The parlors have taken over people's lives so much that viewers don't just passively watch the screen; they interact with their TV "family ". .
In both stories, the government is rigid and keeps its citizens ignorant, even stupid. Things that would be considered commonplace by the reader, like reading books or having rebellious thoughts can get a person tortured or killed in Orwell and Bradbury's worlds. Although the books are very similar, 1984 has darker undertones and is more complex in its background than Fahrenheit 451. Airstrip One seems to be in much worse condition than Bradbury's imagination of future America; it is described as being desolate and dingy. In Fahrenheit 451, however, there is no such implication. Citizens have access to healthcare, they drive fast cars, and their homes are comfortable. .
Winston Smith, the protagonist of 1984, is a lowly Outer Party member. His job is to destroy old documents and replace them with those more favorable to The Party. Secretly, he harbors rebellious thoughts, called thoughtcrime, against Big Brother. Julia is also an Outer Party member and a member of the Junior Anti-Sex League, although she claims to have had sex with many Party members. She only wishes to rebel against the Party for a thrill; she doesn't want to overthrow them like Winston does. O'Brien is a member of the Inner Party. At first, it seems that he is a thought-criminal as well, but his true intentions are revealed as the story progresses. .
Fahrenheit 451's hero, Guy Montag, is a fireman, but he owns an illegal collection of books. His wife, Mildred, is obsessed with her TV parlor and doesn't want anything to do with Montag's books. She has a habit of taking too many sleeping pills, which suggests deep, repressed emotional pain. Captain Beatty is Montag's boss. He has an extensive knowledge of literature, but he speaks ironically and hatefully of it; sometimes it seems as though he can read Montag's mind.
