Fahrenheit 451

Utopian Novels - Anti-Utopias - Science Fiction

===Utopia===
1. The word >utopia< is derived from the Greek and means  >no place< or >nowhere<

   It was the title of a book written by THOMAS MORE (~1515),
   who later became Lord High Chancellor under Henry VIII (1529).
   Later he was accused of high treason and decapitated in 1535.

   The subject of all Utopias is society, and it contains two 
   elements: the criticism of an actually existing society and
             a model of a new and better one.

   Because Utopia is >nowhere< to be found, the authors of Utopias 
   had to think of some tricks to deal with this paradox: Before 
   the 19th century all Utopian societies were situated on far away 
   islands which had not been discovered yet and whose position was 
   kept a secret by those who had returned (to tell us about these 
   fortunate but secret places). Later they were found on the moon 
   or on other - hitherto untrodden - planets. These utopian 
   societies were no future societies, they were described as 
   already existing societies - but unfortunately situated in 
   >nowhere-land<.

   Famous utopian novels:

   Thomas Morus: Utopia (1515)
   Thomas Campanella: Civitas solis (1623)
   Francis Bacon: Nova Atlantis (1638)

   Jonathan Swift`s: Gulliver`s Travels (1726) is a mixture of 
   social satire and utopian novel: In the parts 1 to 3 societies 
   of dwarfs, giants or crazy scientists are described, they are 
   at war with other countries which makes Gulliver escape from 
   their countries. Only the society of the Houyhnhnms /winimz/ 
   can be called utopian.
   It is noteworthy that these authors were no writers but 
   high-ranking politicians (More) or clergymen (Campanella, Swift) 
  or scientists (Bacon). There is no private property in these ideal
   societies, therefore no greed and no crime etc.- but there may 
  still be slaves (as in More`s >Utopia<) or some inferior 
  creatures    such as the `Yahoos` in Swift`s society of the noble 
  horses. These    Yahoos are human beings, but morally and 
  physically they are more    like monkeys and therefore inferior 
  from a biological point of    view, too (satire again!)
                         Not to forget a German author:
   Johannes Gottfried Schnabel: Die Insel Felsenburg (1731 - 43)

   William Morris: News from Nowhere (1891)

===Anti-Utopian Novels===

In the 20th century a number of novels have been written 
   describing societies which claim to be perfect. Because there 
   aren`t any unknown islands left and the moon definitely 
   uninhabited - these societies have to be situated not in space 
   but in time: Either in the future (>1984<) or way back in the 
   past (e.g. H.G.Well`s: Time Machine 1895). But these societies 
   can hardly be called utopian, and these novels have therefore 
   been classified as �-1Anti-Utopian Novels�-0. Their aims are
      to criticize existing societies by
      imagining what they will turn into
      if things continue as they are!

Famous (or interesting) novels of this kind:
   Jack London: The Iron Heel (~1905)
   Yevgeny Zamyatin: We  (1920)
   Aldous Huxley: Brave New World (1932)
   George Orwell: Animal Farm (1944)
      "         : 1984        (1948)
   Ray Bradbury: The Martian Chronicles (1946)
      "        : Fahrenheit 451 (1951)

   In these novels the future societies have more or less locigally 
   developed out of present societies. Certain aspects and 
   tendencies of comtemporary society are >extrapolated< and 
   transferred to the new society; but now they have become the 
   dominant factors! Which elements of modern society are 
   considered responsible for the disaster?
   - men`s desire to possess and knowledge and power, which leads 
     to some kind of dictatorship!
   - men`s unrestrained ambitions and lack of self-control
   - the simple-mindedness of the majority, their desire for 
     being manipulated and tranquilized
   - the availability of scientific and technological means for all 
     purposes - good and bad!
   - the complexity of technology and the difficulties of keeping it
     under control
===Science Fiction===

 Here we have arrived at what is called >Science Fiction<.  In 
   the whole    genre of Science Fiction we come across science and 
   technology. Good SF - as I understand it - is an intellectual 
   experiment dealing with the question >What would happen, if...<. 
   And this is no doubt a question worth contemplating. But unlike 
   in Utopian or Anti-Utopian novels the SF-author`s  ambition is 
   not to device new societies, but to question man`s  attitude 
   towards the machines he has invented. Furthermore the  aims of 
   these inventions and the blessings of science in general  are 
   questioned. And eventually the limitations of man`s power  are 
   exposed.
   To give an example: In Mary Shelley`s >Frankenstein or the 
   Modern Prometheus< (1818) an ambitious and gifted scientist, 
  Dr.Frankenstein, is building and animating a human being, which 
   is meant to be a perfect creature. But unfortunately the result 
   is not perfect at all and instead of being loved it is loathed 
   by everybody. Thus the end of the experiment is disastrous.
   The "modern Prometheus"  may technically be able to create human 
  beings, but he lacks the intellectual and moral greatness for 
   such skills. Therefore he  will necessarily become victim to 
   these ambitions.... or - as it  is the case in other SF-novels - 
   accept the limitations of his knowledge. This I think is the 
   basic idea in Stanislaw Lem`s novels (e.g.>Solaris<). Or take 
   Arthur C. Clarke`s >Space Odyssee 2001<, where the most advanced 
   computer starts to develop his own ideas on what the spaceship`s 
   mission is about. And the one surviving astronaut is reduced to 
   a newborn child floating through the incomprehensible universe.
   To me SF is good and worth while reading as long as its aim is 
   to help us understand the dangers and risks of a society which 
   is - more than ever - characterized by scienctific and 
   technological  processes and mass movements. Thus the scholars 
   of the 16th century could device utopian societies - no 
   property, no religion, no kings - but they could not write SF! 
   And the authors of the 19th century could write enthusiastic 
   adventure stories on  moon-rockets, submarines and speed - like 
   Jules Verne - but they    could not write SF either!
   So to conclude, SF does not necessarily mean fantastic 
   spaceships, ugly creatures from other planets or crazy 
   scientists!

Fahrenheit 451 (1953)

Part One: The Hearth and the Salamander

5.  "It was a pleasure to burn ..."
6  Guy Montag, the main character, is on his way home, meets a girl, his new neighbour, she`s 17 and a bit strange.
   She has such funny ideas about life. We learn about Montag, his strange profession and the world he lives in.

12 M. enters his house, still puzzled by the girl

13 he finds his wife unconscious: she took an overdose of sleeping
   pills and M. has to call

15 two men to reanimate her by applying two machines - they do it
   in a business-like manner, they are use to these >suicides<
   Mildred is saved but still the old person

19 Mildred doesn`t remember at all what had happened to her: she is
   kind of addicted to her three-wall-TV (`the parlor`), from which
   people (`relatives`) talk to her and give her instructions etc.

22 another meeting with the mad girl Clarissa McLellan: she is a
   complete outsider in this society, regularly visiting a
   psychologist and irritating her teachers. Montag is irritated
   too: Who is this `uncle` of hers? How do they live? How do they
   spend their evenings?

25 Back at work M. is worried by the behaviour of the >mechanical
   hound<, a dog-like machine which can be programmed on the >amino
   acids< of every living being. The machine is acting hostile and
   M. wonders if anyone had done anything to its programme.

29 He meets the girl again and the irritations continue

32 The girl doesn't turn up again and M. is worried. He misses her
   and his "routine has been disturbed"(33)


+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|   THE SETTING:                                                     |
|   ------------                                                     |
|WHEN? In the 23rd century                                           |
|WHERE? In a future society                                          |
|WHO? Montag - a fireman (30) whose job it is to burn books          |
|   Beatty - the captain of the fire brigade                         |
|   Clarissa Mclellan - an excentric young girl (romantic & unsocial)|
|   Mildred - Montag`s wife: addicted to three-dimensional TV        |
|             having just tried to commit suicide                    |
|   The Mechanial Hound - a dog-shaped killing machine able to trace |
|                       its victims by sensing their biogenetic code |
|ATMOSPHERE?                                                         |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

36 Alarm at the firehouse and the brigade is in action: In some of
   these old houses books are suspected and they are off to burn
   them: But something`s different today - the owner of the house,
   an old lady is still there, she has not been transported by the
   police in order to be out of the way when the firemen come. Her
   presence confuses the firemen: She is not willing to leave the
   place and eventually sets fire to the house, the books and
   herself.The firemen are depressed, most of all M.

41 He comes home - a book hidden under his overall. He contemplates
   his relationsship towards his wife, their unability to
   communicate, Mildred`s empty life etc. He`s married to a
   stranger.

48 Chills and fever in the morning, he doesn`t go to work.
   His wife doesn`t understand the horror of yesterday`s
   experience, the burning woman, the fascination of books

52 Captain Beatty is visiting him: He has an understanding for the
   crisis his man is in and he gives him a `lecture` on the history
   and the importance of the firemen. It is also a history of
   mankind`s intellectual decay - people want to gain their peace
   of mind and don`t want to be troubled and bothered with the
   manifold and conflicting opinions of all those who believe they
   know better. All these minorities, all these quarrels, all these
   uncertainties - they cause unrest and hostilities, but people
   want to be entertained and not worried. Thus, burn the books!

   But Montag has a book hidden under his pillow and while Beatty
   is talking, his wife finds it - stunned with surprise and
   horror. When Beatty is gone, Montag reveals his secret: He has
   gathered about 20 books and is now going to read them to found
   out about that. The first sentence that reads is from Swift`s
   Guliver.

'''SHORT CULTURAL HISTORY OF MANKIND �- according ot Captain Beatty

19 th century: culture (=books) for only few people who could
               afford to be different
               "the world was roomy", everything was "slow motion"

20 th century: "Things (= TV, radio, movies) began to have mass"
               "The world got full of eyes and elbows and mouths"
               "Speed up the cameras"

21 th century:
      etc      1. books cut shorter, classics reduced to the
                  punch line
               2. school is shortened (no philosophy, no histories
                  no languages)
               3. skills (=pressing a button) instead of knowledge
                  Knowhow instead of know why
               4. entertainment instead of information (sports etc)
               5. uniformity instead of diversity (people dislike
                  everything unfamiliar or intellectual)
               6. Keep the minorities down


                  Therefore: BURN THE BOOKS!  HAIL TO THE FIREMAN -
                         "the custodian of our peace of mind"(p58)


Part Two: The Sieve and the Sand
--------
68  Montag starts reading like in a fever (outside the house he
    senses the sniff of an electric dog) - here are the books, but
    where to find a teacher?
72  Montag remembers an old man he met a year ago, a former English
    professor who was memorizing poetry, his name was FABER. He has
    kept his address and drives to his house, reading the bible in
    the subway.
78  This is Faber`s message: Books aren`t the most important things
    in life but they contain three things which can enhance life:
      1. Quality: Books show the pores in the face of life, not the
      poreless wax faces. 2. Leisure: you can shut a book and
      contemplate its contents, you can criticize and object to it.
      3. Action: the right to act according to what you have
      gained.

    Montag has an `insidious` plan: plant books in the firehouses
    and have them burnt one by one. But to Faber that would just be
    `nibbling the edges`. He recommends patience, the system will
    destroy itself, it will be a victim of his wars. Faber has
    deviced a little instrument which to put into one`s ear: Thus
    you can monitor and communicate ate the same time, with Faber
    being the head quarter (The Queen Bee and the drones). This
    will help M. when he has to face the Captain.

89  The war is getting ready that night - propaganda everywhere -
    while M. is on his way home. Faber is reading the Book of Job.

91 Eating supper at home M. switches the parlor off and initiates a
    conversation with Mildreds friends: About the war ("always
    someone else`s husband dies"), about having or not having any
    children, about the last election - it infuriates M. so much
    that he frightens them out of their wits by showing a book of
    poetry. But that was a stupid thing to do (Faber!), so he has
    to turn it into a joke (once a year a fireman is allowed to ...)
    and starts reciting >Dover Beach< which moves one of the ladies
    to tears. Nevertheless - he has made a fool of himself.

100 On his way to the Captain M. and F. talk things over.
102 He hands the book over to Beatty and is welcomed back ("the
    sheep returns to the fold")- but B. is trying to provoke and
    confuse M.  while Faber is working hard to keep Montag from
    reacting - eventually the alarm bell rings, they drive off
    until they stop in front of Montag`s house.


Part Three: Burning Bright
----------
108 Montag sees his wife leaving the house in haste carrying her
    belongings in suitcase. She doesn`t respond to him. Beatty`s
    dark sarcasm is spilling over and M. hears Faber`s voice in his
    ear.
    M. is given the flame-thrower to do the job himself, and he
    destroys his house - the parlor - with some satisfaction.
112 But then he loses his earphone and Beatty opicks it up. Montag
    seems lost now, but he`s acting quickly: With the flame-thrower
    he burns the captain to char-coal and the Mechanical Hound,
    too. But his leg is stung by the dog. He stumbles along the
    alley    .

116 He limps back to the burned ruins to rescue a few books and on
    again with this aching leg. He suddenly realizes that Beatty
    must have wanted to die. In his pocket he finds the
    seashell-radio and hears the police warnings. He is heading
    towards Faber`s house, two dozens of helicopters swarming like
    butterflies in the air.
119 "War has been declared..."He has to cross a street and is almost

    run over by one of these beetle-cars, which drive at 150 mph
123 He plants his books in the house of his coleague-fireman Black
    and informs the fire brigade
124 He arrives at Faber`s house: Faber advises him to look for one
    of the still existing hobo camps beyond the rusting railway
    tracks.
    On TV they watch the hunt as it is broadcast in full length. A
    new Mechanical Hound is sent on M.s trails. Wouldn`t he make a
    good TV appearance?
130They say good-bye and he`s on the run again. It`s a race against
    the Hound, the TV and the million of watchers who are told now
    to  watch out for him. But he reaches the river, changes his
    clothes  for Faber`s and starts swimming.
133 As the Hound and the helicopters arrive they have lost the
    track.
    Montag floats upon the river into another world, meditating the
    new experience. He steps into the vast darkness, sensing a pair
    of eyes which disappear again - the Hound?
139 He walks on until he sees the fire ahead with five old men
    sitting by and talking - they welcome him and know his name.
    They watch the chase on a portable TV, it is still on, and they
    see an innocent person caught and killed - the show is perfect,
    suspense, long shot, the camera falling on the victim, shouting,
    snap-ending, blackout - silence.
    The old men are "old Harvard degrees" who all represent the book
    they know by heart - the classics of world literature. They too
    are living without books, they are the books. They are parts of
    a loose organisation - a quiet conspiracy - waiting for the end
    of  the war and for the times their knowledge will be needed
    again.

151  The next morning the war starts and is over in a few seconds.
The city is destroyed by bombers. They lie on the ground, covered with
dust and earth - and after a while they recover and start their daily
routine of making fire and getting food ready. The symbol of the
Phoenix is conjured up - and as they walk towards the destroyed city,
Montag remembers the Book of Revelation.