Literary Herald A Foucaldian Study of Power Structures in Fahrenheit 451

Abhishek Pundir, Juan Romon Jimenez
2017 UGC-Approved Journal An International Refereed English e-Journal Impact Factor: 2.24 (IIJIF)   unpublished
The present paper focuses on Ray Bradbury"s Fahrenheit 451 as a dystopia keeping in view the Foucaldian insights on power. The portrayal of reality as dystopia lays bare the interior mechanics of power which has the possibility of subversion as it is no more repressive; it rather uses softer tools. The paper attempts to make a Focauldian study of the institutionalized power and "other" power structures in Fahrenheit 451. The above quote by Juan Ramon Jimenez acts as the epigraph for Ray
more » ... "s Fahrenheit 451, and being true to its implied function sets the stage upright for the action to unfold. Writers, engaging with portrayal of reality as dystopia, lay bare interiority of power formation and functioning. All the dystopia novels can sufficiently be analysed in terms of the power structures forming its content, and subversive power structures. Foucault marks a moment of rupture from conventional epistemology of power. In his Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison through two differing prison scenes, Foucault reflects on the contemporary nature of power: power no more attempts to be unapologetically authoritative; it rather disciplines, governs and conquers through its softer tools. The Foucaldian analysis opens possibility of subversion; a space allowing subversion and toppling down of hegemony. And thus Foucault maintains power can be positive too; it also implies coexistence of forces of domination and forces of challenge. The relation between these
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