The Written Word

The written word is a powerful tool in acquiring and spreading knowledge, and, as such, a potent instrument in shaping individual thought. Although individual thought is often deemed a positive mechanism promoting progress, governments and religious leaders have feared that individual thought will spur ideas leading to questioning and dissension of their authority. This is the double-edged sword of a literate society. Literacy versus authoritative power is certainly not a new conflict. It has been around since society learned to communicate through the written word. We can see many instances of this power struggle since the occupation of American soil. The Puritans were not only one of the first European inhabitants of the New World, but also the first that endured the power struggle brought on by literacy in America. Although they promoted literacy for religious reasons, they did not anticipating that the same literate society would one day challenge religious authority.

The conflict that literacy sparked is evident in William Hill Brown’s The Power of Sympathy written in 1789. The discussion between the characters reveals the fear of corruption of morals that has accompanied the reading of books as early as post-colonial America. The argument ultimately centers on the choice of books as the source of the problem, but the characters are aware of the power of the written word to corrupt the morals of the society, especially women and children who they deemed to be the most impressionable. The idea that books corrupt the morals of women and children relates to the religious and male dominated societies in which this story was written. The weaker minds would fall to the immorality in novels of poor choice. The impressionable would ultimately fall victim to the immoral values instilled in these books and, therefore, would no longer submit to the religious authority within the Puritan society.

This theme of individual thought promoted by literacy versus ultimate authority is repeated again and again throughout America’s history. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 written in the 1950s warned society against overusing technology in favor of books. Books promote individual thought, and were, therefore, banned in Fahrenheit’s world. The government banned anything that would allow individuals to think thereby eliminating any questioning of their authority which speaks volumes regarding both technological advances and Communism in Cold War context. Bradbury conveyed hope for the future, however, because a small band of book readers survived the final apocalypse. Bradbury clearly revealed the importance of books to promote ideas and progress. The fear of undermining authority through the reading of books was sustained but that authority was not working in the best interests of the people and needed to be questioned, which the lead character finally does in the end.

We are an enlightened, literate society, but book banning still exists even today. The basis for the banning of books is still a fear of corruption instilled by individual thought gained by reading. In reality, we haven’t come that far as a society. The power of the written word in instilling individual thought is strong, but is it strong enough to truly corrupt our society? Or are those in power afraid that once their power is questioned, the people will realize that the government is not really working in society’s best interests but in their own?

The Twilight Zone: "The Obsolete Man"

          While watching The Twilight Zone’s episode entitled “The Obsolete Man,” I couldn’t help but remember the lessons in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. As a matter of fact, the similarities are striking: books are banned by a totalitarian government threatened by the fear that books and knowledge will bring individual thought, novel ideas, and eventually a distrust of the dictatorship. Conformity to the acceptable standards of society is of the utmost importance and questioning authority brings dire consequences, including the sentence of death. Placed in context, both “The Obsolete Man” and Fahrenheit 451 warn society about the problems with conformity that have dominated the 1950s. In fact, conformity in the extreme as shown in this Twilight Zone episode destroys individual thought, thus making books “obsolete” in a society where the government standards of conformity are all that matters. Interestingly, “The Obsolete Man’s” main character, the librarian who cherishes books, is named “Wordsworth,” like the memorable romantic poet, William Wordsworth. The librarian’s name, then, becomes a metaphor for classic literature in addition to the more obvious play on words - "words" and "worth." Wordsworth values the written word and claims that “no man is obsolete” which he proves upon his own death. Ironically, the fact that his execution was used to scare society into submission makes Wordsworth’s life meaningful. But Wordsworth makes his point even more eloquently by revealing the Chancellor’s true character, that of cowardice, which inadvertently dubs the Chancellor “obsolete” in his own society. 

          It is important to remember the time in which this episode originally aired. The year 1961 was in the height of the Cold War, with Cuba falling to Communism under Fidel Castro and the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, Checkpoint Charlie is established and the Berlin Wall goes up in Germany, and Kennedy's Vienna Conference with Khrushchev dominates politics, highlighting Cold War tensions with the Soviet Bloc which had inadvertently just entered the Western Hemisphere by taking Cuba. One of the strongest arguments against Communism put forth by the United States was that of conformity.  Communists lost all individual thought and were not allowed to question authority, making "The Obsolete Man" an anti-Communist weapon disguised as entertainment.  In this episode, The Twilight Zone achieves its goal, sending a warning about conformity without question through excellent storytelling, something The Twilight Zone does so well.