"Fahrenheit
451" and "1984"
The “Fahrenheit
451” by Ray Bradbury and “1984” by George Orwell are the masterpieces of antiutopia devoted to
the phenomenon of totalitarianism. They
were published at almost the same time, when one totalitarian state had
collapsed but another still existed. Thus in spite of using fantasy stories, both novels were allusions on
the terrific and bitter experience of the really existed regimes . Both compositions
were included into the gold fund of antiutopias and films were made after these
novels. Let us see how the authors ,
managed to frame their warnings in words and images.
The “Fahrenheit 451” and “1984” both tell us stories
of a man who lives in future and works for a public agency. In the first case
it is a “fireman” Guy Montag and in the second Winston Smith. At first they sincerely obey their duties in
favor of their societies. The society of Montag is the one where reading and
keeping books is forbidden. The fire brigades seek for books all over country
and burn them right on the spot. Fahrenheit 451 is exactly the temperature of
paper inflammation. Books produce
thoughts and emotions which provoke anxiety and conflicts that is why they are
to be destroyed and their owners condemned. The main sources of information and
means of communication are TV and pictures. Simultaneously, Smith works for the
Ministry of Truth of Oceania, a great power lead by the Big Brother and the
Party. Everybody is obliged to love the Leader and to believe in the Party and
everything they say. Those who are not faithful enough are criminals and should
be prosecuted. The most terrible crime is a thoughtcrime which demands only
capital punishment. The Ministry which
Winston works for falsifies even its own yesterday's newspapers. We see that
both men belong to the countries where the most banned things are critical
thinking and personal individuality.
Once
upon women appear in the life of each character. They make Montag and Smith
feel emotional splashes and have doubts in dominating doctrines. Smith falls in
love with Julia and Montag makes friends with Klarissa. And in the end both men
become criminals themselves according to their countries’ laws. The former man
dates with a woman and joins the conspiracy against the government and the
latter becomes a book-reader. These activities are strictly forbidden.
But totalitarian societies distinguish
themselves by encouraging snitching even on the intimate people. Montag’s wife
informes his command on his “crimes” and
Winston and Julia are betrayed by their landlord. The theme of betrayal is
central in both stories to tell us that all dictatorships ground on the divide
and rule strategy and make their citizens each other’s enemies. There is no
privacy under such regimes which try to control even the innermost.
The further
fates of Montag and Smith are contrastly different. On one hand, the former
fireman burns his commander and escapes to the backwoods, where other exiles who
do not obey the repressive laws live. This alternative community’s lifestyle is
close to the nature, free from consumerism, hard-heartedness and stupidity of
the official culture. On the other hand, the secret police of Oceania tortures
Winston Smith and breaks him down so that he rejects his views, his girlfriend
and becomes a typical dull citizen loyal to the Party and the Big Brother.
Both stories
have similar plots but completely contrasting
endings. In spite of that the message is the same: totalitarianism cannot be humane or ”necessary” for a noble goal – it should be eliminated
as a whole and the true human life is
when people develop their knowledge, experience frank emotions and live in
harmony with nature.
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