Comparison of Characters between Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury are novels that have similarities through the entire book. From what I can tell they do not take place in the present, is more towards the future. The similarities that I found is reading books was not allowed anymore, media not allowing beauty or happiness, and being an outcast from the rest of society base on their beliefs. Both authors are saying if a society attempts to create a perfect state by controlling all the citizen that live there, the results would be society would go downhill and people behavior will change.

Both novels are like a warning that in a future where people are not being controlled by humans. They are most likely being controlled by machines, people don’t put value in relationship between people like it was back before technology actually advance, and the outlaw of people thinking.

Both novels banned books was common and people were not allowed to questioned that law. In the novel Brave New World, reading is something all social classes are not allowed to read since they are born. In the first few pages of the book the group of infants were given some books but the children were exposed to a siren when they wanted to get a book. By using this method, it prevented the children to wanting to get books and made then scream and run away from the books. According to the Director he says, “Books and loud noises... already in the infant mind these couples are compromisingly linked; and after two hundred repetitions of the same or a similar lesson would be wedded indissoluble. What man has joined, nature is powerless to put asunder” (Huxley 30). The reasoning behind this condition against reading in Brave New World is the society couldn’t afford people wasting people time over reading books, if people read books they might cause one mid to rebel against all the laws. They do not want to risk anything that may cause this so the only option is to ban all books for everyone. Today people don’t even what to read anything. Most of the people are always lock into their phone not paying attention to the real world.

In Fahrenheit 451, the outlaw of reading is taken to another level. In the novel, the purpose of the firefighters is to start them. Reading books in the society is not allowed and if someone is suspected to own a book the firefighters would be send to that person house and start a fire by destroying the books as well as the person home. “They pumped the cold fluid from the numerated 451 tanks strapped to their shoulders. They coated each book, they pumped rooms full of it... the whole house is going up'' (Bradbury ). Even though books are banned in both societies and it has to create a perfect place by eliminating any thinking, life does not have any excitement, life gets boring. By not listening to their own ideas, the lack of thought, or exchanging ideas with other people, they have become like robots by just following what they are being told, or what they are watching in the television.

Both novels go to an extent to try to keep society works by maintaining their people as young. In Brave New World, the people have soma or also known as the feelies. People are never alone, they are determined to like their jobs and their life, since they don’t have to do much since life is easy for them. Soma is used in Brave New World as a drug that does not have any side effects, just used to put the people in a good mood. Mustapha Mond says the reason why people use soma, “Calm your anger, to reconcile you to your enemies, to make you patient and long-suffering... anybody can be virtuous now” (Huxley ). The feelies is just another concept of the novel is presenting to just simply for the enjoyment of the people. People actually experience the movie they were watching, its like if it was actually happening in reality since they were able to smell, touch and feel. The structure of their life is made so they are never alone. Mond even said, “But people never are alone... we make them hate solitude; and we arrange their lives so it's almost impossible for them to ever have it” (Huxley ). Everyone in all social class are determine to like what they are doing, this maintains everything to be steady because everyone does what they are told and they do not complain. Mond says, “They like their work... It's light, it's childishly simple. No strain on the mind or the muscles. Seven and a half hours of mild, exhausting labor, and the Soma ration and games and unrestricted copulation and the feelies. What more can they ask for?” (Huxley ). Huxley argues that the fact that aa controlled state by using soma, replaces what people actually feel and their expressions. The drug that is being use may sound as a good thing but the drug is crushing emotions which is what make a man/woman a human. Life is just made easy for them and people would not to worry about anything. Mond says: “There isn't any need for a civilized man to bear anything that's seriously unpleasant” (Huxley ).

In Fahrenheit 451, people actually have a television wall inside the house. From Mildred, we learn the purpose of the television wall. Mildred tells Guy Montag, “It's really fun. It'll be even more fun when we can afford to have the fourth wall installed... it will be just like this room wasn't ours at all, but all kinds of exotic people's rooms” (Bradbury 18). As far as people well-being, Montag finds Mildred in the bed overdosed, “They had this machine. They had two machines, really. One of them slid down into your stomach like a black cobra down an echoing well looking for all the old water and the old time gathered there. It drank up the green matter that flowed to the top in a slow boil” (Bradbury 12). People do not have any privacy, the machines go into the body and searches the stomach. In the rea world the United States government is doing the same thing by tracking the people through their phones, and the internet. People don’t have privacy anymore, if this continues to happen towards the future the privacy of people will be destroyed.

In Brave New World, there is different character that are alone at different times. Bernard Marx is shown as an outcast, he thinks a little more than the average man in that society. Bernard and his friend Helmholtz Watson are two men who are different because they actually think for themselves than being a robot like the rest of the people. Bernard is smaller than the rest and has a hard time getting woman and get people from the lower social class to follow what he is saying. A woman said about Bernard, “They say somebody made a mistake when he was still in the bottle - thought he was a Gamma and put alcohol in his blood-surrogate. That's why he's so stunted” (Huxley ). When Bernard gains guardship over John he is anything but an outcast, he can finally in his life get with any woman that he wants and he even believe that he has the ability to do anything. When things start going south again, and Bernard does not have control over John he goes back to being an outcast. The anther is John the savage, he never fit in the reservation while he was living there. And every time there was an activity he will be look down. “He went with the others... suddenly one of the men stepped forward, caught him by the arm, and pulled him out of the ranks... 'Not for you, white-hair!” (Huxley ). Even though he gets accepted for a while when entering the society, he returns to his old self being lonely. Huxley is saying in a society there will always be people who will be outcast and follow their own decision to live their own life.

In Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag is a loner. Yes he is a firefighter but he secretly steals books and the more books he still he stops to burn them. He does not tell anyone not even his wife because he will be turn in to the police. Eventually Guy’s secrete is discovered and the police are chasing after him. He does escapes but he is alone after that. Another character that is an outcast us Clarisse because she confirms that she is an outcast. '”'m afraid of children my own age. They kill each other... I'm responsible. I was spanked when I needed it, years ago. And I do the shopping and house cleaning by hand” (Bradbury ). People her own age view her as an outcast. She stopes going to school because people are involved in sports.

Bradbury and Huxley both state that a perfect society can happen but can only be accepted when people stand together to actually accepts the differences amongst each other. 

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