While reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, I couldn’t help but notice a parallel to Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. In chapter 9 it is mentioned that some books are forbidden, which reminded me of the main conflict in Fahrenheit 451 which was the pursuit of books and knowledge in a society where they are outlawed. However, what stood out to me most was two specifically works mentioned in both stories, the Bible and Shakespeare. This leaves one to wonder, why would such common books today be such important literature to burn and ban? These are books that most everyone has come in contact with or at least heard of so, what makes them so dangerous? The answer is that these books lead people to think for themselves, analyze the author, and finding new ways of thinking and understanding the world around them. Both literatures can be left to the reader's interpretation and many people will read them differently. In a perfect society, a simple book could destroy the whole order of things by causing multiple ways of thought. This exemplifies the power a book can hold, to make a society cower, not because they hold any physical ability but because they contain enormous thoughts. Thoughts that are written allows for more private and insightful topics to be discussed to a broad audience.
-Jenée Turner
Testing testing. Will this post??
ReplyDeleteI read Night last year, so I cannot relate to the similarities you found between Huxley's novel and Fahrenheit 451, but I do like your thoughts here. I think that many people would find these thought-provoking pieces of literature frightening, but I find it exciting and fascinating that so many people can have so many different views and opinions. The opposite, however, would frighten me. Huxley's "Brave New World" is not one that I would want to live in.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Brave New World does a good job in displaying how much power books have. Although, I think that there are even more reasons for Shakespeare and The Bible to have been banned in BNW. An example would be, that the Bible serves as a threat to the state's power and authority. It could potentially give the citizens an alternative higher entity that would seem superior to the government.
ReplyDelete