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Censorship In Fahrenheit 451

Decent Essays

Governments use censorship to keep power and authority. The novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury takes one into the world of a futuristic society. The government in this futuristic society prohibit many items and actions that seem ludicrous today. However, it is not as absurd as one may think. Government censorship still takes place in the world today. One way the government uses censorship is in the form of literature. One can also find interference in the news media. Governments use censorship in entertainment as well. In addition, the internet and types of communication also fall victim to government censorship. Governments in Fahrenheit 451 and in history want to establish control over citizens as well as terminate any ideas that contradict …show more content…

The citizens in Fahrenheit 451 only receive news from the radio and television. The government programs them to believe the information they receive is the truth and nothing but the truth. One example of government interference in the news media in Fahrenheit 451 is the fake capture. Guy Montag is the protagonist of the novel. There is a search for Montag because Montag is an owner of books and an outlaw. The police are not able to capture Guy. They decide to fake the capture of Guy by the use of a scapegoat. They arrest a man on a casual walk instead. Not even Montag’s closest friends can tell if that is the real Montag because the news purposefully leaves the camera out of focus. They do this to save face and avoid humiliation. Media censorship is not at all new in history. One may not even realize how much the news media blocks information. The decision to block information from the news media is “made to safeguard a person’s privacy, others to protect media outlets from corporate or political fallout (Halbrooks). The censorship of news in the news media is as simple as the protection of one’s privacy, or as complex as the concealment of security information. One example of that is in 1971. In 1971, The New York Times publishes documents that clearly detail the problems of American involvement in the Vietnam war. The New York Times reports on this in ways the media and news …show more content…

It is no secret that the government in Fahrenheit 451 lies to the citizens. The government claims that the they got rid of front porches because architects did not fancy the design of porches. However, that is just an excuse to distract people from the truth. The real reason front porches are no longer in use is because the government does not want people to socialize. People use porches to sit, talk, and think. People have too much time to think if they have front porches. The government believes that this is the wrong kind of social life. Now the government uses parlor walls so people can interact with the characters on tv instead of with people in real life. It comes as a shock to no one that North Korea prohibits citizens to communicate with the outside world. Some North Koreans secretly use phones to contact family members that flee the country. Those who make an international call and are caught “risk being sent to a reform facility, or even a political prison camp (Amnesty International). North Korea has a domestic mobile phone service that blocks all international calls. The citizens have no way to contact family members that flee and vice versa. Therefore, they do not know if their family is well or even alive. North Korean authorities use signal jammers and modern surveillance devices near the border of China to prevent any and all mobile phone communication. North

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