The Human Experience In 1984 And Fahrenheit 451

The Human Experience. What is it? The way in which I interpret the experience of life is that we all have our own individual experience. We can look at texts, films or listen to music and relate our experience to the composers of these works, but in the end, it is how we interpret our own experience and our own emotions that define us as human. In exploring the Human Experience, I hereby present this speech transcript and a corresponding visual presentation in which the speech supports. This term we were to read George Orwell’s 1984 text. Consequently, I chose my related material as Fahrenheit 451, composed by Ray Bradbury. 1984 is a murky dystopian story, set in the totalitarian ruled country of Oceania. It reveals a demeaning and soggy society overruled by a controlling and selfish Party. It would be from this that the themes of Power and Control, the search for Independence and Identity and Technology will be explored. Similarly, Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, is also a dystopian story ruled by powerful and controlling people however rather than the book being written through the eyes of the constituents in society, it is written through the eyes of one of the rulers presenting a different view. Also, like 1984, the themes of Power and Control, Technology and the Search for Identity through rebellious actions will be explored.

Looking at the first page of the visual presentation, a cross is visible. This cross represents the rebelling mind of Guy Montag in Fahrenheit 451. As well known in the society depicted in Fahrenheit 451, books are illegal, and the fire department are used to set the books alight and burn them rather than actually put fires out. It is when Guy is at an old ladies house about to set her books alight he discovers the bible. He picks up the bible and hides it away in his jacket hurriedly so that no one would see what happened. This is rather ironic as the person who is known for and does, set books alight just stole and kept one so that it wouldn’t get burnt. In the society of Fahrenheit 451 Rebellion is necessary if the truth of society is to be fully understood. Education is minimal, so if a person feels driven to discover new information, they must question the law and actively pursue it. In Fahrenheit 451, the apparent rebel is Montag. He was inspired by Clarisse to seek the truth by asking him important questions that no person in society typically feels he should answer. The distinction between Montag and Clarisse is that she did not go against the justice system to find her answers even though she challenged society. Montag did. 'You're not like the others. I've seen a few; I know. When I talk, you look at me. When I said something about the moon, you looked at the moon, last night. The others would never do that.' The use of anaphora in this line highlights the differences that Guy possesses when compared to the rest of society by Clarisse. He stole a book from a building, and he resisted arrest, killed the fire chief, and fled the city when he was captured. He joined a whole group of rebels too. They were part of a group throughout the world that had memorised entire books or significant transcripts individually. They are eventually going to rewrite books together that represented important times in history. In Fahrenheit 451, the optimism and resolution that arises revolves around the rebellious actions required. When no dystopian society individual wanted to revolt against values and rules, the story would be utterly hopeless and lost. The typical insurgent brings to a society only confusion and trouble. However, the rebels are the society's heroes in Fahrenheit 451. Coinciding with the rebelling nature of Guy Montag in Fahrenheit 451, Winston Smith a protagonist in 1984, is also rebelling against the law or in this case the Party. In the depicted society of 1984, it is set so that everyone is conformed. There is to be no individuality and whatever the party says needs to happen, happens. This is followed by everyone, except for Winston however. He disagrees with the party and their totalitarian views and actions. We as readers, become aware of this early on in the story when Winston buys a diary to write down his thoughts. “He had given a quick glance up and down the street and then had slipped inside and bought the book for two dollars fifty. At the time he was not conscious of wanting it for any particular purpose. He had carried it guiltily home in his briefcase. Even with nothing written in it, it was a compromising possession.” This is of course not warranted by the Party. Winston begins to write down his thoughts and views out of view of the telescreen meaning no one is aware of the current happenings. The theme being explored here is that of the search for individuality. Winston truly wants to bring down the government such that no one is conformed. He disagrees with the party and so he rebels against them and their rules so that he is ‘free’. In our own world, we rebel against the law and our rules. By the government’s standard, it may not be right but that is what makes up our human experience; individuality like no other.

The Party depicted in 1984 is that of a totalitarian one. It strives for power and control over all of the constituents it rules over. The reliability of memory is central to a utopian society; however, the unreliability of memory is central to a dystopian society, such as 1984, and is critical to the survival of Big Brother. In order to restrain and restrict the memory of the constituents, the party orders people to destroy all records of their lives as well as photographs and documents through a “memory hole”. As Orwell says, “Actually he was not used to writing by hand. Apart from very shorts notes, it was usual to dictate everything into a speakwrite which was, of course, impossible for his present purpose.” In this, Orwell explores the unreliability of memory using Winston’s memory and the past as the catalyst for the control and destruction by destroying documentation and records of the past as well as the present. The party seeks to control everything; the past, present and the future. Without memory, the constituents of 1984 cannot know the past. “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” The paradox in this line is an important example of the Party’s technique of using false history to break down the psychological independence of its constituents. Since there is no memory, the party can control history. Hence, people are willing to accept and believe anything the party says which is critical to the survival of Big Brother. Without documents and records of the past, the party is able to manipulate and transform the minds of the constituents in the depicted 1984 society into believing anything. This coincides with a quote about “2+2=4 but if the party said 2+2=5 it would then be believed that it does equal 5.” The theme being explored within this paragraph is that of control and power which is used to make memory unreliable. Memory itself is reliable, yet, what is being explored is, what if memory is taken away? Then how reliable is it? In our own world, we are told what is right and what is wrong. We consequently believe also that 2+2=4 because we are told so. We believe that a piece of plastic holds value because we are told it does, yet, we still have memory. We still have documents and records of the past. So yes, whilst memory was removed in 1984 and whatever the constituents are told they believe, to some degree so do we. It is then that through this, it is hence related to the human experience because even though we have memory, even in our right minds, it is not necessarily reliable. Both page 3 and page 4 are represented in this paragraph, with reference to the memory hole on page 3 and the chopped-up brain representing control and the manipulation of the brains of the constituents. Also, the image of 2+2=5 and the puppet with the words “Total Control” is well represented within this paragraph.

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The use of technology coincides with the pursuit of Power and Control by the Party. Technology is used by the party to control and also manipulate the minds of the constituents of 1984. Pictured on page 5 in the visual presentation, is a big tv screen with a rather blanked faced person on the screen, peering through as if he is watching, and also a person sitting in the corner doing something which appears to be writing in a book. In fact, he is. That person sitting in the corner is Winston Smith, the guy mentioned earlier in his journey to rebel against the party by writing in his diary. This picture encapsulates Winston writing in that aforementioned diary out of view of the ‘Telescreen’. This Telescreen is used by the Party, or more specifically, Big Brother to watch over everyone and make sure they are staying in line with the rules surrounding society. Correspondingly, in Fahrenheit 451, technology is also used by the government to monitor and control the constituents in this society by way of electronic hounds which ponder and wander around the city on the trail of illegal books. A picture of the imagined hounds is pictured on page 5 as well. It appears to be that of an aggressive looking, high-tech robotic animal; something you imagine when thinking of dystopia. If a hound detects books that someone may be hiding it is ordered that their house and books are burnt. This relates to society today. Not in the sense that houses are burnt because there were books inside but rather to do with the police. If you are found to be in possession of an illegal item, often your house is raided, and you are arrested. This teaches us a valuable lesson. You are set rules to be followed, not to be pushed aside. If you do the wrong thing by the law, you may be punished for that. It is due to this that the representation of the law in today's world that it relates to the Human Experience.

In our own world today, we as humans are granted access to all kinds of information from all over the world. Through the use of the internet, books or any other source, it is possible to find answers to any question that may come to mind at any time. While this is all good and well and we all take this for granted, think, what if this was taken away? How would we search for the nearest restaurant at 3 in the morning? Or look up how to make a particular food dish on YouTube? All this leads up to the theme of censorship. Many writers have been using this theme in their texts for long periods of time, like so, Author Ray Bradbury does so also in Fahrenheit 451. Seen on page 6 and 7 of the visual representation are all symbolic images of censoring material explored. Page 6 shows a burnt picture of the book ‘Fahrenheit 451’. This is to represent the burning that the whole book revolves around. Supporting that, are the matches and the number 451 written in charcoal that also supports the burning and the way in which things were censored. This was further explored on page 7 with an image in which a face is covered so that everything is censored as well as a flame symbolising how things were censored in Fahrenheit 451, which was by burning them. Censoring information was a way of controlling how people thought and went on through life. In Fahrenheit 451, books were burnt by firefighters as a way of censoring the information being taken in by the constituents. Guy Montag, the main character, is a fireman whose job is to destroy people's libraries that have acquired such banned books. Montag refers to the list of millions of banned books hanging in the firehouse where he works, implying that there are few, if any, books allowed. Throughout the novel, there are also several scenes where the reader sees Montag or the other firemen setting fire in people's houses to piles of books. These books have been censored, and the knowledge contained in them, and are burned to prevent anyone else from reading them. Books would burn at a specific temperature; 451 degrees hence the name Fahrenheit 451. Furthermore, exploring the theme of censorship, Orwell’s 1984 also explored the theme of censorship. In 1984, censorship was present in every aspect of the overruled society. The government started with changing the language of the constituents. With their plan to conform society and turn them into puppets, the Party came up with a language that suits Ingsoc perfectly. All words which represent and mention memories of the past world order will no longer be known. Eventually, there won’t be words to name emotions. This is so that the party has control of how people interact which doesn’t affect the totalitarian government. Furthermore, the Party also has a way to control and censor people’s thoughts. If the Party suspects that a constituent is thinking illegally, it is considered thought crime and is very punishable. From this, the party is able to manipulate and control the constituents into censored thinking from scaring them.

From exploring these two texts and interpreting the Human Experience and relating it to today’s society, it is only fair to say that, I can only interpret my own meaning of the Human Experience and so I can only walk in my shoes but competently look at everyone else’s footsteps.