“Knowledge is power”. The novel Fahrenheit 451, published in 1953 by Ray Bradbury utilises language features such as metaphors, syntax, subtext, allusions and irony to convey ideas which are typical of the speculative fiction genre. This novel was published at the time when under the Nazi regime, book burnings of “degenerate” authors were publicly performed and in the US, there was a blacklisting of university faculty and filmmakers who the FBI thought to be communist. The protagonist in Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag is a fireman who lives purely to find books and burn them. Throughout the course of the novel, Guy begins to confront his dissatisfaction with his life by reading the books which he had secretly been hoarding, eventually taking action against his oppressive society. Through the use of language conventions, Bradbury is able to convey conventions common to the dystopian genre such as a protagonist who questions and fights back against existing social/political systems and that they are initially unaware that they exist within an oppressive society, society as an illusion of a perfect utopian world and characters conforming to uniform expectations.
A convention which is typical of the dystopian genre is characters conforming to uniform expectations; any individuality, dissent and choice is bad. Bradbury replicates this convention in his novel through the use of the language conventions syntax and subtext. In the society depicted by Bradbury, instant gratification and distractions are the norm. On the other hand, when people begin to oppose the norm, whether it be by asking questions about life or searching for answers in forbidden books, they are seen as threats to all of society. For example, when Clarisse begins to open up to Montag about how she was oppressed by society in the past, she tells him, “I’m antisocial, they say. I don’t mix. It’s so strange. I’m very social indeed. It all depends on what you mean by social, doesn’t it? Social to me means talking to you about things like this.” The use of syntax is pivotal in this example, as through using multiple short sentences, Bradbury is able to quickly convey ideas that make it obvious to the reader that the society in which Clarisse exists is abnormal, because by the readers standards, Clarisse, who is thoughtful and intelligent, is titled as antisocial and is condemned by her society. Clarisse is a perfect example of how characters that don’t conform to the uniform standards in dystopian texts are persecuted and looked down upon by society. Bradbury also uses this example to make a connection between the novel and America in the 1950s, as those who were seen as ‘different’ in American society were condemned and made to feel flawed, as was Clarisse. Another way Bradbury conveyed the idea of conformity within the text was through the use of subtext. For example, when the reader is introduced to the villain of the novel, “The mechanical hound slept but did not sleep, lived but did not live in its gentle humming, gently vibrating, softly illuminated kennel back in a dark corner of the firehouse.” The mechanical hound is a frightening machine used to track down people who don’t conform to the corrupt laws of society. In this example, the use of subtext is pivotal, as the hound is described to “sleep but not sleep” and “lived but did not live”. Through this use of subtext, the hound is presented as always ready to attack, that it is mindless and cold, ready to oppress ‘offenders’ regardless of their moralities. The hound is also a perfect representation of how technology can be used to harm, and in this society, harm is entertainment. It could even be said that the Hound represents a role model citizen within Montag’s society, always stuck to the television and never fully asleep or awake. The careful use of syntax and subtext have been pivotal in conveying the idea that characters must conform to uniform expectations, and that individuality and dissent is bad.
One key element which is present in almost all dystopian novels is the incorporation of a protagonist who both, questions and fights back against existing oppressive social/political systems and are initially unaware that they live within an oppressive society. In order to effectively display this element in his novel, Bradbury uses language conventions such as allusions and subtext. For example, when Guy Montag uses Faber’s teachings to undermine the censorship of information and the repression which exists in his society, “He would be Montag-plus-Faber, fire plus water, and then, one day, after everything had mixed and simmered and worked away in silence, there would be neither fire nor water, but wine”. In this example, “neither fire nor water, but wine” is a biblical allusion, where Bradbury alludes to the miracle of Jesus turning water into wine. By comparing Montag to Jesus, Bradbury paints Montag as a hero or saviour of his society. The example also implies that Montag will use his destructive inclinations in order to create something new; an intelligent, free thinking society, rather than destroy things. Not only does Montag, like Faber question the social system in place within his society, but Montag takes it a step further and aims to take action against his social system. Another example of how Montag was constructed to resemble a dystopian protagonist was by presenting Montag as initially unaware that he lived within an oppressive society. In the first sentence of the novel, Montag states “It was a pleasure to burn”. The reader is introduced to a world where firemen serve to start the fires, and Montag, who is a fireman, takes great pride and pleasure in his work. This example uses subtext, and conveys the message that Montag is completely oblivious to the fact that what he is doing is wrong. The sentence also alludes to the idea that authoritative figures like Montag, or even any citizen in this society, act out of primal, animalistic instincts to destroy. Montag is initially unaware he lives under the control of manipulative people who pretend to be the voices of reason and morality. The use of allusions and subtext is pivotal for Bradbury to create a protagonist who , questions existing social systems, fights against them and is initially unaware that they exist within an oppressive society.
An idea typical of the dystopian genre is society being an illusion of a perfect utopian world. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury uses language conventions of metaphors and onomatepia to construct the same idea about society. The society in Fahrenheit 451 take comfort in their fast paced, thoughtless and shallow lifestyle, which is designed to suppress any kind of emotion or difficulty. As a result, people are stuck in a cycle of avoidance of their problems, which only worsens the situation, creating further despair. For example, when Faber said, “We are living in a time when flowers are trying to live on flowers, instead of growing on good rain and black roam”. This example shows Faber critically using a metaphor to illustrate the way that American society has come to exist. The flowers represent America, and on the outside they are delicate and beautiful, offered as symbols of happiness and material pleasure. “Flowers trying to live on flowers” suggests that American people are trying to survive solely on happiness and material pleasure. Faber is suggesting that humans cannot replace their deepest spiritual needs with superficial satisfaction from a TV. Faber suggests that people in his society can only truly gain the satisfaction and pleasure they truly need through “good rain and black foam”, more specifically from books or ideas which might spiral into thoughts about religion and philosophy. Another way the society depicted by Bradbury being an illusion of a perfect utopian world is achieved through the use of irony. For example, when Montag searches for the reason to his unhappiness, instead of avoiding it like the rest of his society, he comes to the conclusion that as books are the only thing missing from his life, they must also hold the answers to his feelings of partiality in life. Montag states, “We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren’t happy. Something’s missing. I looked around. The only thing I positively knew was gone was the books I’d burned in ten or twelve years. So I thought books might help”. The irony in this example is that Montag is so mentally and physically bound by what he has been taught by his oppressive society that he thinks being ‘happy’ only refers to material satisfaction. Although Montag struggles to realise happiness isn’t caused his material gain alone, he does come to the conclusion, or begin to come to the conclusion that he has spiritual needs, and that literature plays a big role in the acquirement of those needs. The use of metaphors and irony are essential for Bradbury in order to construct a society which is an illusion of a perfect utopian world.
Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 conforms to the conventions of the dystopian genre though the replication of the same conventions throughout the text. These conventions have been conveyed though the use of the language conventions of metaphors, syntax, subtext, allusions and irony. The dystopian convention of characters conforming to uniform expectations is conveyed through the use of syntax and subtext. Subtext was again used in conjunction with allusions in order to convey the dystopian convention that dystopian protagonists questions and fights back against existing social/political systems, and are initially unaware that they exist within an oppressive society. Another dystopian convention is the society within the text being an illusion of a perfect utopian world, and this was conveyed through the use of irony and metaphors. Although the language conventions have different meanings and convey different ideas, they all work coincidely to produce the same effect, which is to assist the text in conforming to dystopian conventions.
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