Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451, Term Paper Example

Visions and predictions of what the future may become have played a significant role in science fiction texts for a century or more. Two such authors that are distinctly known for establishing many of the common themes and motifs utilized within science fiction utopian texts are Ray Bradbury and Aldous Huxley. In Ray Bradbury’s seminal text “Fahrenheit 451,” the author takes a forward thinking look at man and his role in a future where technological advances take a turn for the worse. He takes many common modern themes like dogs being man’s best friend and the role of public servants and turns them on their head to question real worth of human life. Aldous Huxley, in his text “A Brave New World,” similarly takes concepts of modern society and progresses their evolution to present them in a future where social structures become out of control in that science and literature are discarded as useless. The authors incorporate characters that still embody many of the ideals of the modern word, or old world in their texts, to form a clearer understanding of the stark contrast between the world we know and the ones they have created. The following will take a deeper look and the two text and compare and contrast the similar themes, motifs, and literary tools used within each work.

Theme of Knowledge

In Fahrenheit 451 and Brave New World, the primary theme that is prevalent within both books centers on governmental control of society. This aspect of government control is most prevalent in the way information is controlled. While information is controlled in a much more aggressive way in the form of making books illegal and discarding history, the statement is one that cuts deep into the heart of mass culture today, the media and how misinformation is used to control the public. No method better demonstrates this use of controlling information than the emphasis both books make on limiting access to knowledge.

One reoccurring theme in both text is the control or the censorship of knowledge. In Fahrenheit 451, Captain Beatty speaks to the owner of the hidden library and says,  “’You know the law,’ said Beatty. ‘Where’s your common sense? None of those books agree with each other. You’ve been locked up here for years with a regular damned Tower of Babel’ “(Beatty, 35). The owner of the hidden library eventually sets herself on fire along with the books. The mentioning of the Tower of Babel alludes to biblical symbolism suggesting that there are other biblical allusions that potentially exits within the text as a whole. Another reference is made to the value of books in Fahrenheit 451 when Montag states” ‘And I thought about books. And for the first time I realized that a man was behind each one of the books’ “(Bradbury, 49). Here Montag attempts to explain the value of books as he realizes ever book is connected to the mind of the writer who wrote it. This presents the idea that books are much more than the words that form them. Montag’s revelation is further reinforced as a valuable plot element when he meets the keepers, and organization of people who memorize books (Wolfe, 8). He will eventually become one himself.

The theme of controlling knowledge in Brave New World is presented directly to the reader in the form of propaganda when Mustapha Mond is talking about the value of science within society. He states that, “it isn’t only art that’s incompatible with happiness; it’s also science. Science is dangerous; we have to keep it most carefully chained and muzzled” (Huxley, 231). The irony here is that Mustapha Mond is arguing the pursuit of science diminishes or eliminated the possibility for happiness but in reality the people of a Brave New World only have the illusion of happiness because they remain ignorant to the reality of their situations through the censorship of science and information. There are also aspects of the story that show science allows the utopian society to progress, but results in profitable lives for some while making life more difficult for others. The concept takes from the idea that ignorance is bliss. It can also be related to biblical themes such as the tree of knowledge being a forbidden fruit. This makes a statement about the place of knowledge and information is modern society as much as it does the society of Brave New World (Firchow, 7).

Theme of Love

The theme of love is depicted in both texts in their own unique ways contradictory to the way it’s viewed in modern society.  Love in Fahrenheit 451 is depicted in the form of marital unions between two spouses, similar to the way it is in the modern world, but when spouses die they are easily replaced, and it’s not difficult for spouses to leave one another. This can be seen in the book where Mildred reports her husband to the firemen after he entrusts her to keep his secret about the books. This reveals that while love does exist in the future world of Fahrenheit 451, it in no way is as strong or sincere as the concept of love shared in the modern real world. The way Bradbury represents love in his text also sheds light on some of the inadequacies of the true nature of love in modern society (Watt, 5).

Love in the Brave New World completely differs from that of Fahrenheit 451.  People in Huxley’s world find the concept of marriage humorous and identify the concept of raising a family as unconventional. Love is not often mentioned in the book and the only character to express any feelings of love towards another character is Savage  This is primarily due to the fact that Savage was raised on a reservation where marriage and monogamous relationships are considered the norm, but in Brave New World, . “everyone belongs to everyone.” In fact, this is a common phrase repeated throughout the text. It is considered standard to have sex with a different partners every night and children are encouraged to have “erotic play (Huxley 32). When Savage tells Lenina he is in love with her, she quickly undresses which infuriates him because he is used to more conservative courtship rituals (Huxley 194). This shows that in Brave New World and in Fahrenheit 451, love is viewed as a much less significant aspect of daily life (Mogen, 2).

Literary Tools

The defining literary tool used in both works is the use of allusion. This is a literary tool where the author indirectly and briefly references a place thing idea or person to imply deeper understanding or deeper relevance of meaning within their own work. Peter Firchow, in his text “The End of Utopia: A Study of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World,” makes reference to the used of allusion in Brave New World. The author notes that, the book is set up through the use of counterpoints where certain sections are gathered together with one another through strains of narratives that juxtaposes sections without any identifiable editorial comment but then the test slowly and gradually builds momentum, “climaxing in a crescendo that fuses snatches of Mond’s lecture, Lenina’s conversation with Fanny, Henry Foster’s with Benito Hoover, Bernard Marx’s resentful thoughts, and bits of hypnopaedic wisdom. The result is astonishing and far more effective in drawing us into the noisy and frantically joyless atmosphere of the new world state than pages of descriptive writing would have been” (Firchow, . The author claims that this is what makes the novel a remarkeable work and that through this allusion to other authors the reader is able to put the text in a better context. During these conversations the works of previous authors are mentioned as they relate to  Peter Sisario makes this same connection about the use of allusion in Farenhiet 451. The author notes that Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is more than just a readable and teachable short novel that generates much class-room discussion about the dangers of a mass culture…It is an excellent source for showing students the value of studying authors use of allusion in works of fiction.

The use of momentum and buildup mentioned by Firchov in Brave New World can also be seen in Fahrenheit 451in how the author utilizes specific language to attach the reader to a certain pace or time flow within the text. Firchov mentioned that the buildup is slow and gradual and then the pace of the work speeds up to reach a climax. The same occurs in Farenheit in the opening pages when Montag is attempting to call the emergency line in the hopes of saving Mildred. Bradbury writes,”the jet bombers going over, going over, going over, one two, one two, one two, six of them, nine of them, twelve of them, one and one and one and another and another and another, did all the screaming for him” (Bradbury, 11). The use of counting numbers sets up a cadence but also serves as a literary tool for building up a climactic results where the author is showing forces are building up for war.

Conclusion

In sum, the books have a similar use of structure in that they build up a vivid image of their worlds in the mind of the reader before going deep into the stories. Etiquette and the rules of the word are described, then the characters and their roles in the societies. The books also have their fair share of differences, which can be seen in how Fahrenheit 451 has a positive ending with the escape of Montag getting away from the society for the crimes he committed as he becomes an integral part in the movement to preserve books, specifically as the keeper of the Book of Ecclesiastes (Bradbury 145). On the other hand, in Brave New World the ending is not as light hearted. John Savage comes to the realization that he does not fit into the world and decides to hang himself. Both books present a future that is not too far off and one that could potentially become the state of affairs in society, but their narratives and characters develop in different ways.

Work Cited

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballatine Books, 1991.

Firchow, Peter Edgerly. The End of Utopia: A Study of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Bucknell University Press, 1984.

Huxley, Aldous. “Brave New World, 1931.” (1955).

Mogen, David. “Fahrenheit 451”. Ray Bradbury. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1986.

Sisario, Peter. “A Study of the Allusions in Bradbury’s” Fahrenheit 451″.” English Journal (1970): 201-212.

Watt, Donald. “Burning Bright ‘Fahrenheit 451’ as Symbolic Dystopia”. Ray Bradbury. New York: Taplinger Publishing Company, 1980.

Wolfe, Gary K. “Ray Bradbury”. Concise Dictionary of American Literary Biography, Vol 5. Detroit: Gale Research, 1989.