Surviving in a Decietful World

"Here for instance, the man says 'What do you think of this whole idea Helen?' And he looks at me sitting on center stage , see? And I say, I say-'I think that's fine!' And then they go on with the play until he says, 'Do you agree with that Helen?'  and I say, 'I sure do!'. Isn't that fun Guy?"

No. I don't think that's fun. But in Guy Montag's twisted world this is considered entertainment.  Similar to this situation is The Hunger Games. Imagine yourself lost in a world full of uncontrollable surprises. You have no way of knowing what comes next but you try to survive anyway. It's your only chance to live and you know you're not going to win but you try anyway. This is how Katniss and the other contestants in the Hunger Games feel.  Entertaining to watch right? Unfortunately each character in their own stories had to live in a world full of deceiving entertainment. And just like Katniss, both characters try to survive in their own worlds, no matter how different they may be.

Through each character's journey, each had to obey the government. Katniss entered into the Hunger Games in place of her sister, and Montag was a firefighter. By obeying the government, each got to know their enemies better. In Montag's case, his enemy not only was the government, but the banned books. During his job he had made a small collection of banned books that he rescued before burning down the houses.  On the other hand, Katniss played in the Hunger Games in place of her sister. By doing this, she was able to speak out and make a statement. One scenario was when her friend inside the ring, Rue, died. Katniss placed flowers around her before her body was taken away which offended the Capitol a little bit and aroused the other districts.

Although their governments seem to act the same they couldn't be more different. In Fahrenheit 451, their government is a democracy. Earlier in the story Mildred and her friends were talking about past elections so you know that people sort of have a say in who gets to run their country. On the other hand, the Hunger Games is run by a dictatorship because of President Snow. He has run their country for years and know one has been re-elected. Although, everyone else who is not a part of the Capitol believes they could have a better life which makes them want to rebel. (And they do)

No matter how different their governments are politically, they are still very similar. Clearly it was their countries forms of entertainment that is the most deceiving about each. No, it's not fun. There's nothing fun about sitting behind a screen and talking through a scripted conversation. There's nothing fun about fighting for your life, much less watching someone do it.  And there's definitely nothing fun about being trapped by a deceitful government.