1984 versus Fahrenheit 451 – a comparison
1984 was published by George Orwell, or Eric Blair, in 1948. Fahrenheit 451 was published in 1951 by Ray Bradbury. Both are works of dystopian fiction, though of a somewhat different nature. In this essay, I hope to illustrate the differences and similarities between the two novels.
One of the most glaring similarities, perhaps, is the character development arc. Both main characters, at the start, lead meaningless, bland lives; one day, a girl (or woman) appears, changing them forever; they rebel completely against their society, but eventually they calm down.
However, the character of Guy Montag (Fahrenheit 451) ultimately triumphs – he evades the government, finds peace in a community of like-minded people, and escapes destruction in the nuclear war. Winston Smith, on the other hand, fails and eventually submits to brainwashing.
While the theme of a government which alters history is present in both of said books, the alteration is much more in the foreground of 1984 than it is in Fahrenheit 451, and it is used extensively to indicate the nature of the regime itself.
This is shown in the way Orwell transitions from a war with Eurasia, changing suddenly to a war with Eastasia halfway through, to an ending of: “Oceania was at war with Eurasia: Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia”.
The role of Smith in the vast machine of the party is similar to that of the “Fireman” Guy Montag in that he frequently alters writing (as incineration is also a form of alteration) to suit the needs of those in power. However, the figures IN power are fundamentally different.
For example, while both of the books involve war as a background, the nature of war in 1984 is fundamentally different from that of Fahrenheit 451, as Orwell’s concept of war is that of a tool for the perpetuation of scarcity and paranoia, while Bradbury’s is all-out total annihilation.
Furthermore, the government in 1984 relies largely on brainwashing and totalitarian policies that involve mass surveillance and spies, with organisations, namely the Spies and the Youth League, similar to the Hitler Youth: “’You’re a traitor!’ yelled the boy”. In short, the Party cares for the thought, not the act.
In contrast, Bradbury’s government keeps tabs on all those who deviate from the majority, but does not care too much about thoughts of rebellion. It prefers to use television to numb the minds of the population and it will gladly burn the opposition to reach this goal, be they books or humans.
In short, both societies are desensitised, with governments that control the people through the control of the flow of information and a system whereby deviants are simply marked down and eliminated. However, the novels are noticeably different on a fine level, from the writer’s perspective to the book’s atmosphere.
Apart from anything else, 1984 can also be considered a sort of satirical romance, whereas Fahrenheit 451 has no real element of romance whatsoever. It involves an inner conflict and occasionally uses Montag’s wife as a McGuffin, while in 1984 Julia’s relationship is the act of rebellion in itself.
The setting is in fact post-nuclear war for both books (“We’ve started and won two atomic wars since 2022”, “when the atom bomb was dropped on Coventry”), though of course the effects these wars have had on the respective settings of both books is very different.
For example, in Fahrenheit 451, the USA has emerged from at least two wars victorious and eventually embroils itself in another one, causing the obliteration of at least one of its cities (“City looks like a heap of baking powder”).
On the contrary, in 1984 the nuclear war has stopped any further use of atomic weapons and in fact has ensured the dictatorships will remain stable forever. The idea behind this is a possible reference to the theory of mutually-assured destruction, or MAD for short.
The focus, it is to be noted, of Fahrenheit 451 is that of a silent revolution going on outside the vision of the government, whereas in 1984 it is that of a depressed world where there is no ‘outside the vision of the government’, because the government sees and knows all.
As well as this, there is the character of O’brien, seen as an intelligent, powerful and utterly invincible zealot, who is seen as the primary antagonist of the novel, contrasted with Beatty, a disillusioned but ultimately expendable character, killed off by Montag at the end of the book.
The government, although occasionally referred to in either novel, remains largely a mystery in Fahrenheit 451, but in 1984 its structure is well-explained and understood; in fact, the inner workings of Smith’s rulers is key to the plot of the book.
In conclusion, I will re-state my earlier point that the two books have many fine, inconspicuous differences that nonetheless very much separate them under close examination. Therefore, one can safely say they are very different novels while at the same time putting them in the same category.
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I was surprised at how late the date given in the story was, coenidsring how long ago it was written it makes sense maybe that they would push the date back in order for it to still have a punch at the end. The short story was bleak and fleeting but powerful: all the humans gone, their creations still continue to function, but eventually time and the elements will wipe out any trace of them. Audiences would have to read the final date as in the future or the story loses a lot of its drama. If the date is in the past then of course the threatening idea could never come to fruition in the eyes of the reader. It would come across as more of a re-imagined history than a what-if . Though the mechanized technology in the story has inevitably become dated one now thinks of everything super-futuristic in terms of holographic images and advanced electronics the end date in the future still makes the story chilling.
fahrenheit was published in 1953, not 51, in 51 Bradbury published his short story the “Pedastrian” which shares similarities to 451.