Communism And Fahrenheit 451

¨...this religion of immoralism will more deeply wound and damage mankind than any conceivable economic or political system¨ (McCarthy 1). Both Fahrenheit 451 and Senator Joseph R. McCarthy´s speech ¨Enemies from Within¨ take place between 1950-1951. The 1950´s was a time of the Cold War when people feared communists, which inspired Fahrenheit 451 to be set in 2053 to predict what the future would look like. Bradbury created a visual for what society could turn out to be like if Communism took over and everyone was the same, controlled by government. The conflicts of fear, government control, and propaganda in Senator Joseph R. McCarthy´s speech ¨Enemies from Within¨ give rise to society and atmosphere created in Fahrenheit 451 because of the
terror of a potential communistic government and what society would be like as a result.
Examples of fear are used in both McCarthy´s speech and Fahrenheit 451 to help illustrate faults in government and society. In McCarthy´s speech, he states, ¨When a great democracy is destroyed, it will not be from enemies from without, but rather because of enemies from within¨ (McCarthy 2). McCarthy is referring to wealthy young men within the United States that were expected to turn to the Communist party. The Communist party was seen as traitors and determined to attack and demoralize society, and McCarthy wanted others to fear communists so that they would not let them take over. In Fahrenheit 451, Faber shows his fear of government when he says, ¨I feel alive for the first time in years...I feel I´ḿ doing what I should´ve done a lifetime ago. For a little while I´m not afraid. Maybe it´s because I´m doing the right thing at last¨ (Bradbury 125). Faber is referring to when he is helping Montag fulfill his plan of trying to save books and escaping the systems of society. This brings him relief because he never stood up for what he believed in for fear of what government/society would do to him if he did. In addition, Captain Beatty says, ¨A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon. Breach´s man´s mind who knows who might be the target of the well-read man?¨ (Bradbury 56). Government has used propaganda to make the citizens believe that books are bad, and can cause a negative impact on society. This is the government´s way of influencing society to all be the same and not think for themselves.
Another conflict present in Fahrenheit 451 and ¨Enemies from Within¨ that refers to a communistic government is government control.
In McCarthy´s speech, he states, ¨I further stated that I have in my possession the names of 57 Communists who are in the State Department at present¨ (McCarthy 3). This shows how the House Unamerican Activities Committee created a blacklist of suspected communists that were involved in the U.S. government. Government control is shown in Fahrenheit 451 when the woman who dies for her belief in the preservation of books says, ¨You can´t ever have my books¨, to which Captain Beatty replies, ¨You know the law¨ (Bradbury 35). The government in Fahrenheit 451 has banned books because they don´t want people gaining knowledge from them or being able to be independent/question government. Firemen have been hired to to burn these books in order to get rid of them and any knowledge that they hold. In addition, government in Fahrenheit 451 has mechanical hounds, ¨...now it was sleeping the evil out of itself...while a four inch hollow needle plunged down from the proboscis of the Hound to inject massive jolts of morphine or procaine¨ (Bradbury 22). The mechanical hounds are used to prevent society from owning books. It will inject drugs into anyone seen as a threat, having no emotion because it is preprogrammed to carry out specific duties. Its main purpose is to sniff out books and track down
people.
Propaganda is also used in both pieces to persuade people about communism and values.
In McCarthy´s speech, he persuades his audience to avoid communism when he says, ¨religion of immoralism¨ (McCarthy 1). Here, he is saying that if you have a system of morals or religion, that you will avoid communism at all costs. However, in Fahrenheit 451, Captain Beatty says, ¨ Established, 1790, to burn English-influenced books in the Colonies. First Fireman: Benjamin Franklin¨ (Bradbury 32). This shows how the government uses false information to try to explain to people not only the history of firemen, but also any other questionable aspect of their society. Finally, another example of propaganda in Fahrenheit 451 is when Granger says, ¨So they´re sniffing for a scapegoat to end things with a bang.¨ The possibility of not catching Montag and having society see the government fail would ruin their reputation, so they end up finding another pedestrian out roaming to capture and say it was
Montag.
Bradbury´s novel Fahrenheit 451 and Senator McCarthy´s speech ¨Enemies from Within¨ have similar concerns of communists taking over, and society failing as a result. Bradbury was inspired to write about what society would be like filled with fear of books, knowledge, and individuality due to a potential Communist government. McCarthy emphasize the anti-communistic beliefs of many at the time of the Cold War. Communists were believed to live by immoral standards with a lack of belief in god and love. Those with a lot of money were seen as more likely to become communists, as McCarthy reflected on the actions of the wealthy in our country. As a society, we encounter different beliefs presented to us by government which stem from different sets of morals and opinions. In the end, it is most important that we maintain a sense of freedom, knowledge, and individuality for us to function properly.