The ability to fit into a society without a hitch is not a talent that many possess. Strict moral codes and rules of conduct are often characteristics of dystopias. These restrictions can chafe and irritate people, which in turn makes them question the source of their irritation. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury both feature main characters who were ostracized because of their curiosity and determination to change society. The change from an ordinary citizen to a not-so-typical person is one that influences the course of the novel by changing the main character.
John, no last name, is the well-read protagonist of Brave New World. Raised on a Native American reservation, he holds a strange mix of ideas. Worshipping both God, in the Christian sense, and other gods, such as Pookang, from various cultures, he is able to balance many ideas without conflict. Since he was young, John has been exposed to a multicultural society. This background was strengthened when he was exposed to Shakespeare, a writer who influenced him dramatically.
His home life was never great. A drunk for a mother and no friends to speak of, you can safely say that he was alone from the beginning. Unfortunately for John, his fair skin color, blue eyes, and worthless whorish mother set him apart from the first society he was placed in. John’s curiosity guided his education. With the literature he found a friend and a teacher wrapped into one.
John, or Mr. Savage to the second dystopian civilization he ended up in, was unique in the second society he visited. The place where he was raised was considered strange, barbaric, and yet funny by the brainwashed citizens of the second society. This place believed that too much knowledge was bad, and everyone would be happier if they only knew, and were exposed to, that individuality was a bad thing. This had been engrained by their culture since they were in test-tubes as babies.
This fear of individuality led to dread at the prospect of one person causing change or going against the grain. John challenged the ideas by telling people different ways to think about a subject. For example, he chose to talk about Shakespeare’s thoughts on nobility. This contrasts directly with the society’s idea the promiscuous behavior was the best course of action. He ended up paying dearly for his opposition. The people drove him into despair because they didn’t want to fix themselves or change according to his beliefs. Harshly crushing his hope for an alteration in that culture, he hanged himself, ending the novel with no hope for possible transformation of the society.
Guy Montag is the main character and protagonist of Fahrenheit 451. He led a fairly normal life with a wife, house, and job, until meeting a girls who makes him question the life he has been leading. This story also features literature as an important aspect, a guiding and character-changing force. Inquiries about the past and statements about why life is the way it is pepper their conversations. They get on the topic of books, which she encourages him to read. This goes contrary to what Montag does for a living, which is burning any books found in his city. As he starts to question, the people around him grow more distant and hostile. Guy forces his wife, Mildred, and her friends to listen to a poem. Done in an attempt to open their eyes to literature, this backfires and none of the women even care or listen, let alone comprehend. His wife turns him into the police for possession of books and his boss investigates him. He looses everything and it makes him realize that anything worth this much trouble is extraordinary.
In the end he escapes from the controlling society to a type of literary commune. All the people live together and each has a book memorized in case the opportunity arises for them to reintroduce the idea of history, books, and education back into their original society.
The two protagonists have very different backgrounds, but are united in the fact that questions refashions their lives and novels. The strength of the characters is shown by their attempt to change their society and lives. Guy shows other characters a poem and tries to talk to them about it. John tries to throw out a pill that brings so much satisfaction that it prevents them from wanting anything else.
The protagonist is the character the book follows. If the main character alters his or her ideas or actions, this will lead to a change in the plot of the book. A very common force that creates change is curiosity, which leads to questions. Questions are a base for discomfort, if one does not know the answer.
Jade - good writing here, but make sure you compare the two characters. Meaning don't just set them side by side. Your set up is good - you have 1) John, 2) Montag, and then you need a 3) section where you compare/contrast them. Or, you could begin this with the Montag section you just need a transitional word or phrase to begin that section (LIKEWISE or IN CONTRAST, or THIS RELATES TO, etc). Perhaps you could also do this comparison in the conclusion.
ReplyDeleteBesides this, the set-up is great and you overall of both books is well done.