Fahrenheit 451 and 1984: Connections part 3

The loss of individuality is a prominent theme in both "1984" and "Fahrenheit 451". The reasons why the characters in "1984" lose their individuality is because the greater majority of the characters lose the ability to think for themselves, and they all become patriotic citizens of Oceania. An example of this is when the belief that 2+2=5 is imposed upon Winston, and because of the fear of having to face death if he were not to accept that belief, Winston ends up accepting it, and letting go of his own beliefs. The loss of his individuality also occurs when he lets go of his childhood memories, and accepts the fact that he's simply troubled by "false memories" every time that one of his childhood memories re-surface. These memories, just like one's beliefs make up who one is. They are the formula that create one. But without these things, one is simply an emotionless working machine, which is exactly what Winston is at the beginning of the novel.

In addition to that, the couples in 1984 are encouraged to be together only as means of producing children for the party, and any two people that wish to marry each other but leave the party under the impression that they are attracted to each other are not granted the permission to marry. Therefore, because of this reason the party is preventing it's citizens from bonding with other people, because they wish everyone to only be loyal to the party. And because everyone is loyal to the exact same thing, this results in a loss of individuality.

In "Fahrenheit 451" a loss of individuality occurs because every individual is exposed to the exact same elements. For example, in school, intellectual subjects such as English and Philosophy have been eliminated from the curriculum and all that is left are sports. As a result of that, all children behave the same way: they are dangerous delinquents that are a threat to the adults and they attempt kill people for fun. In addition to that, women have also become exact copies of themselves because they all watch the same television shows that have no intellectual content to them. As a result of that, they all become superficial, and even when they discuss about another subject such as politics, their superficiality and lack of individuality come to the surface. One instance when this occurs, is when they all talk about how they voted for the same president because he is, as Mrs. Bowles says: "...one of the nicest-looking men that ever became president." (Bradbury 96)

Fahrenheit 451: Expressionless

Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451. pages 90-165

"Montag said nothing but stood looking at the women's faces as he had once looked at the faces of saints in a strange church he had entered when he was a child. The faces of those enameled creatures meant nothing to him, though he talked to them and stood in that church for a long time, trying to be of that religion, trying to know what that religion was, trying to get enough of the raw incense and special dust of the place into his lungs and hus his blood to feel touched and concerned by the meaning of the colorful men and women with the porcelain eyes and the bood-ruby lips." (Bradbury 95)

Ray Bradbury writes this quote when Montag is located in the same room as his wife and her friends. Prior to the quote being said, the females are chating about superficial things such as
the show that they're watching on television.

This quote shows that Montag is looking at the women's visages, and studying them just like he has done in the past with the facial expressions of certain saints. This creates wonderful imagery because it explicitly shows the reader how Montag is trying to understand what the women are thinking by studying their facial expression, since he cannot find any other way of trying to understand them. That's because he feels like they are beings that are drastically diffrent from him; beings that he cannot find any means of communicating with because of him not being able to comprehend them and vice-versa.

Furthermore, just like what the women are saying is of no meaning to him, their facial expressions are not helping him gain an insight into their thoughts either. That's because their facial expressions are being compared to those of saints, which means that they have the enigmatic, and cold facial expression that most paintings of saints tend to have.

The author's intention is to creatively portray the sense of detachement that Montag is feeling from the women that are sorrounding him. The effective way that the Bradbury accentuates this is by comparing the women's faces to the faces of saints. This makes the reader not only profoundly feel the sense of detachment that Montag feels, but also why Montag feels this way. That's because just like a person has no means of communicating with saints, and one can only speak to them while wishing they will be heard, Montag has the exact same situation in his hands. He can only try to speak to the women that are around him, and he can only hope that they will hear and understand him, but because they are so different from him, he feels like there is no way that he will ever be able to verify that his message has really gotten across.

Fahrenheit 451 and 1984: Connections part 2

One major similarity that exists in both novels is that the government attempts to control the way that people think. In "1984" the totalitarian government simply wants to have complete control over peoples' minds by constantly rewriting the past. That's because with that type of control, they have the power to manipulate the residents exactly as they wish. And their ability to manipulate them doesn't simply stop at controlling their actions, after all; if one is acting a certain way, that does not guarantee that they thoroughly believe that what they are doing is right. Which is why the government in "1984" goes as far as controlling the way that people think, by causing them to be loyal citizens of Oceania who only possess love for their country, and hate for their nation's enemies. In addition to that, people that have unorthodox opinions, in other words any opinions or thoughts that do not coincide with those of the government, are caught by the "Thought Police" and tortured. The "Thought Police" is used to further reinforce the idea that one is going to suffer if they have unorthodox thoughts.

On the other hand, in "Fahrenheit 451" the way that the government controls people is by burning books. They do that because of the numerous disagreements that occur because of the topics that the books are written about. And it is because of that reason that the government decides to burn books, and continue on doing so every time that a person is reported to have books. The other more in depth reason as to why books are burned is because they are thought to be "evil" due to their ability to make some more intelligent than others and result in the less bright pupils to feel inferior to the brighter ones. After all, the more one reads, the more knowledge they gain. Therefore, by eliminating the existence of books, one also eliminates the main source that one can gain knowledge from. And this type of censorship results in controlling the way that people think, by causing all of them to think the same way (since no individual has more insight when it comes to a subject, because they are never exposed to books). So instead of having books which can enable people to think for themselves, the government replaced all the "intellectual" subjects with sports. Simply because playing sports cannot make anyone more intellectually superior than someone else.

In addition to that, Clarisse, a girl that stops going to school and is viewed as peculiar because of her individualistic ways of thinking, disapears later on in the novel. The similarity of her disappearance can be linked to the disappearances that occur in "1984" when the "Thought Police" snatches thought criminals away from their homes.

The Transformation of Fairy Tales

When fairy tales first originated they were not sugar coated as they are today. They often reflected several of life's hardships that people had to face. The only minor difference is that the hardships in the story were often exaggerated in order to teach the children a lesson. For example, the old witch in "Hansel and Gretel" can be considered a gross exaggeration of the "stranger" that harms children. After all, the moral of that story is don't talk to strangers so portraying a cannibalistic witch as a stranger does an excellent job at helping kids keep away from strangers. But as time progressed Walt Disney came along and they filtered the original versions of Fairy Tales into unrealistic, love stories that always have a happy ending. This probably occurred because of the contemporary belief that children should not be exposed to the harsher elements of fairy tales, because they are too young and innocent. And in time the whole society adopted this idea as their own.

The Walt Disney version of fairy tales that always consist of happy endings and never of one's dreams being shattered, can have a very negative effect on children. That is due to the fact that by sheltering children from the harsher elements that the original versions of fairy tales used to possess, one will also shelter them from the harsher elements of reality. And by not being exposed to these elements gradually, when they will have to face the harsh reality that does not always consist of happy endings, they will most likely feel like their life has taken a drastic turn for the worse. While the truth is that ups and downs are quite common during one's lifetime, but the conflicts are often solvable. Another reason why the Disney version of fairy tales can have a negative impact on the development of children is because of the "and they lived happily ever after" types of endings. These endings make children grow up with the idea that love brings great joy, which is absolutely true; however, it eliminates the fact a relationships also consists of a great amount of effort that must be put into it in order for things to work out.

Despite the fact that there is an ever increasing return to the dark elements in fairy tales, these violent modern versions of fairy tales have managed to keep in touch with the magical elements that are associated with fairy tales. Some of the factors that contribute to the maintenance of magical elements in fairy tales are the recurring archetypal villains such as the witches, and the existing battle between good and evil as the main theme in fairy tales.

Farenheit 451: Emotional Numbness

Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451. pages 66-90

"And he remembered thinking then that if she died, he was certain he wouldn't cry. For it would be the dying face of an unknown, a street face, a newspaper image, and it was suddenly so very wrong that he had begun to cry, not at death but at the thought of not crying at death, a silly empty man near a silly empty woman.." (Bradbury 74)

Bradbury states this quote while Montag is reflecting back to the time when his wife, Mildred took a plethora of sleeping pills which lead her to being a step away from dying.

The reason why this quote was chosen is because of its crucial significance in regards to the society where Montag resides. It's a society where people have lost touch with reality, and they are suffocated by the great amounts of technology and virtual reality that exist in their daily lives. Some examples of virtual reality include "the Family." "The Family" is a group of "people" that are constantly present in their lives, and Mildred pays more attention to them than to her own husband.

Another object that plays a major role in separating Montag and Mildred not only physically, but also emotionally, is the three walls which are located between them in their bedroom, and encircle "The Family." Because of these walls, Montag and Mildred have a permanent feeling of emptiness in their lives; the type of emptiness that can only be filled by experiencing a real human connection. That is because when such a connection is experienced, not only are two people united by their interests, but their differences also begin to fade away as they grow closer together. Their issues begin to seem less catastrophic, and the ability to find joy in the simple things in life flourishes. It is because of the absence of such a relationship that Montag fails to feel sad at the thought of his wife passing away; because to him she is nothing more than just another human being whom he has no emotional connection to.

The author's intention when writing this quote is to show how virtual reality has a tremendous impact in the characters daily lives. When one thinks about it, the word itself virtual reality is an oxymoron, because something can either be virtual or real, but the two elements cannot coexist. Therefore, because they cannot coexist in theory, they cannot coexist in a person's mind either, since they contradict each other. This is why many times, when it comes to video games or anything that resembles reality up to every minor detail, people get so involved in them and react to every event in that game as if I'd be happening them in real life. And such a person often has a tendency to forget when something is not real, which directly affects everything in their life that is real, such as their friends and family.