Social Darwinism in Fahrenheit 451 - 2140 Words

Social Darwinism and Outcasting in Fahrenheit 451 A variety of themes are addressed in Fahrenheit 451, most of which are prevalent to our current situation. Because of this, the book was originally banned for sending the wrong political message and having offensive language. Although there is much irony and humor in the fact that a book warning about the implications of banning books was banned, that topic of discussion has been well over mentioned to the point where the political and social message that Ray Bradbury was trying to address through symbolism and parallelism between his fictional twenty fourth century dystopian society and our society during the time the book was written, Cold War America, is largely ignored. Through Ray†¦show more content†¦But every time he burnt himself up he sprang out of the ashes, he got himself born all over again. And it looks like we’re doing the same thing, over and over, but we’ve got one damn thing the phoenix never had. We know the damn silly thing we just did. We know all the damn silly things we’ve done for a thousand years and as long as we know that and always have it around where we can see it, someday we’ll stop making the goddamn funeral pyres and jumping in the middle of them. (Bradbury 163) Here, Granger relates the common phenomenon of â€Å"history repeats itself† to Montag, that although we know our mistakes we don’t stop them from recurring. Ultimately, the book does end with a storm of bombs destroying everything to symbolize the phoenix in which the society is burning itself and will be rebuilt from the ashes and this can be seen as both the death of the Dark Age and the rebirth of a new, enlightened society (Fahrenheit 451). However, although society has been reborn at the end of the novel through the â€Å"Book People†, because the outcasts understand the idea behind the natural cycle they also understand that another Dark Age will occur and when it does they will be ready for it (McNelly) The Phoenix is also used in the novel as a symbol in association with Captain Beatty, who has knowledge of the past and history of banning books. Because of his plethora of history knowledge Beatty uses this information to help questioning firemen such as Guy Montag toShow MoreRelatedRay Bradbury s Fahrenheit 451 Government Control And Fear1488 Words   |  6 Pagesauthors published his Science-Fiction novel, Fahrenheit 451. Fahrenheit 451 is about a Dystopian culture in which books are forbidden, and burned. Burning the books is a type of censorship, in which the citizens are only permitted to read books that have been preapproved by the government. The conflicts and concerns expressed in Senator Joseph R. McCarthy’s speech that give rise to the society and atmosphere created by Ray Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451 is government control and fear. In Senator McCarthy’s