Saturday, June 11, 2016

How does Bradbury use language to create a dystopian world in Fahrenheit 451?

Ray Bradbury was masterful in his creation of Fahrenheit 451 and the world it exists in. One of the most striking aspects of the novel is Bradbury’s control of language in developing a world that is not only dystopian but immensely violent. There is the more obvious symbology of fire and the violence and destruction it can bestow, and there are symbols in the novel that show how far the society has fallen.
Bradbury writes,

I'm afraid of children my own age. They kill each other. Did it always used to be that way? My uncle says no. Six of my friends have been shot in the last year alone. Ten of them died in car wrecks. I'm afraid of them and they don't like me because I'm afraid. My uncle says his grandfather remembered when children didn't kill each other. But that was a long time ago when they had things different.

The description of the world the protagonist lives in is arguably the most striking feature of these lines. The violence in the world Bradbury has created is indelible in its tragic destruction. There is little more horrific than the idea of a child dying, or worse, children murdering other children.
The following apparent feature of these lines is how the writing is structured in and of itself. Each line is terse, and the abruptness of each line not only creates a sense of anxiety and brokenness in the world created but also makes the writing as violent as the themes of the novel. Bradbury was able to masterfully create a dystopian novel and literary classic through his narrative and his ability to employ language and diction to shape that narrative.

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