The Intellectual Cycle Portrayed through the Characters

In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury portrays the theory of the intellectual cycle through his representation of the characters actions and traits. Judging by the intricate symbolism that is woven into each of the characters, many critics consider Fahrenheit 451 to be an allegory. In the characters' controlled society, "literature is banned because it might potentially incite people to think or to question the status quo of happiness and freedom from worry through the elimination of controversy." (Gale Literary Databases Contemporary Literature Criticism). In the science-fiction novel Starship Troopers, Robert Heinlein also portrays the intellectual cycle through the characters, but he approaches it by concentrating on the lowest point on the cycle. "His (Heinlein's) novels are constant inquiries intoad, at their best, demonstrations of possible ways in which we can change, improve our lives in the future. Heinlein is constantly setting before us tentative responses to the eternal question, what is the good nature of life?" (Gale Literary Databases Contemporary Literature Criticism). Heinlein presents the worst possible state of living to enforce the importance of staying on top of the cycle. The two authors dealt with the idea of the intellectual cycle because they both saw that society was beginning to fall down the cycle. In these novels, the characters possess the traits that the greater part of the population maintain when at a certain point on the intellectual cycle, which is an ongoing cycle that has been occurring since the beginning of time. When at the top of the cycle, society is extremely intellectual and they orient their lives around education and expanding the mind. But when positioned at the bottom of the intellectual cycle, society does not value intelligence and education at all. It is a massive cycle, which can take thousands of years to be completed once. Through the character of Granger in Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury explains the intellectual cycle in detail.

"There was a silly damn bird called a phoenix back before Christ, every few years he built a pyre and burnt himself up. He must have been first cousin to Man. But every time he burnt himself up he sprang out of the ashes, he got himself born all over again. And it looks like we're doing the same thing, over and over, but we've got one damn thing the phoenix never had. We know the damn silly thing we just did. We know the damn silly things we've done for a thousand years and as long as we know that and always have it around where we can see it, suddenly we'll stop making the goddamn funeral fires and jumping in the middle of them. We pick up a few more people every generation." (Bradbury 163).

Society falls to the bottom of the cycle when literature and intellect are taken for granted. In Fahrenheit 451, Faber is a radical who owns books even though it is against the law. Faber blames himself, and the other people who did not protest when books were being outlawed, for the world being at the bottom of the intellectual cycle. ".....there were a lot of lovely books once, before we let them go." ( Bradbury, 51). But it is the people like Faber that pull the rest of the world back up to the top of the cycle. They greatly value knowledge when almost no one else does, and they refuse to let anyone make them think any differently. In Starship Troopers, society revolves around violence and it is believed that nothing in the world should be valued. This is a time when the world is at the bottom of the cycle. The main problem with the society in Starship Troopers was that there was not a character that understood that the beliefs of society were wrong. Since no one challenged the cycle, society would sit at the bottom of it until someone finally understood what was going on and was brave enough to challenge the status quo.

In Fahrenheit 451, Mildred, Montag's wife, symbolizes the bottom of the intellectual cycle. She has read parts of books, yet she thinks that reading is extremely useless and pointless, and simply a waste of time. Her view on literature is the outlook "books are only for professors and radicals." (The Bradbury Chronicles, 53). She is obsessed with her virtual parlor (a huge television), her seashell radio (a walkman), and her pills (drugs). Mildred lives in an artificial world, and she has the opportunity to exercise her mind, but instead she chooses not to put her brain to any use. When mankind is in this state, everyone is numb to the real world, and society cannot properly function. This is why it is never possible to stay at the bottom of the cycle for very long. In the years 332 - 391 A.D., a huge library located in Alexandria, Egypt contained an immense amount of knowledge. "The library was destroyed in 391 A. D. by religious fanatics. Only a very small portion of its knowledge survived." (http://www.alex~guide.com/hist.html). The library held a total of over forty thousand scrolls, containing works of poetry, drama, comedy, lists of four hundred seventy-five fixed stars, and drawings of forty-four constellations and their background myths. It was the center of Jewish learning, and it "held a copy of every existing scroll known to the library's administrators." ~(http://www.alex-guide.com/hist.htn-A). When the huge collection of literature at the library in Alexandria was lost, the world immediately fell to the bottom of the intellectual cycle.

Granger and the other philosophers who memorize books symbolize movement from the bottom of the cycle to the top of the cycle. They go against the status quo, and refuse to stop reading. "And when the war's over, someday, some year, the books can be written again, the people will be called in, one by one, to recite what they know and we'll set it up in type until another dark age, when we might have to do the whole damn thing all over again." (Bradbury, 153). These men are simply waiting for the rest of the world to come to their senses. They do not get fustrated or impatient, because they truly believe that it is worth the wait. The actions of the men also reflect moving upwards on the cycle. "He began throwing dust and dirt on the fire. The other men helped, and Montag helped, and there in the wilderness all the men moved their hands, putting out the fire together." (Bradbury, 154). Their actions symbolize how they will work together to stop the fires that bum books, and try their best to make society realize the significance of literature. A time when the world was at the top of the intellectual cycle and held beliefs very similar to Granger and the other philosophers was the Middle Ages. Monks and scribes strongly believed that literature and the written-word were very important. Scribes would hand copy entire texts, which was quite difficult to do. "Scribes copied texts as accurately as they possibly could, but some scribes were illiterate so they would not notice spelling or wording errors." ~(http://medieval.arthistory.sbc.edu/scribe.html). After they had copied the Bible, the scribes would count every one-hundredth word and make sure that it matched up to the original copy. If just one mistake was found, the entire book was burned because the monks wanted to make sure that the word of God was reproduced identically to the original copy. Intellect was the top priority of society at this point in history.

Clarisse McClellan symbolizes society as being positioned at the top of the intellectual cycle. She does not use the advanced technological forms of entertainment that most others use; instead she prefers to take long walks in the woods or to observe life and the world around her. Clarisse is exercising her mind, stuffing it with as much information as possible and pushing its boundaries. And more importantly, she knows how to use the knowledge that she has acquired. "...he knew that she was working his questions around, seeking the best answers she could give." (Bradbury, 7). Clarisse truly understands the importance of being educated and educating others. "Montag's life is irrevocably changed when he meets Clarisse ~McClellan ... Clarisse challenges Montag about the nature of his work and in their brief conversations teaches him to pay attention to the outside world." ~(Beecham's ~Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction-Analyses, 1314). Clarisse is eventually killed by the firemen because she is a threat to the controlled society. This proves that Clarisse refuses to conform to being like everyone else, to the point where she is willing to die rather than betray her beliefs. Bradbury is stating that "...the nature of life is cyclical and we are currently at the bottom of an intellectual cycle. We must have faith and blindly hope for an upward swing of the cycle." (Gale Literary Databases Contemporary Literature Criticism). Individuals like Clarisse never actually go through the cycle-they always remain at the highest point of it. When the world has fallen to the bottom of the cycle, it is these people who bring society back up.

Captain Beatty, the head fireman in Fahrenheit 451, represents the act of falling downward on the cycle. He has read many books and speaks mainly in quotes, yet he believes that books are not worth reading because they support opinions, and opinions cause controversy. "If you don't want a man to be unhappy politically, don't give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none. (Bradbury, 61). The fires which are set by him and the other firemen destroy books, and their mechanical hound destroys lives of people who may be a threat. The firemen under the control of Beatty demolish anything that may cause society to be the slightest bit enlightened. In Starship Troopers, Mr. Dubois strongly believes that "violence has been the greatest settler of issue in the history of the world." (Gale Literary Databases Contemporary Literary Criticism). The actions of the firemen and Mr. Dubois reflect the present-day American way of life. People watch television, play video games, or use computers instead of reading. We take reading for granted, and as a result we are heading downwards on the cycle. "The novel was written during the era of McCarthyism, a time when many Americans were maliciously-and falsely-accused of attempting to subvert the United States government." (Gale Literary Databases Cross-Database Search). It has been said that Fahrenheit 451 "reflects anxieties of America in the early atomic age of the 1950's-the fear of nuclear war, reactions against racism and censorship, and fear of foreign political powers." (http://www.brookingsbrook.com/bradbu~ry/biograph.htm). In fact, both stories were written in the 1950's, a time in history when people began to focus on developing technology. "TV was just one of the technological developments which caused social changes during the ~1950's ... Bell Telephone Labs demonstrates the transistor, the first step towards electronic miniaturization... the first credit card debuts.....the space race is on and the U.S. launches its first satellite... passenger jet makes its inaugural flight in 1957 ... the U. S. launches Echo 1, the first telecommunications satellite ... the FDA approves the first birth control pill." (http~:Hwwwjoesherlock.com/fifties.html). The two authors saw how technology was making everything seem alien and impersonal, which can lead to downfall on the cycle. In writing these novels, the two authors intended to educate society and make them aware of the cycle so that falling to the bottom of it can be prevented.

In writing these books, the authors most definitely were striving to make people aware of the intellectual cycle. Knowledge is power, so if society understands the cycle, they will be able to prevent from falling to the bottom of it. Bradbury's approach was to express his opinions through the character of Granger, so that Bradbury could get his point across to the readers. "In Bradbury's stories, the people to whom amazing and unusual things happen are often like ourselves." (Gale Literary Databases Contemporary Literary Criticism). Heinlein chose to state his opinion by giving the Starship Troopers characters opinions that were the opposite of his own, then proving them wrong to show that he was right. "There is nothing subtle about Starship Troopers. It is an all out frontal attack on conventional attitudes towards war." (Gale Literary Databases Contemporary Literary Criticism). Heinlein's purpose was to teach the future generations what they should do when they are in control of the world. "Youths who build hot-rods are not dismayed by spaceships; in their adult years they will build such ships. In the meantime, they will read stories of interplanetary travel." (Robert Heinlein). Both ways of stating their opinions were and are still successful in making society aware of the intellectual cycle and the power it possesses. Hopefully, society will use the knowledge they have gained from these novels to do whatever they can to stop mankind from reaching another low point on the cycle ever again.

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