Published just four years apart, with 1984 in 1949 and Fahrenheit 451 in 1953, Ray Bradbury and George Orwell shared many ideas about how a dystopian society may function. Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 show a number of similarities and some differences based on Orwell and Bradbury’s ideas, which the reader can easily point out while reading each novel. Over 50 years later, one may observe the two side-by-side and identify the parallels between them, including everything from character development to plot structure. Some even find it hard to believe that Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, published years after 1984, took no inspiration from Orwell. Each book contains a daring protagonist, an equally daring counterpart, an oppressive government, and an
…show more content…
Montag and Winston each serve as the protagonists of their respective stories, and they each at the beginning of their stories work as low-ranking officials within the very governments they come to despise. Each of them has an experience that facilitates their questioning of societal norms; Montag meets Clarisse and she promptly dies a mysterious death, and Winston notices Julia in the Ministry of Truth and reads her “I love you.” note to him. They each search for purpose in their lives through other means besides what society expects of them; Montag through literature and Winston through his personal rebellion against the Party and Big Brother. Lastly, they each face a major obstacle that either reinforces or disproves their actions throughout the novel; Montag kills Beatty and runs away from the city, whereas Winston and Julia are caught by the Thought Police and tortured in the Ministry of …show more content…
Although no one will ever know whether or not Ray Bradbury took inspiration from George Orwell, such a thing is definitely plausible after drawing parallels between the two novels. These two books have permanently defined themselves as classics worth studying, especially due to their groundbreaking publication as two of the first (and most popular) dystopian novels ever written. Comparable novels published in more recent years include The Hunger Games, Divergent, and The City of Ember, however scholars often agree that Bradbury and Orwell “did it best”. 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 both laid the foundation for all of the aforementioned novels of the dystopian genre, as well as the many more surely yet to
Montag and Winston each serve as the protagonists of their respective stories, and they each at the beginning of their stories work as low-ranking officials within the very governments they come to despise. Each of them has an experience that facilitates their questioning of societal norms; Montag meets Clarisse and she promptly dies a mysterious death, and Winston notices Julia in the Ministry of Truth and reads her “I love you.” note to him. They each search for purpose in their lives through other means besides what society expects of them; Montag through literature and Winston through his personal rebellion against the Party and Big Brother. Lastly, they each face a major obstacle that either reinforces or disproves their actions throughout the novel; Montag kills Beatty and runs away from the city, whereas Winston and Julia are caught by the Thought Police and tortured in the Ministry of …show more content…
Although no one will ever know whether or not Ray Bradbury took inspiration from George Orwell, such a thing is definitely plausible after drawing parallels between the two novels. These two books have permanently defined themselves as classics worth studying, especially due to their groundbreaking publication as two of the first (and most popular) dystopian novels ever written. Comparable novels published in more recent years include The Hunger Games, Divergent, and The City of Ember, however scholars often agree that Bradbury and Orwell “did it best”. 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 both laid the foundation for all of the aforementioned novels of the dystopian genre, as well as the many more surely yet to