Fiction Authors :: Biographies

Fiction AuthorsFor more than half a century science fiction writers have thrilled andchallenged readers with visions of the future and future worlds. Theseauthors offered an insight into what they expected existence, society, and mannersto be like at some future time. One such author, Ray Bradbury, utilizedthis concept in his work, Fahrenheit 451, a futuristic whole tone at a man andhis role in society. Bradbury utilizes the luxuries of carriage in Americatoday, in addition to various occupations and technological advances, toshow what life could be like if the future takes a drastic turn for theworse. He turns mans best friend, the dog, against man, changes the roleof public servants and changes the value of a person.Aldous Huxley also uses the concept of society proscribed of control in hisscience fiction novel Brave New World. Written late in his career, BraveNew World also deals with man in a changed society. Huxley asks his readersto look at the role of science and literatu re in the future world, scaredthat it may be rendered useless and discarded. Unlike Bradbury, Huxleyincludes in his book a group of people unaffected by the changes in society,a group that still has religious beliefs and marriage, things no longerpart of the changed society, to oppose and contrast todays culture withhis proposed futuristic culture.But one thought that both Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451 use in common isthe theme of individual discovery by refusing to accept a passive approachto life, and refusing to conform. In addition, the refusal of variousmethods of escape from reality is shown to be a path to discovery. In BraveNew World, the main characters of Bernard Marx and the Savage boy Johnboth come to realize the faults with their own cultures. In Fahrenheit 451Guy Montag begins to discover that things could be better in his societybut, sue to some uncontrollable events, his discover happens much fasterthan it would have. He is forced out on his own, away from soc iety, to spankingwith others like himself who think differently that the society does.Marx, from the civilized culture, seriously questions the lack of historythat his society has. He also wonders as to the lack of books, bannedbecause they were ancient and did not encourage the new culture. By visiting areservation, home of an uncivilized culture of savages, he is able to seefirst hand something of what life and society use to be like. Afterwards hereturns and attempts to incorporate some of what he saw into his work as an