1984 and Fahrenheit 451

[wolverinewanaBE]

hello, i have read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and 1984 by George Orwell and i think thay are two books that share a common fact, "the government does not want the public to think on their own". in 1984 Big Brother has all written documents recreated by the ministry of truth to make it so if one of big brothers actions comes back to "bite him in the butt" there will be no proof that he did something wrong. in Fahrenheit 451 the government is controlling the thought of the public by having the fire dept. burning all the books(instead of putting out fires they start them!) that give the reader any emotion( that is what i understand of it)

if anyone has anything to add i would be grateful to hear your responses!

[Quillian]

I simply love F451 (that's Fahrenheit 451 for short). And yeah, you're right about totalitarian governments being like that.

I'll add more to this later...

[lghtrlov]

Yup Wolverine, got it in one! 1984 and F451 absolutely share a common theme. In fact, I suggest that people who read one of the books, read the other as well simply because they are complimentary works. (Personally, though, I preferred F451)

[mangamagna]

both governments want to restrict great works of literature that provoke thought, such as philosophies and freedom and all concepts similar to these, that may cause rebelion or even curiosity. Without great works of literature, then comes the obvious, control of language and history which narrows thinking to the most fundamental or basic level which is of physical needs and that of to serve the party or fullfill whatever purpose the government sees fit for you to pursue. Both also control the media to their own will and for their own purpose. Chocolate rations are supposedley up a day after they themselves said they were on shortage, making people believe everything was fine, and always getting better. The attempted escape by the main character in f451 (who's name i forgot since i read it like 2-3 yrs ago) is broadcasted by the news channel and they make it seem as if they killed and that therefore, the government is flawless.

[Reaper_ofall]

Yes, that was the commen theme for both. But in fact they do have slight differences. Such as 1984 attributes a more resistance is futile feeling, while Fahrenheit 451 (which, if you did not know, is the temperature at which paper burns) has a more open theme of there is a purpose.