Censorship In Fahrenheit 451

“There must be something in books, something we can imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.”(Pg. 51) Main character Guy Montag is a servant to a society that is controlled by censorship and the fear of knowledge; Montag has spent his life burning books, to prevent the spread knowledge. But a series of events cause Montag's mind to change, and result in him breaking free from his society. The internal struggle of dynamic character Guy Montag, as to whether he should go on believing the lies his society has told him, or risk his life for something as simple as words on a page, brings readers into the corrupt society of Fahrenheit 451. In the novel Fahrenheit 451 author Ray

Book-burning is the first thing that is explained about this future based society of Fahrenheit 451. Burning books is the obliteration of the single thought on paper or in one word- censorship. Books are considered evil because they make people question and think. All intellectual curiosity and thirst for knowledge must be quelled for the good of the state — for the good of conformity. Without ideas, everyone conforms, and as a result, everyone should be happy. When books and new ideas are available to people, conflict and unhappiness occur. Some of the many different motifs in the novel Fahrenheit 451 are conveyed through the use of various sardonic lines and connotations planted throughout the book. On the matter of technology and modernization it explains how TV reigns supreme in the future because of the "happiness" it offers. People are content when they don’t have to think, or so the story goes. TV aside, technology is the government’s means of oppression, but also provides the renegade’s opportunity to subvert. Rules and order is another popular topic written into the book. It is stated that “All books can be beaten down with reason.” This was said by Captain Betty, a quote ironically coming from a book itself. Much of the restrictions on the general populous are self-enforced. The government has taken away the citizens’ ability to dissent and marred all dissatisfaction with a cheap version of "happiness," a.k.a. TV. This means

Sandy Hook Elementary School. San Bernardino. Paris. What do all of these places have in common? They fell victim to unpredictability. Mass shootings are not new to our society, but they are still a devastating problem that should not exist any longer. Mass shootings connect to the novel, Fahrenheit 451, through both the unnecessary violence and the absence of humanity that are evident in the novel. Mass shootings are a devastating problem in our society, and now their numbers have escalated to a new level. This change reflects how both our society and our humanity is beginning to crumble, solutions like banning unnecessary and excessive fire arms are currently being enacted.

In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 people use censorship to ensure no one is offended. Since books are banned, the society feels that there is a need for instant gratification. The society spend more time doing instead of think for themselves. In today's world our society's need to make life easier will result in the same society as Montag's with extreme uses censorship the need for instant gratification and the less and in less time thinking.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is a novel that illustrates what could happen to our society in the future. The novel portrays a society in which books, excluding comic books and other simple technical books, are banned and burned for the good of the society as the people believed. The books are seen as a source of unhappiness and, therefore, the society has decided to Ban them and put the fireman in charge of maintaining the censorships. I believe that books are not only banned because they make people unhappy but because they make people unequal. I believe that censorship of books is indented to make everyone in the society equal.

Censorship is manipulated and controlled by the people and is meant to ban inappropriate content, but it ends up taking away free will and violating rights. In Fahrenheit 451, the people of the world gathered up and banned all books because they believed that books were making people unhappy. However, censorship ends up causing the loss of freedom of speech, and the ability to be different. Mildred (Guy Montag’s wife) presents the loss of freedoms when she goes insane as she sees Montag’s books (Bradbury 75). The portrayal of Mildred is a common citizen who follows the rules and goes fast, just like everyone else.

Think about what the world would be like if books were forbidden. Schools would be different and the world would be censored from all the history written in books. In Fahrenheit 451 that is exactly what their world is like. Guy Montag is the main character and protagonist. He worked as a firefighter, but instead of distinguishing fires he lit houses on fire if they contained books. All his life he was told that books are unacceptable and should be burned. One day he pondered on  what reading a book felt like. He started to read and that got him into some trouble. In the novel Fahrenheit 451 author Ray Bradbury illustrates the idea that censoring information from people will only make people want the information more, this becomes clear to readers

While censorship is certainly used as a method of social barrier in Fahrenheit 451, While censorship is certainly used as a method of social barrier in Fahrenheit 451, it is not as much of a problem as the forced dumbing-down of society. Because the government wants to keep the people contented, they removed the intellectual idea of books so that nobody would have conflicting opinions. However, this became a self replicating situation, people stopped caring about other possible ideas and only about keeping themselves content with television entertainment. Censorship is noticed in many different ways in Fahrenheit 451. Normally if someone was asked about the roles of firemen, they would assume to put out a fire.

In comparative contrast, we see Mildred’s happiness by her enjoyment in playing the role of a perfect housewife. She tries to do everything the media portrays her as. The things she does the most are listening to her seashell radios, watching the parlor walls, thinking about nothing, and talking about nothing. Although Mildred and Clarisse can’t be more different, as Mildred wants nothing more than to fit in, and Clarisse only wants to be herself, they are alike, as both characters are committed to not

Imagine a character that is completely obsessed and devoted to one thing. In the novel Fahrenheit 451 and short story “Lamb to the Slaughter,” we find two such characters. In Fahrenheit 451, Mildred Montag is the wife of the protagonist, Guy Montag, who burns books for a living. Mildred lives a life revolved around technology, television specifically. In the short story, “Lamb to the Slaughter,” Mary Maloney waits patiently for her husband, Patrick, to come home.

Censorship in the society in Fahrenheit 451 mirrors the excessive amount of restriction in the communities

Guy Montag is an ever evolving character in Fahrenheit 451. Montag is a very complex character who goes through many different changes throughout the story. According to Student’s Encyclopedia of American Characters, “Montag is a complex character who undergoes significant changes during the course of the novel” (Students’ Encyclopedia of American Characters 1). This proves that Montag is a dynamic character who goes through many different challenges and changes in this book. At the beginning of the book, Montag just lives his normal life like he has for many years before.

Mildred is a prime symbol of ignorance and a definition of, “alive, but not to live”. She gives all her time, money, and attention to her TV programs, or as she refers to them her, “family”. Mildred demonstrates the ignorance of society towards books by stating, “Books aren’t people. You read and I will look around. My family is people. They tell me things: I laugh, they laugh, and the color!”(Bradbury 73). The irony of what Mildred is saying is that she think her programs are real. She has an emotional connection with all the characters and does not understand that books can also do that. Unfortunately, her “family” does not discuss intellectual issues that jeopardize society’s way of

Authors use literary as devices such irony, foreshadowing,or flashbacks to help develop the theme of a story. Novels such as Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, use these literary devices to elaborate on and support one common theme. Even short stories such as “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury use literary devices to make their stories and plots more interesting and to develop their themes. Literary devices are an important part of writing and an essential part of any plot, story, or theme.

In the book “Fahrenheit 451” we are introduced to our narrator Guy Montag, a firefighter. But, Guy is not like the firefighters of todays expectations. Instead of putting out fires, they would start them by burning books which were outlawed by the government. After talking to a neighbor, he starts to question his work. He sees how his life really is, with a wife who does not love him and a society that is caught up in technology and war. People were killing each other everyday but no one seemed to care.