Character Comparison and Contrast between Fahrenheit and Oryx and Crake

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Character Comparison and Contrast between Fahrenheit and Oryx and Crake

Margaret Wood’s, Oryx and Crake is a compelling love story model compelled by future visions. The novel centralizes the main character Snowman and displays the hardships he encountered. Jimmy also referred to as Snowman is hit by a plague and struggles to survive with the likelihood of him being the last remaining human on earth. The death of his best friend, Crake and their beautiful Oryx worsens the situation. Filled with grief, he embarks on a journey and gets assistance from a genetic engineering based cooperation. Fahrenheit is Ray Bradbury’s classical novel based on defiance and censorship written and published 50 years ago. The main character, Guy Montag, is a simple firefighter who never questions his work or the distress callings that come along with the job. However, his meeting with a 17-year old girl makes him change his view about his job because of the tale narrated to him by the girl. Comparing and contrasting the characters between Fahrenheit and Oryx and Crake displays their similarities and differences between the two books.

Similarities

The central characters and protagonists, Guy Montag and Jimmy have one thing in common and that is they are sadists. They find pleasure in hurting others and engaging in destructive activities. Montag grows and changes steadily throughout the play and becomes a different person by the end of the play. However, at the beginning, he is a total conformist who is conventional to the totalitarian system where he lives without questioning his job and the activities involved. Being a firefighter in the region meant burning down books and houses that belonged to criminals. Bradbury explains that Montag enjoyed his work and is amused by the suffering he imposes. During his leisure time, he played games involving destruction of humanity. This character is similar to Jimmy’s personality where the author refers to him as Snowman at certain instances. The fact that he named his pet the killer offers contradictory ideas about his personality. Furthermore, Jimmy together with his best friend Crake opted to play games involving killing the human kind. They found pleasure in surfing through sites involving live executions, suicides and animal snuffing. Hew enjoyed watching people suffer and die in the movies.

After committing their sadistic activities, both characters expressed no feelings of remorse. The author explains that after setting criminal houses on fire, Montag had no regretful feelings. According to him, he was simply doing his job and that one has to find pleasure in their jobs. After job hours, he returned to his home and conducted his businesses as usual. Additionally, Jimmy was not remorseful at any given instance. After playing his games or surfing through illegal sites, the author explains that he always looked forward to the next time when he could engage in the same. With time, his mind got absorbed into the horror movies and suicidal documentaries that watching them became part of his life.

The unsupportive and ignorant character between Montag’s wife, Mildred and Jimmy’s mother, Sharon shows similarities between the two. Mildred is an embodiment of conformity and a product of the autocratic system. Her character is mould by the society norms and in most instances; she spends her time watching the television leaving her husband unattended. This removed her from the normal society and she lived in her fantasy world. She fails to support her husband in his endeavors and in fact goes contrary to his beliefs. She ignores Montag’s efforts to help her understand the importance of embracing change. Jimmy’s mother on the other hand does not support her husband’s decision to work for OrganInc and HelthWyzer. In addition, her ignorant nature allows his son and his best friend to engage in unauthorized activities such as watching pornographic films. Her responsibility as a mother is to ensure that parental control measures are in all entertaining resources within the house since her husband was not available.

Professor Faber in Fahrenheit 451 and Crake in Wood’s novel are both faithful and supportive. Faber is an English literature professor who lives in the thoughts of his books since he had no right to access one due to the ban on literature. When approached by Montag, he agrees to help him acquire more knowledge regardless of the danger he is putting on his life. He supports his friend through his evolution and when approached by his boss for going against the rules, Faber offers him shelter. In the case of Wood’s novel, Crake supports Jimmy in class due to his exceptional performance in Nonatech Biochemistry. Despite Jimmy’s tendency in taking part in devious activities, Crake still agrees to support him by engaging in them. They eventually become best friends and develop the same passion.

Differences

Regardless of the similarities between the protagonists in the two novels, there are distinct differences. Montag’s character is flexible in the sense that he embraces change by the end of the novel. Amazed by his seventeen-year old neighbor, Clarisse’s independent thinking and convection of open thinking, he resolves to think about his life. He gets motivated and the author explains that questions kept bombarding his mind on how he can positively change his life. It is through his thirst for independent thinking that his life changes and takes a different direction. Conversely, in the Oryx and Crake, Jimmy does not change his hideous character. He does not change his character and by the end of the novel, he gets hurt by his own actions.

The difference between Mildred Montag and Sharon are distinct. Jimmy’s mother is an independent woman who speaks about issues affecting her without fear of their outcomes. The fact that she is a woman does not stop her from airing her views about certain aspects affecting her. She disagrees with her husband’s decision to work as a scientist in a new organization. She explains her reasons why despite them being ignored. When her husband left her, she opted to leave her house as well. It took her a lot of courage to sneak out of her house and escape. Moreover, she is intelligent in the sense that she planned a tactful way in which she could escape. Nonetheless, Mildred is unintelligent. She does not understand her husband’s reason to defy the orders of his boss despite the numerous explanations she received. In fact, she displays cowardly acts by reporting Montag to the organization. She failed to notice that by exposing her husband, she would also experience losses. In the event of punishing Montag, their house is burnt down and losses her three sets of television, of which she deeply loved.

Crake’s loyalty to his friendship with jimmy is questionable. Crake is observed as being devious while Faber seems completely loyal to Montag. Crake understands that Jimmy has a personal relationship with Oryx and this extends from to their childhood years. Despite Oryx involvement in the adult film industry, Jimmy still holds her dearest. Oryx grows into being a scientist and begs for forgiveness from Jimmy while explaining that her slave masters forced her into that industry. Crake takes advantage of the fact that he has an organization and employs Oryx. This builds a close relationship between the two. He even invades Jimmy’s privacy by taking Oryx past pictures. On the contrary, Faber stays loyal to his friendship with Montag. He supports all his endeavors despite acknowledging that it threatens his life. On numerous occasions, he agrees to help Montag by teaching him literature. He even warns him when his boss sets out to capture him through the radio. Furthermore, he saves his life by introducing him to the intellectuals who protect him.

The two novels present characters who exhibit similarities and differences in their actions. The protagonists in the novels have similar characteristics in the sense that both of them are sadists and mean. Both find pleasure in hurting others and express no feelings of remorse. However, their characteristic traits differ because of their reactions towards change. Furthermore, other characters such as Crake and Faber display some similarities; they are faithful and supportive. Conversely, they differ in terms of their loyalty towards their respective friendships. Sharon and Mildred are unsupportive and ignorant though their intelligent levels differ. Comparing and contrasting the personalities of characters in these novels displays their differences and similarities.