Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

 Author's Note: This is a themes essay discussing the themes of Fahrenheit 451, and it's similarities to 1984. The theme I chose to write about was government corruption, because both books have a lot of it.

What would it be like if you had no free will? The government tells you what to think and you have to listen, or you will die. The thought of not being able to think freely and express your opinion is a scary one, but this is a theme that occurs in Fahrenheit 451, along with 1984. Both books are dystopian views of our world, and both have predominant government corruption.

In Fahrenheit 451, books are outlawed and people are tricked into thinking they're smart. All people really want to do all day is watch their giant TV's, and firemen start fires rather than put them out. But the government also prevented creativity. Their television programs are pointless, similar to kids' shows like Dora the Explorer, where there are pauses to let you "interact" with it. They are only taught pointless facts in school, nothing useful. People participate in contests where they are rewarded for saying the capitols, and winning makes them feel smart. So reading becomes pointless without any understanding of text, and books become evil, so they are burned. Without any sort of fiction, there is no way a person could do something original and imaginative. In a way people are not allowed to be creative.

A similar theme happens in 1984. Books are also banned, and the ownership of one is punishable by death. People are told that whatever they do is a duty to the government, and everyone has to follow the rules. The government controls every single thing, including history, which was re-written to the way the government wanted it. In fact, the main character's job is to rewrite events that happened. Like when the leader, Big Brother, gives a speech, he edits it to make whatever he said true. Propaganda is so bad that nothing in the news is true, but people don't even notice this, and they believe what they hear. Also, people cannot express opinions or think anti-governmental thoughts, otherwise they are killed. As with Fahrenheit 451, people are pretty much told what to think, and creativity is non-existent.

These books may be very similar, but there are a few differences. One, is that in 1984, books are outlawed by the government and by law. In Fahrenheit 451, the people themselves banned the books, the government had no part in starting this. Another difference is that 1984 is set in the year 1984, and Fahrenheit 451 is set in an unnamed futuristic time period. Fahrenheit 451 is very similar to our society today, with the giant TVs and the fast cars. 1984 is quite different, with a lot of things exaggerated, like the level of propaganda and punishment. But despite these somewhat minor differences, they are both quite similar.

In both books, the governments are corrupted. Books are banned, as with creativity. People can't express their opinions, yet they are too brainwashed to know that their rights are gone. People are told that being normal is the only thing, and if you think bad thoughts or are different, you are likely to be killed. But what is scary about it is both books seem to be coming true. People have giant TVs and drive fast in cars, and propaganda does exist. It's not that hard to imagine our world becoming what it is like in both of these books, becoming a world we need to fear.