From Negative Freedom To Positive Freedom

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 depicts a world where books are burned and thoughts and freedom are oppressed.Erich Fromm’s sociopsychological theory of freedom is applied to elucidate the psychological coping mechanisms adopted by characters in the novel under adverse circumstances,and explain behaviors of characters under different psychological coping mechanisms.The first chapter of the thesis focuses on reasons for characters’ psychological coping mechanisms: The fictional future world in Fahrenheit 451 reflects a side of American society in the 1950 s.Ray Bradbury provides a detailed portrayal of the society’s pathological culture and values,among which consumerism,instrumental reason,and hedonism trigger and deepen negative emotions including inferiority,individual insignificance,and powerlessness.To survive,characters give up rational thinking to assimilate into unfavorable social forces,which is a manifestation of negative freedom.The second chapter analyzes characters’ three escape mechanisms caused by negative freedom,namely authoritarianism,destructiveness,and automation conformity,which are the psychological reasons underlying characters’ absurd behaviors and the propensity for violence and self-destruction.The third chapter explicates the fact that the key to Montag’s character growth lies in his transformation from negative freedom to positive freedom.In this process,three capacities are cultivated: the capacity for active involvement and personal experience,the capacity for reason and rational faith,and the capacity for love,which enables him to realize creativity on the sensual,intellectual,and emotional level,and complete the transformation from nonproductive to productive orientation.By dissecting psychological coping mechanisms of characters in the novel,the thesis concludes that characters’ behaviors reflect two psychological coping mechanisms,namely negative freedom centering around the escape mechanisms,and positive freedom centering around creativity.For individuals struggling in adverse circumstances,a productive orientation with the capacity for active involvement and personal experience,the capacity for reason and rational faith,and the capacity for love is the hope of individual growth and human civilization.