Thursday, April 25, 2013
Blog Post #1
It seems Ray Bradbury is finally hinting at where the novel takes place. At the bottom of page 31, fire chief Beatty mentions a fireman in Seattle releasing a mechanical hound on himself to commit suicide. Unless the "fire department" Montag works at is in a different country, this seems to suggest he is in America. And then, on page 34, it is mentioned that Benjamin Franklin was supposedly the first fireman. This also implies that he is in America, along with the insinuation that the government of the future has heavily altered society's perception of history. I wonder if we'll get any more evidence that Montag lives in America? Or what city he lives in?
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ReplyDeleteReading Tyler's post made me realize something about pattern of setting in literature. In most books and movies that we've studied that take place in the future, it has been a trend that it all takes place in the United States. The reason for this could be a simple explanation such as the author grew up there and didn't think to base it anywhere else. I, however, thought it may be possible that the authors did this on purpose. Maybe it signifies something that the readers should consider. Do most people believe that out of all the countries the U.S. will break and crumble first? Many would argue yes. It's true that the United States is one of the strongest countries not only in size but also in army, but we are slowly destroying ourselves. We produce more trash than many (similar sized countries) combined. We know what we do wrong in global warming yet choose ignore it. Will that mean we have to accept the consequences first?
These are interesting questions, Eva, and all are building upon Tyler's assessment of this novel as set in the US. I wonder whether it is a commentary on our fragility, or if a dystopian future is something we are particularly fascinated with. Why would American authors become particularly invested in the concept of the world's end? Are we more conscious of our own fragility? Are we selfish, somehow, in our narcissism, to understand that we will cause our own downfall? Both The Hunger Games and Fahrenheit 451 expose our particularly American weaknesses.
ReplyDeleteThe US can represent a lot of things that makes it ideal for a futuristic dystopia. It's the first "made" country because it didn't just develop from old civilizations like most other countries, and it's also considered the first democracy. Freedom and liberty are among its values, and it's been a world power for a while. The symbolism of the end of these ideas can help add to the dystopian tone. Given history and it's repetitive nature, it's inevitable that America will eventually fall just like Rome and all the other old powers, and I think this holds a certain amount of fascination for authors.
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