Wednesday, September 18, 2013

In Fahrenheit 451, could you find some quotes about man vs. government conflict for textual evidence?

The government in the world of Fahrenheit 451 tries to repress individualism and inquiry. For example, as Beatty, often the mouthpiece for convention, explains, people like Clarisse and her family are a problem because they ask questions and engage in out-of-the-ordinary activities like taking walks. Beatty states that the government spies on people like the McClellans and also wants to get hold of all children at an early age for reasons of social control:

"Clarisse McClellan? We've a record on her family. . . . You can't rid yourselves of all the odd ducks in just a few years. The home environment can undo a lot you try to do at school. That's why we've lowered the kindergarten age year after year until now we're almost snatching them from the cradle . . . . The girl? She was a time bomb . . . She didn't want to know how a thing was done, but why. That can be embarrassing."

Beatty also says:

"Five minutes after a person is dead he's on his way to the Big Flue, the Incinerators serviced by helicopters all over the country. Ten minutes after death a man's a speck of black dust. Let's not quibble over individuals with memoriams. Forget them."

This shows the government trying to eradicate the soul of individuals and keep people living in an eternal, vacuous present of "happiness."
Near the end of the novel, the government, represented by the cold, soulless technology of the Mechanical Hound, pursues Montag relentlessly in a televised spectacle:

"Guy Montag. Still running. Police helicopters are up. A new Mechanical Hound has been brought from another district . . . " Montag and Faber looked at each other . . . . "
"Mechanical Hound never fails. Never since its first use in tracking quarry has this incredible invention made a mistake."

We learn that the Hound does fail to capture Montag and that the government therefore fakes his death. This government, in other words, is quite willing to lie to its citizens. Lies, surveillance, and social control all show a government at odds with individual citizens and humane values.

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