwards however hard you struggled, and then suddenly deciding to turn round and go with the current instead of opposing it. He hardly knew why he had ever rebelled." (Orwell 291)

This quote was chosen because of the powerful imagery that's being used. The way that Orwell is comparing Winston's struggle to swimming against a current that is flowing the opposite way is a very intriguing way of comparing the two different situations. The comparison also enables the reader to sympathize with Winston's choice of submitting to the Party's beliefs. Because just like swimming against a current wears one out and eventually leaves them with no other option than to go with the flow; Winston is also left with no other option than to accept the Party's beliefs and adopt them.

This quote also signifies a very important change in the way that Winston is thinking. It signifies the first, and final step that he takes towards becoming one with the crowd, because his previous fight for individuality has come very close to its end. It is a crucial part in Winston's change of beliefs because until this moment his most valuable possessions were his vivid memories of the past and the hope that someday the proles will rebel, and the ability to have individualistic thoughts and a private life will be reestablished. But now by abandoning those beliefs and adopting the ones that belong to the party, Winston is not only starting to believe that the party has been right all along, but also that his memories of the past are "false," and that Big Brother will never be defeated and the society of Oceania will always remain the same way as it is at this present moment.

Through this quote Orwell's intention is to show that one individual cannot achieve something by themselves, because the rest of the people will outnumber them and "hold them back", which will result in that one person losing trust and confidence in their ability to change whatever they wished to; just like Winston did.

1984: Accepting the Party's beliefs

George Orwell, 1984

"He could not fight against the Party any longer.Besides, the Party was in the right. It must be so: how could the immortal, collective brain be mistaken? By what external standard could you check its judgments? Sanity was statistical." (Orwell 290)

This quote was chosen because it shows the values and morals of Oceania. It shows how Winston is slowly losing the battle against the Party because of being a single individual with unique beliefs but no power, while the Party has power and now have the ability of forcing their beliefs onto him.

Winston says this quote after O'Brien tortures him at "The Ministry of Love" This quote was chosen because it is crucial to Winston's change of character. Orwell states this line because it shows how spending time inside "The Ministry of Love" is degrading Winston's mind, and causing him to slowly start believing exactly what he is being told. It also shows that despite the fact that he despises the Party, he is trying to train himself into believing what they stand for, and therefore practicing "crimestop."

At this point in the novel, Winston is doing so only because of knowing that by continuing to believe in his own ideologies, he will only endure even more torture. Therefore, it is in fact the fear of being helpless and unable to endure more pain that causes his beliefs to take a drastic turn, towards the norm. The part of the quote that represents that Winston is attempting to believe what he is being told is the "sanity is statistical" part. What it signifies is that what is considered a normal thing to believe by a (sane) individual is what the general public beliefs.

Such a belief has been present since the beginning of time, and it applies to the society that Orwell lived in just as much as it applies to ours. Some of the beliefs that individuals nowadays are often ridiculed for are if they follow a religion that is unheard of, or known very little about. For example, Scientology is often something that people ridicule, but there is just as much proof that Jesus exists as there is of the supreme being that exists in Scientology. But what keeps one religion from being ridiculed and not the other, is the fact that the concepts of Christianity have been embedded into peoples' minds for centuries, which has resulted in them accepting that religion. While with Scientology, it's a fairly new concept.

1984: Influencial factors

There are certain events which influenced Orwell when writing 1984. One particular event which is said to have been the origin for Room 101 is the torture which he endured when attending his preparatory school. Although such treatment was common during that era, there is no denying that it did influence Orwell. Another element that contributed to the creation of Room 101 is Orwell working for the BBC in Room 101. There, political news about the state of the war were being broadcast and Orwell felt that the BBC were not retelling the events acurately, and were in fact distorting them. This can be related to what Winston must do in Room 101: to deny the truth and accept the lies as truth.

After writing one of his novels, Wigan Pier, Orwell went to Spain in order to write articles about the Spanish Civil War. In Spain, the conflict was occuring due to the Communist/Socialist movement,and the anarchists; which were the enemies of the party that were being shot or imprisoned. This obviously influenced Orwell to envision the Thought Police, in 1984. Similar to the way that the enemies of the party during the Spanish Civil War were being shot or imprisoned, the people that get caught by the Thought Police and are thought of being Big Brother's enemies, are being imprisoned and tortured as well. Another influence that he encountered while living in Spain during the Civil War is that class distinctions were persisting even under a communist regime, despite the fact that what communism was supposed to provide equality among all its residents. This is also something that appears in 1984, when the rationizing of chocolate is intended for making everyone feel equal, while it is in fact, the reader finds out later on in the novel that members of the Inner Party have access to far more products which other residents don't (such as wine).

Another major influence over 1984, is Stalin's Soviet Union. The propaganda which was often being shown on tv was used as means of promoting hate towards the Soviet Union's enemies; just as many images were being shown during the Two Minutes Hate event, which were portraying the nation's enemy, Goldstein, as the ultimate personnification of evil. Another reacurring event from Soviet Russia was the erasing of Stalin's enemies from photographs, as if they never existed. This, is very much like the re-writing of the past which occurrs throughout 1984. Orwell intended this event as a way of warning the general public about what can occurr if we no longer posess any democratic rights; because we cannot control the goverment, not even partially and in return the goverment not only controls our actions, but also our knowledge. Which means that they censure the public's knowledge, and only let them know what will benefit themselves. This is also a warning that not everything that an 'expert' (such as a politician, or doctor) says it's real. Because what is considered real is a belief that most people acquire, but very often that believe may not even be based on facts, which is why reality must be questioned and challanged.

During the second novel I will focus on finding connections between Farenheit 451 and 1984. Since both novels have been influenced by events which occurred during World War 2, and they were both published relatively around the same time.

1984: Emotions

George Orwell, 1984.

"What mattered were individual relationships, and a completely helpless gesture, an embrace, a tear, a word spoken to a dying man, could have value in itself.The proles had stayed human. They had not become hardened inside. They had held on to the primitive emotions which he himself had to re-learn by conscious effort. And in thinking this he remembered, without apparent relevance, how a few weeks ago he had seen a severed hand lying on the pavement and had kicked it into the gutter as though it have been a cabbage-stalk." (pg 172, Orwell)


This quote is significant simply because it is an accurate representation of Winston's character development. It shows how numb Winston feels before being in a relationship with Julia, and how different he is now, after meeting her.

Prior to meeting Julia, Orwell portrays Winston as a character that is merely getting through the day for a reason that was unknown to him; an individual that is living just for the sake of doing so. One particular part of the quote which reflects that is him kicking the severed hand "as though it had been a cabbage-stalk." Which highlights how highly dehumanized Winston is feeling. But Julia's presence made him feel alive once again. Because her slipping the paper in his hand which said I love you is the cause for him starting to have feelings once again, and it is also the reason why he realizes that the most important things that matter to him are things such as "an embrace", and an "individual relationship."

The other part of the quote which talks about the proles (which are the lower class, poor individuals) shows that because of the absence of telescreens and the constant fear of being watched they are capable of maintaining their human emotions, since they have no reason to censor the feelings which they feel the need to express. But, because Winston must have a telescreen inside of his home, he often has to control his emotions in order to not appear suspicious to the "Thought Police," because not doing so would result in him getting vaporized. But, due to the constant controlling of his emotions, it caused him to try and detatch himself from reality as much as possible in order not to risk showing any feelings. Which is what resulted in him being emotionally numb until meeting Julia.

1984: Party Slogan

George Orwell, 1984

The Party's main slogan from 1984 is an oxymoron, and runs as follows:

"War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength" (pg 107, Orwell)

Winston encounters this slogan throughout the novel, because of it's extreme importance. The "War is Peace" part, represents the fact that most of the residents from the nation where Winston resides, Oceania, believe the fact that by going to war they can attain peace within the nation. That's because of them believing that through their country's reigning victories, they will have a better lifestyle due to better food, clothes and an overall superior way of living. One common thing that this quote has with events that occurred in real life, is that in the past many nations believed the exact same notion: that by going to war they can achieve peace, and that going to war was the sole way of solving a major conflict.

"Freedom is Slavery" simply shows how the characters in 1984 have no freedom because in order to be free they have to submit to the rules and in fact, be slaves to the government and their regulations. This can also be directly related to the world we reside in, because even though we believe that we are free in many ways, we are actually constantly doing things which we have no control to change, thus making us slaves. Such things include going to work, school, completing the work that we are given etc.

Lastly, "Ignorance is Strength" refers to the fact that ignoring the events which occur throughout the novel is thought of as a strength in the society of Oceania. The characters refer to this as 'double think.' One particular part that 'double think' includes is forgetting whatever is necessary to forget, and drawing it back into memory if it is later needed. For example, throughout the war new alliances are often being formed, but the past is constantly rewritten in order to convince the residents that Oceania has always been allied with none other than the nation that they are allied with at that given moment. "Ignorance is Strength" is also a concept that can be related to the world that we reside in, because whenever something annoys a person, it is often considered best to simply ignore it. Since that is often thought of as a strength, and the best way that one can solve a problem.

The reason why this quote was chosen is because it is an insight into the main theme of the novel: how the truth can be altered, which can lead to one questioning their beliefs about the events which occurred.

1984: Winston's Nostalgia

George Orwell, 1984

"The thought flitted through Winston's mind that it would probably be quiet easy to rent the room for a few dollars a week, if he dared to take the risk. It was a wild, impossible notion to be abandoned as soon as he thought of; but the room had awakened in him a sort of nostalgia, a sort of ancestral memory" (Orwell, pg 100)

Winston says this quote while being inside a prole's home, and gazing around the room which contains many objects from the society which existed before, when there was no totalitarianism. It is significant, because throughout the novel small hints are given here and there, which point to the fact that Winston Smith is still extremely attached to the past. Such clues include him buying a glass paperweight, and writing in a journal as a way of keeping in touch with "a time when thought is free, and men are different from one another." (Orwell, pg 30) But this act, the one of him pondering about renting the room which possesses many antiquities and no telescreen,no longer implies, but rather explicitly shows how much Winston is longing to have the same amount of privacy and security as he vaguely remembers having before Big Brother appeared.

This quote also makes the reader realize that they have the ability to do certain things which they don't even think of as "freedom of choice." Because there are specific occupations, such as being capable of sitting inside one's home and writing in a journal, that one never stops to think about how "fortunate" they are to be capable of doing them in today's society. While in this novel, the protagonist has to risk being caught by the "Thought Police" when doing such activities. Winston also perceives such private activities like one of the things that would bring him the greatest amount of inner bliss. But in today's world, most of the joy that one can get from doing these things has been drained due to their monotony; because after all, it's often not the things that we do daily that excite us, but rather, the ones that we do rarely. This quote also shows how certain objects have such a powerful effect over one's memory, because they possess the ability of reawakening certain memories or feelings, which one might have been unaware of their existence. One such object is the room from the quote, which acquaints Winston with his memories of what resting in a room like that felt like.

The reason why this quote was chosen is because it explicitly reflects the protagonist's values and morals; it shows that he is thinking about bending certain rules in order to go back, and live in a residence like the ones which existed before the age of totalitarianism.