Fahrenheit 451 Censorship Essay

“If someone tells you what a story is about, they are probably right. If they tell you that is all the story is about, they are very definitely wrong.” (Neil Gaiman). This quote connects to how stories, are not just based off of one topic, but are based off of several topics that can all relate to the central idea or message. Similarly, it represents how others’ perspectives on what the meaning of a true story is can be different from others. In this case, Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel written by author Ray Bradbury, in which the protagonist and firemen, Guy Montag is required to burn and destroy books in the homes of citizens. Montag does not usually question why he does this, until he meets a fellow young

Government interferences commonly occur both in Fahrenheit 451 and the real world. The censorship is to keep the population unaware of the truth of what happens throughout the world, and corruption of the government. All the different ways to censor something happen to accomplish one goal, to keep the public away from the negative truths about themselves. Several events in history show that this is a fairly popular habit among different governments and nations. Although these events are real life situations, Ray Bradbury is able to broadcast these thoughts in Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury’s overall statement in the book shows the truth on how the government treats the public.

Ray Bradbury’s writings were influenced by the current and past events happening in a war stricken society. Bradbury draws direct correlation between Hitler’s acts in World War II (WWII) and the acts of the “firemen” in Fahrenheit 451. This leads to the discussion of the censorship of the public in Fahrenheit 451, how this compares to the censorship enforced by Hitler in WWII, and how censorship affects the public of any society. Ray Bradbury was successful in illustrating the theme of censorship within a society under a totalitarian government using repetition, symbolism, and bildungsroman in Fahrenheit 451.

The central conflict is Montag verses society. Ray Bradbury uses Mildred, Montag’s wife, and Beatty, Montag’s boss, to represent the culture of the urban setting in which they live. They want Guy to give up his ideas and uniqueness in order to fit with societal norms. Today fewer people in the United States choose to read. Books provide the reader a whole new set of ideas. Books open new doors to the mind. Sadly, too many people would rather watch multiple TV’s, as does Mildred. This passage is important to the plot because it shows the motive for the burning of books. Bradbury’s government demands everyone to be on the same plane, insuring their power position. They fear that books give the public ideas and promote independent thought. Such ideas pose a threat to their

Throughout the decades, certain restrictions have been shown in various forms from newspapers to television to social media. In America today, it serves as a positive outcome due to it protecting children from watching certain shows that they are too young to see. However, there are negative effects of censorship still prevalent in some parts of the world today. Censorship can block new and varied beliefs and ideas, which hides information from the public. Consequently, this is seen in the book Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury. In the dystopian society, many of the citizens daily routine consists of the act of burning books, watching manipulative “parlor families” on television, and not being accepted for doing things out of the norm. The residents in the story are limited to only juvenile thinking and actions which makes the society less diverse and knowledgeable. Even though restrictions can be effective at times, the author expresses the sense of censorship and how it is a bad influence by revealing certain characters that are affected by the restrictive society.

Guy Montag, a local ‘firemen’ lives in a despairing dreary world where instead of firemen extinguishing fires they create them, they burn and banish books. They believe that books are a sin and trouble to society. Although Montag is one of the main sources of the books being burned he meets a bright young girl that changes his ways of thinking and

Censorship is the practice of examining pieces of information and taking out the unacceptable parts. Governments use censorship to create perfect societies, but deep down, they cannot censor how people really think and feel. In reality, censorship is a form of destruction that ruins valuable information. In the book, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the movie Pleasantville by Gary Ross, and the article "Freedom To Read Is Still In Danger" by The Huffington Post, the authors share a similar theme of how governments use censorship. In Fahrenheit 451, the society uses censorship through burning books. The government in the movie Pleasantville does not want people to have feelings. Lastly, in the article, the United States has the idea that some

“We stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought. We have our fingers on a dike. Hold steady. Don’t let the torrent of melancholy and drear philosophy drown our world. We depend on you. I don’t think you realize how important you are, we are, to our happy world as it stands now.” (Bradbury 59). This quote illustrates, how the societies government is making people think that books and theories are what makes the society unhappy. This is what makes the people that start theories and read books separate from their society and hide from the government and their cruel punishments towards the book readers. In the novel, Fahrenheit 451, a man named Guy Montag, goes on a journey to find out about the books that are hidden from his society. Along the way, Guy starts to notices that he is different from the others who watch the “parlor walls”. In the novel, Fahrenheit 451, the author, Ray Bradbury teaches the readers the theme of censorship to show how the protagonist, Guy Montag, changes as a result of the conflict in his dystopian society.

with many other people, began to depend on these programs, as if they were addicted to

When Fahrenheit 451 was written it was warning American society about many different things one main thing it was warning us about is censorship. Fahrenheit 451 is a book based on how society tried to censor everything they did from having only specific TV programs to no books allowed, if you were to have a book then you were punished. Fahrenheit 451 can still be used today to help American society, it shows you the world with censorship and how it would be like with no books and how clueless people are without books.

When Montag failed to show up for work, his fire chief, Beatty, paid a visit to him. Beatty explained that "it's normal for a fireman to go through a phase of wondering what books have to offer," he also explained how books came to be banned in the first place. Beatty told Montag to take about twenty-four hours to see if his stolen books contained anything meaningful and then to turn them in for incineration. Montag began a lengthy and frantic night of reading.

In the novel, Fahrenheit 451, critically acclaimed author Ray Bradbury asks the controversial question, what would a world where censorship of creative and differing Ideas is the norm resemble? In Fahrenheit 451 Bradbury envisions a dystopian America in which not only books are censored, but personal thoughts and individuality are constrained in this world as well. Although there are many ways in which Bradbury presents and develops the themes in Fahrenheit 451, the most effective way Bradbury does this is through deft characterizations, he does this specifically through Clarisse Mcclellan and Mildred Montag

"Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press (U.S. Constitution)." Throughout the ages, censorship has shown up in various forms ranging from printed works to television and the Internet. It can have the positive effect of protecting children from things they are too immature to view, but it can also have negative effects. Censorship may even suppress new and different ideas, keeping them from being made public. It may also set limitations, which stifle the creativity of authors and prevent them from thoroughly expressing their ideas. However it states the government should not censor the people of this country. In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury the people in the town of Phoenix were

Guy Montag is the protagonist and central character of the book, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury that transforms from a conformist in a totalitarian society to rebuilding a society that reads books. Montag fits the cliché description of a good-looking male with “black hair, black brows…fiery face, and…blue-steel shaved but unshaved look.” (Bradbury, 33)  For the past eight years he has burned books. He is a 3rd generation firefighter, who in the beginning of the story, loves his job, which consists of burning the homes of people who perform criminal acts of reading and keeping books in their homes. By understanding Montag’s relationships, discontentment, and future, one can begin to understand the complexities of Guy Montag.

    Ray Bradbury criticizes the censorship of the early 1950's by displaying these same themes in a futuristic dystopia novel called Fahrenheit 451. In the early 1950's Ray Bradbury writes this novel as an extended version of "The Fireman", a short story which first appears in Galaxy magazine. He tries to show the readers how terrible censorship and mindless conformity is by writing about this in his novel.