Fahrenheit 451 Research Paper

Michael Karish
Mr. Ganchow
AP Prep English
Period: 5
15 August 2014
Possible Existence of a Dystopian Future Fahrenheit 451, a novel by Ray Bradbury, presents an apocalyptic future that is centered on an immensely powerful government whose citizens live without freedom of speech, literature, the right to question authority, and the resources they need to be educated. This formidable future exposed in Fahrenheit 451 might one day exist, because there are some countries such as Cuba and North Korea that already have really strong governments that are taking rights away from their citizens, and preventing them from getting knowledge and accurate news. In Fahrenheit 451 it is against the law to read a book because books are a source for ideas
and knowledge. In the book, if you are caught reading, your house will be set on fire ironically by the firemen to burn all your books, and then you will be sent to the asylum.. Knowledge gained from books and the internet makes people discontent with their lives, and makes them come up with ideas for change. Guy Montag, a “fireman”, is the main character in the book. Through his missions as a fireman, including the burning of a woman with her books, he was disturbed and he wondered why books meant so much to people. Out of curiosity, he read a few books secretly and realized why books were important to the people whose books he burned. The books were a source of knowledge and learning those people would never get otherwise. He had an idea to spread knowledge by having people read books, and his plan got around among a handful of people, but eventually the government found out. The government sent everyone possible after him, because if the public heard about the value of books and became more knowledgeable they would all be discontent and question what they would realize to be a bad government. While there is no other country that burns books as in Fahrenheit 451, North Korea does things with same goal of preventing their citizens from acquiring knowledge and coming up with ideas that are a threat to the government As with the government in Fahrenheit 451, the government of North Korea needs its citizens to be uneducated so they do not realize how bad their lives are and want to change the government to make it better. In North Korea, to keep its citizens oblivious, according to the article “Internet in North Korea: everything you need to know” by Matthew Sparkes, only important and trusted students, and high ranked members of the Kim Regime have the Internet. Less powerful people have to get government approval to purchase a computer, very few are approved, and a computer typically costs “three months average salary” (Sparkes, 1). The North Korean internet service known as the Kwangmyong has only “1,000 to 5,000 websites” (Sparkes 1) that all have to be approved by North Korea. The only people that are receiving non-biased information are those using the real Internet, which is a very small minority. North Koreans receive biased information from the Kwangmyong trust the information, and in turn trust the government. Similar to the people in Fahrenheit 451, the people of North Korea are seeing the world through the government’s eyes and are not receiving any reliable information to educate themselves.
Like the government in Fahrenheit 451, the government of Cuba has to persuade through the press and media for its citizens to have confidence in their government.
If citizens do not have confidence in their government, they are going to want to educate themselves and change their government, which would in the process threaten the existing government. When the citizens are content, the government has more control over the people. Both Cuban and Farenheit 451 societies have presses that show their country as amazing and excellent. For example, according to the article “Cuba’s Official Press: Triumphalism, Blacklisting, and Censorship” by Yoani Sanchez the Cuban Department of Revolutionary Orientation is made up 100% of loyal members of the Cuban Communist Party whose job is to follow journalists to make sure that they speak positively of Cuba in their articles, and to write with an extreme bias called triumphalism to make it seem like “everything is perfect” (Sanchez 1). They are made to write positively about certain aspects of Cuba. In Fahrenheit 451, when the government knew Montag had escaped into the forest, but to make the mission to kill Montag seem successful, the government killed a random innocent man live on the parlor screens in every home. In the book, the press also speaks highly about the fun parks and all the car races, but does not discuss the tragic car crashes, such as the accident in which a car hit and killed Clarisse, a protagonist who inspired Montag to ask
questions.
A terrible dystopic future might one day exist. There are many similarities between a few countries now and the calamitous Fahrenheit 451 future. In both Cuba and Farenheit 451, the press makes the country seem flawless, which helps the country maintain its powerful hold on its citizens. Also in North Korea and Fahrenheit 451 both governments make it impossible for any normal person to get any reliable information. In North Korea, only important students and those in the Kim Regime can get dependable information. In Fahrenheit 451 illegal books are the only way to get knowledge. If citizens in Farenheit 451 cannot get a book, or citizens in North Korea cannot get the real Internet, they are stuck with biased information. Since some countries now have complete control over their citizens, it is quite possible that one day there might be a disastrous future to the extent of the society in Fahrenheit 451.

Work Cited
Sparkes, Matthew. "Internet in North Korea: Everything You Need to Know." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 23 Dec. 2014. Web. 11 Aug. 2015.
Sanchez, Yoani. "Cuba's Official Press: Triumphalism, Blacklisting and Censorship." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 26 Aug. 2014. Web. 17 Aug. 2015.