Religious Symbols in Dystopian Literature In the literary guide, How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster discusses the methods by which an English professor reads and analyzes literature from all genres and time periods. He references literary works from famous authors, including Shakespeare and Charles Dickens, as well as several religious texts in order to provide examples of major properties that occur frequently in literature. Two of these elements: the idea of characters resembling or sharing characteristics with Christ, as well as Baptismal rebirth appear in George Orwell’s 1984 and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, respectively. Though Orwell’s monolithic authoritarian character Big Brother is the apotheosis of corruption
How to Read Literature like a Professor, by Thomas C. Foster, is like painting a picture; with painting the first step is to paint inside the lines, but an advanced artist understands that a picture is made up of not just color, texture, and shapes, but also considers the purpose behind each stroke. Foster brings a different meaning to reading a book and draws attention to the author and his or her intention. While applying Fosters teaching's to Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, the main character, Santiago's journey becomes more than a journey- it turns into a quest. Simple drinks and foods turn symbolic into acts of communion and while
Unquestionably, all novels can convey multiple meanings depending on a variety of factors with the most important being the manner in which the audience interprets the author’s words. More importantly, to professionally draw conclusions concerning the message the author demonstrates throughout a text, it is essential to discuss and apply the five literary elements of literature to the text. In greater detail, when a work itself is criticized or evaluated, usually one literary element is focused on to prove an argument pertaining to a novel. To bring the topic into focus, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 possesses many points that could be argued in contradictory ways based upon factual
How to Read Literature Like a Professor is a book Thomas C. Foster uses to expose his thoughts and feelings of many literary terms and devices. Such ideas can be found in James Joyce’s short story, “The Dead”.
Many, if not all, novels portray a theme, a subject of discourse, discussion, meditation, or composition, within them. The theme is the heart of the story. It is used as the central focus, and expresses the intended lesson, conclusion, message, or point of view of the author. Countless novels share communal themes, some of which include Fahrenheit 451 and Oryx and Crake. These are two distinct novels with many dissimilarities, yet they share common similarities within them, both carrying parallel themes. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury paints a dystopian future where the government has forbidden books and orders them to be burned through the work of fireman. These firemen include the likes of Guy Montag, who begins to question his life after an encounter with his young neighbor. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood takes a whole different turn, her story centers on Snowman, who used to be known as Jimmy before the world was wiped out by a deadly plague. Snowman, who’s now the only human to survive, is tasked with conveying his wisdom and morals onto the Crakers. Although these novels seem to be completely diverse, they both are about the fall of society through the censoring of information.
Bradbury uses allusions to provide ideas of how the characters in the novel understand literature and past occurrences. Throughout this novel, Bradbury alludes to events in history, mythological, and Biblical stories. He brings up historical events to draw the connection that the pass is reoccurring in the future which is a prominent social issue. The use of mythological allusions in Fahrenheit 451 emblematizes how far left society has gone and that even someone with clear eyes cannot even see what is happening. Bradbury does this by referring to the legends of "Hercules" and "Antaeus (Bradbury 79)." The Biblical allusions in the novel represent how relatable and similar main Guy Montag is to Jesus. They are both similar in the way of how they lead others. The allusion of "water turning into wine" is a parallel between "Jesus finding ministry" and "Montag's aspiration for transformation." Guy Montag found and taught enlightenment in society that only wanted to promote ignorance, and Jesus took the knowledge that he knew and led his followers to salvation (Bradbury 49).
Fahrenheit 451 utilizes indirect characterization to project an image of a dystopian future ravaged by war and without freedom of thought. This is evident in the fact that
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Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 presents readers with multiple themes. In the fictional society of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, books are banned and firemen create fires instead of putting them out. Bradbury portrays the society as dystopian. Bradbury crafted the novel to be interpreted intellectually. The characters claim to be happy. However, the reader can conclude otherwise. Bradbury creates a question for the reader to answer: Is ignorance bliss or does the ability to think for oneself create happiness? Bradbury shows the importance of self-reflection, happiness and the ability to think for oneself as well as isolation due to technology, and the importance of nature and animals. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury conveys the stories’ themes through characterization and symbols.
In 1984, Orwell makes excellent use of symbolism to further enhance the novel's theme and to reveal character. He wrote 1984 as a political message to warn future generations about the dangers of totalitarian societies. He relays this message through various themes and characters, in turn utilizes powerful symbols to give them further significance. His symbolism is very vast but it can be classified into three categories: characters, places and objects.
Throughout history, literature has served as a prominent tool in the examination of social values, ideas, and dreams. In addition, literature has provided a vital connection between historical, social, and political events. Through the incorporation of religious principles and philosophies, writers have discovered a way to portray different time periods, characters, feelings, and most importantly God.
Dystopian DevicesWhen writing a novel, authors use distinct literary devices to aid in making the genre of their story apparent to their reader. Specifically, many use these literary devices to draw attention to details that establish a dystopian genre. A dystopia is somewhere where people lead dehumanized and fearful lives (Merriam-Webster). Furthermore, in dystopian societies, propaganda, societal oppression, and totalitarian control often elicit fear and obedience. An example of this is the novel 1984 written by George Orwell. This novel contains ambiguous symbols such as Big Brother, the Godlike ruler of Oceania. Aspects such as this contribute to the nature of dystopian genres. After analyzing concepts such as the all knowing Big Brother and the telescreens that are required by the government, the reader notices dystopian aspects. Accordingly, the setting of the city and symbols in everyday life expand the readers view of dystopian aspects. Orwell uses literary devices such as setting, symbolism, and euphemisms in order to portray a dystopian genre through the use of Big Brother, the city Oceania and its citizens, and other concepts in the novel. The government in 1984 controls its population by creating a setting where no one has the freedom to act without a someone watching them. The government does this by requiring all citizens of the Party to own a telescreen. By monitoring the activities of members of the party, the government can keep citizens obedient and
When it comes to literature, there has been a shift over time so it leaves readers asking themselves how many books written years apart can be similar yet different. This
Dystopian novels have been written throughout history to show possible futures in which humans suffer from oppressive governments. All of these novels show what will happen if humanity continues to make certain choices. Dystopian novels affect the choices of everyone who reads them because they don’t want their children and grandchildren to live under oppression. These sources, by Henley, Mandela, and Wiesel, use imagery to create dystopian like futures and real life examples of what a dystopian future would look like to warn us of these futures and show how dystopian novels are important.
Literary works entertain, convey a moral lesson, or acquaint their audiences with the knowledge of a particular human condition (Bucks County Community College 1). Through their writings, authors bring various ideas and themes to bear. A theme is perceivable as an underlying premise or idea in literary works or a film. Typical examples of such topics include repression, loneliness, struggle and accomplishment, good and evil, free will, rebirth, and redemption. The film "The Forbidden Kingdom” brings the theme of redemption to the surface.
In the Religious Right, there is an intense political passion that binds the community together to promote the collective moral agenda. This “resonance” is created by familiarization; children are raised to act and think a certain way, making the preferred views of the group seem natural and normal to its members. In the past, religious myths and symbols were crucial to this process of familiarization, as they allowed for the promotion of “correct” sexual values. Christianity, for example, condemned all forms of queer sexuality as sinful and unnatural. Of course, this heterosexist perspective has led the Western world to hold a secular point of view; sodomy and gay marriage were completely illegal up until recently, and homosexuality was once