A Flame-Filled Foreboding

1219 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Negative effect of media over society

“There are worse crimes than book burning. One of them is not reading them.” The author of the novel in question, Ray Bradbury, said this statement regarding censorship and book burning, a main topic in his most famous novel Fahrenheit 451. The novel is set in a futuristic dystopia in which books and other activities that don’t offer instant gratification (such as being a pedestrian) are banned, and in the case of books, burned. The protagonist of the story, Guy Montag, goes about a journey of self-discovery and a realization of the corrupted world around him. The book offers a deep insight into the potential dangers of our society that is obsessed with instantaneous satisfaction. Fahrenheit 451 has no logical reason to be banned from the school district, and it not only illustrates a proper warning to society and possesses themes against censorship, but it is also written by a well-respected and outspoken anti-censorship author, Ray Bradbury.
Ray Bradbury is a prestigious member of the literary community. Due to financial incapability, Bradbury was unable to attend college. However, he spent numerous days of his childhood and adolescence in libraries, presumably reading, studying, and familiarizing himself with various types of literature. Using this knowledge, he wrote many great works over his storied career. He has written over six hundred short stories, thirty books, and an extensive amount of other well-received works of literature, including Fahrenheit 451, which is widely considered his most meaningful and insightful piece of writing. In addition to being a prolific writer, Bradbury was awarded a special citation by the Pulitzer board in 2007 for “his distinguished, prolific, and deeply influential career as an unmatched...

... middle of paper ...

...t is without book, Fahrenheit 451 warns humanity of a dystopian future that will occur if continues if society continues its obsession with instant gratification through television and other multimedia. The novel contains an important theme against censorship, and coupled with a prestigious author, Fahrenheit 451 is an instant classic worthy of its place within libraries. Personally, I enjoyed reading the novel very much. I felt as though its message really applied to our society and it made me realize that there is so much more than just TV, movies, and the like. It’s inspired me to take my time and enjoy all that life has to offer, and I think that every person should have the opportunity to read this novel and find their own meanings. The board should not ban Fahrenheit 451; instead I encourage the enforcement of the themes and warnings present within the novel.

Show More
Related

  • Fahrenheit 451 Quote Analysis

    1180 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagine a world in which there are no books, and every piece of information you learn comes from a screen. In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, this nightmare is a reality. In Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag is a fireman who instead of putting out fires burns books. He eventually meets Clarisse who changes his outlook on life and inspires him to read books (which are outlawed). This leads to Guy being forced on the run from the government. The culture, themes, and characters in Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 construct a dystopian future that is terrifying to readers.

    Read More

  • Literary Devices In Fahrenheit 451

    988 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the 1950’s Ray Bradbury wrote the novel Fahrenheit 451 which pointed out his views on censorship, and those views are still effectively received today. His story shows a society obsessed with technology, which is not all that different to present day’s society. His choice to include a variety of literary techniques to help the reader grasp the novels true meanings.

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451 Analysis

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    To start, the novel Fahrenheit 451 describes the fictional futuristic world in which our main protagonist Guy Montag resides. Montag is a fireman, but not your typical fireman. In fact, firemen we see in our society are the ones, who risk their lives trying to extinguish fires; however, in the novel firemen are not such individuals, what our society think of firemen is unheard of by the citizens of this futuristic American country. Instead firemen burn books. They erase knowledge. They obliterate the books of thinkers, dreamers, and storytellers. They destroy books that often describe the deepest thoughts, ideas, and feelings. Great works such as Shakespeare and Plato, for example, are illegal and firemen work to eradicate them. In the society where Guy Montag lives, knowledge is erased and replaced with ignorance. This society also resembles our world, a world where ignorance is promoted, and should not be replacing knowledge. This novel was written by Ray Bradbury, He wrote other novels such as the Martian chronicles, the illustrated man, Dandelion wine, and something wicked this way comes, as well as hundreds of short stories, he also wrote for the theater, cinema, and TV. In this essay three arguments will be made to prove this point. First the government use firemen to get rid of books because they are afraid people will rebel, they use preventative measures like censorship to hide from the public the truth, the government promotes ignorance to make it easier for them to control their citizens. Because the government makes books illegal, they make people suppress feelings and also makes them miserable without them knowing.

    Read More

  • The Significance of Technology Depicted in Bradbury's Novel, Fahrenheit 451

    1219 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ray Bradbury's novel, Fahrenheit 451, is based in a futuristic time where technology rules our everyday lives and books are viewed as a bad thing because it brews free thought. Although today’s technological advances haven’t caught up with Bradbury’s F451, there is a very real danger that society might end up relying on technology at the price of intellectual development. Fahrenheit 451 is based in a futuristic time period and takes place in a large American City on the Eastern Coast. The futuristic world in which Bradbury describes is chilling, a future where all known books are burned by so called "firemen." Our main character in Fahrenheit 451 is a fireman known as Guy Montag, he has the visual characteristics of the average fireman, he is tall and dark-haired, but there is one thing which separates him from the rest of his colleagues. He secretly loves books.

    Read More

  • The Paradox Of Censorship In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

    1268 Words  | 3 Pages

    Often, dystopian novels are written by an author to convey a world that doesn’t exist, but criticizes aspects of the present that could lead to this future. Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 in 1951 but discusses issues that have only increased over time. The encompassing issue that leads to the dystopic nature of this novel is censorship of books. The government creates a world in which it is illegal to have any books. Firemen are enforcers of this law by being the ones to burn the books and burn the buildings where the books were found. By censoring the knowledge found in books, the government attempts to rid the society of corruption caused by “the lies” books are filled with in hopes the people will never question. In Fahrenheit 451, censorship is a paradox.

    Read More

  • Theme Analysis of Fahrenheit 451

    432 Words  | 1 Pages

    The theme of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 can be viewed from several different angles.  First and foremost, Bradbury's novel gives an anti-censorship message.  Bradbury understood censorship to be a natural outcropping of an overly tolerant society.  Once one group objects to something someone has written, that book is modified and censorship begins. Soon, another minority group objects to something else in the book, and it is again edited until eventually the book is banned altogether.  In Bradbury's novel, society has evolved to such an extreme that all literature is illegal to possess.  No longer can books be read, not only because they might offend someone, but because books raise questions that often lead to revolutions and even anarchy.  The intellectual thinking that arises from reading books can often be dangerous, and the government doesn't want to put up with this danger.  Yet this philosophy, according to Bradbury, completely ignores the benefits of knowledge.  Yes, knowledge can cause disharmony, but in many ways, knowledge of the past, which is recorded in books, can prevent man from making similar mistakes in the present and future.

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    Works Cited Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451 Censorship

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    United States Justice, Potter Stewart once said “Censorship reflects on a society’s confidence in itself” Ray Bradbury used this concept when building the story Fahrenheit 451. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury addresses the subject of censorship, suggesting that the major problem in society is self censorship. Ray Bradbury brings us one specific type of censorship, rather than censorship from ruling authority, he uses self censorship. This censorship is the cause of the many smaller problems in this society. In Fahrenheit 451 the citizens are censored from many things.

    Read More

  • Censorship In Fahrenheit 451, By Ray Bradbury

    1380 Words  | 3 Pages

    Censorship is defined as the act of taking out unacceptable parts from books, movies, and other content available to the public eye. In Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, censorship takes over a major part of the citizen’s lives. In the modernistic era, the story is based upon a lot of television and is censored to the important and educational content we have in the present, such as; books, which open doors to infinite amounts of knowledge.

    Read More

  • Freedom Of Speech In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

    1250 Words  | 3 Pages

    e a world where books were banned and all words were censored. Freedom of speech has always been considered to be the most fundamental of the human rights. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury emphasizes the importance of freedom of speech by giving readers a glimpse of how the world would be if written works were prohibited. The novel is considered to be a classic because it can usually be linked to society. The novel’s relevance is connected to its themes and its overall message. The themes of loneliness, alienation, conformity, and paranoia play a crucial role in the novel by showing how censorship can transform society negatively.

    Read More

  • Ray Bradbury’s Mental DNA

    2345 Words  | 5 Pages

    "Nobody listens any more. . . . I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough, it'll make sense." Utopias and Dystopias are alike in the fact they both appeal to the feuding political thinkers. Once a challenging idea is brought to attention, criticism immediately follows the claim. In Fahrenheit 451, the sense of nationalism wasn’t used because everyone acted as equals in whom no one could read books legally. Fahrenheit 451 was published as a dystopian novel, one that epitomizes the meaning of a futuristic controlling state. Ray Bradbury’s novel is one of misfortune where every citizen lived their life in censorship. It describes a society of the future that maintains a culture of an illiterate populace without books. Even though as a young boy Bradbury loved to read books he saw the world for what it was going to be. This is why Fahrenheit 451 is continually taught in schools today and will be taught for a long period time. “ Fahrenheit 451 was selected by a national endowment for the arts (NEA) for its big read! It shows a society without reading.” (3) Its literary techniques developed brilliantly organized, along with its life changing message. His dystopian novel made the pedestal of a warning; although his purpose wasn’t to predict the future, his valiant claims came close to reality. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury raises questions to people to wonder as to why our society will heavily depend on technology, become uneducated and resume a life of communism and one without religion. Many say that his surroundings influenced a thought of negativity which was shown in several of his novels.

    Read More

  • Censorship Quotes In Fahrenheit 451

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Fahrenheit 451, the government exercised censorship supposedly for the purpose of happiness. Through technology and media, the government was able to eliminate individuality by manipulating the mind of the people into believing the propaganda of what happiness is. The people’s ignorance made them obediently abide that they failed to realize how far technology and the media have taken control of their minds. The free thought of characters such as Montag and Clarisse collided with that of Captain Beatty, who strongly believe in and enforce the censorship, and the firemen, whose role was to burn illegal books; these clashes were Bradbury’s way

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451 Technology Quotes

    1585 Words  | 4 Pages

    There is a quote by Ray Bradbury that goes “You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” (Bradbury). In the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury books are considered illegal and should not be preserved. In our world fireman are known to put out fires, but in the book fireman are known to start the fires because of books. Technology is put above books, and the main character Guy Montag starts to realize he does not like the world he lives in, and there needs to be a change. Bradbury conveys many messages throughout the book. He somehow warns us about our future. He shows that technology is taking over our lives, and censorship is limiting our freedom. Bradbury's message of society can destroy itself

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451 Banned

    1246 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagine a world of uniformity. All people look the same, act the same, and love the same things. There are no original thoughts and no opposing viewpoints. This sort of world is not far from reality. Uniformity in modern day society is caused by the banning of books. The novel "Fahrenheit 451" illustrates a future in which the banning of books has risen to the extent that no books are allowed. The novel follows the social and moral implications of an over censored society. Even though the plot may seem far-fetched, themes from this book are still relevant today. Although some people believe that banning a book is necessary to defend their religion, the negative effects caused by censorship and the redaction of individual thought are reasons why books such as "Fahrenheit 451" should not be banned.

    Read More

  • A Parallel Between Two Worlds: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

    693 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Majority of people today believe that the society in Fahrenheit 451 is far-fetched and could never actually happen, little do they know that it is a reflection of the society we currently live in. In Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451 books are burnt due to people's lack of interest in them and the fire is started by firemen. Social interactions is at an all time low and most time is spent in front of the television being brainwashed by advertisements. In an attempt to make us all aware of our faults, Bradbury imagines a society that is a parallel to the world we live in today by emphasizing the decline in literature, loss of ethics in advertisement, and negative effects of materialism.

    Read More

More about A Flame-Filled Foreboding

Open Document