Tiernan Doyle Celebration Reaction

The main similarities seen between what was seen in the celebration of Spock last Wednesday and what can be seen in our text, "Fahrenheit 451," were the unification of the classroom behind the idea that Spock was all ruling, the criminalization of anyone who was or seemed to be against the idea that Spock was the best character of all time, and the idea of making the ruled and not the ruler do the work. The main factor of these three actions was the use of illusion, paranoia, and unification in order to achieve a personal agenda or totalitarian state. 

First, let's look at the unified thought of Spock being the best. Many percausions were made in order for it to seem that we were the ones in control of the choice and the consequences of that choice, with the teacher ensuring the students that it was a "democratic decision," and repeated that we were the ones who made the choice. In the text, it is seen that there is a sense of control within the people, with most feeling that reporting suspicious activities and upholding the laws that held them down was their duty as patriots. Both the text and the events on Wednesday show how, if worded in the right way and made to look like the right thing, people can be influenced to do almost anything their leaders want them to do.

Second, there was the enforcement of keeping Spock as the best by outcasting those who appeared to think differently, at the start, there were accusations here and there, but by the end the whole class was on edge, with some even accusing those out of blind faith. When compared to the text, it is seen how easily it was to find and arrest someone who was breaking the law, with all who were found with books being forced into asylums, regardless of their sanity. Still, no one dared to question it, for the main fear that they themselves would be seen as dangerous and sent away, or forced away from the party like on Wednesday. 

Finally third, it can be found that most of the work that people would think the government would do to make their control complete, but in reality it can be seen that it's the people themselves who allow for such actions to happen. During the celebration, the teacher employed certain students to do certain jobs, including censoring certain sentences of things students wrote on the board, finding out who is to blame for spreading "lies" about Spock, and making sure those who were found out were safely behind bars in "prison." In the text, the people are used as watchdogs for signs of suspicious activity, with even the main character's wife ratting him out for his illegal activities as part of her dedication to her society. . Both show  that people feel that when given authority of their own, they are able to better keep control and happiness, all while they're puppeted by a supreme leader behind the scenes.

In the end, both the text and the celebration on Wednesday can be related to the dangers of allowing the rise and take over of a totalitarian state.