Vonnegut is a visionary because he depicts a society whereby, people are equal in all aspects. These include the mental, physical, and social aspects. This is important because through history, Americans have struggled to gain social, racial and gender equality. This is the ideal society on paper. The author views equality in many aspects. The common point of view especially among the America people is that, all people should receive equal treatment. The author however accepts that it is absurd to expect such a society to exist (Peterson, 1994). It would have a fantastic plan to have people live equally. However, it is almost impossible to achieve this in real life. One important argument is that if the government imposes a certain group of people then, it would be hard for the other part of the population to succeed. It would reduce the level of development in terms of technology among other features.
One such example is imposing the handicapped people. There would be minimal breakthroughs, as people have to put themselves in the level of the imposed people. Without production of goods in the society, the economy would die. This means that people would have no abilities of survival. There would be no competition, which results to monopoly. Monopolies reduce competition so there are no new products in the market. The market remains the same since there is no need for new ideas in the market. It would form a kid of communism. Therefore, it is impractical to expect equality among people. Several countries tried looking for this kind of society but it was not achievable. Such countries include Russia. A healthy community requires competition to ensure that the people have enough motivation to work hard and create better forms of products. The author used satire to explain why society cannot be equal, hence he argues on the impossibility of attaining a perfect society. Vonnegut is a visionary because, he speaks of a rare truth.
Ray Bradbury is also a visionary. His book describes a future whereby, people have no interest in books. Instead, they put their focus on shallow entertainment (Bradbury, 1953). It speaks of a future whereby, Americans hate any kind of interaction with nature. They prefer their private intimate connections. In this society, reading a book is against the law. Owning a book is also illegal. The book focuses on a certain character who is a firefighter. In this future, firefighters play the role of burning houses, instead of stopping the fires. As the book opens, the firefighter meets a strange teen. The teen appears strange because, she has love for nature, something uncommon in that era. This particular teen, has a lot of interest in things that do not interest people of that era. She has no interest whatsoever in technology and its features around her.
The firefighter gains some interest in the book, but receives a lot of opposition from his family. The author describes a future whereby, people just rely on their televisions and radios for entertainment. They then rely on pills to help them sleep. It shows the kind of life that people in our current era desire. However, the writer shows the negative side of having that kind of life. In that world, people have no right to gain knowledge through reading books. It denies humans the right to exchange information and learn from each other. The people in that life have the lazy lifestyle but poor mental health because; they feel empty on the inside. One of the characters attempts to kill herself because she cannot stand her own life. The paramedics refuse to address the same issues that made the character feel that way. Citizens of that world do not understand the effects of war around them. The various governments glorify coming wars. They ban books because they are a cause of arguments among people. People have no interest in nature because they cannot see past the technology (dream pioneers,2000).
The worlds that both writers write about are applicable. Vonnegut describes that it is impossible to attain an equal state of affairs among people (Peterson, 1994). The world that he describes exists. He predicts that a society with no competition, fails. Societies failed by trying this concept. The novel and the short story function in an educative manner. They educate people about the impact of their behaviors. They help in opening the eyes of their readers about the world that they live in. Bradbury’s book is more of a warning to people. It shows the importance of our humanity in the sense of our environment and the connection between people. In the world in his book, people have no connection with each other or their society. They have emptiness in their souls. This leads one of the characters to a point of suicide with no effective help. The novel and the short story provide information on how to improve the future.
References
Bradbury, R (1953). Fahrenheit 451, New York: Balatine Books
The dream pioneers: Visionaries of science fiction [Video file]. (2000). In Films on Demand, Retrieved November 17, 2014, from http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=39957&xtid=30072intext: ("the dream pioneers," 2000
Peterson, B. (1994). The World According to Kurt Vonnegut, Abo: Abo University Press
