Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. Literature: an Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. Print.
Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. Literature: an introduction to fiction, poetry, drama, and writing. 7th compact ed. /Interactive ed. Boston, Mass.: Pearson, 2012.
I frankly confess that I have, as a general thing, but little enjoyment of it, and that it has never seemed to me to be, as it were, a first-rate literary form. . . . But it is apt to spoil two good things – a story and a moral, a meaning and a form; and the taste for it is responsible for a large part of the forcible-feeding writing that has been inflicted upon the world. The only cases in whi...
With his novel, Bradbury warns that a world of censorship leads to the unhappiness of individuals, the constant occurrence of violence in everyday lives, and having to live in fear of the government. In their society, everyone’s happiness is simply artificial and those who know of the wisdom books bring do not wish to live in their world. Also, the constant presence of disorder in their everyday lives does nothing but arouse even more violence. Children are not safe from each other and people prefer destruction and immorality over education. Finally, the government has a large impact on the people, and it uses that to its advantage to discourage the population from acting upon their curiosity of books and speaking against its censorship. Books and the knowledge within them do not appear to pose a threat to the world today. After reading Fahrenheit 451, appreciation for such things does not sound like a bad
Censorship throughout time has been precisely depicted in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. The actions of the book arsons done by the “firemen” took away any way to gain knowledge, information and the right to think for yourself has been shown as an everlasting cycle inside the book. Examples of such restriction include banning, and the disposing of offending literature, and in some cases, violence, or the possibly of persecution to the authors of the violated pieces. In Fahrenheit 451, censorship consist of book arsons, unscrupulous parlor families, and the narrow-mindedness for those who try to be individuals.
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.
Kennedy, X. J. and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 7th ed. (Custom). Boston: Pearson, 2013. pp. 234-245, 250-259.
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.
“Their optimism, their willingness to have trust in a future where civilizations self-destruction comes to a full stop, has to do with their belief in the changed relationship between humans and their world” says Lee (Lee 1). In “As the Constitution Says” by Joseph F. Brown, Brown talks about a NEA experiment that found American’s have been reading less and less and our comprehension skills are dramatically dropping because of this (Brown 4). Bradbury saw little use in the technology being created in his time, he avoided airplanes, driving automobiles, and eBooks. Bradbury did not even allow his book to be sold and read on eBooks until 2011. If one takes away books, then one takes away imagination. If one takes away imagination, then one takes away creativity. If one takes away creativity, then one takes away new ideas for technology and the advancement of the world. People nowadays have lost interest in books because they see it as a waste of time and useless effort, and they are losing their critical thinking, understanding of things around them, and knowledge. Brown says that Bradbury suggests that a world without books is a world without imagination and its ability to find happiness. The people in Fahrenheit 451 are afraid to read books because of the emotions that they
“You don’t have to burn books to stop a culture you just have to get people to stop reading them” (Bradbury 61). Books must be protected at all costs; they cannot be changed amended, rated with labels, stripped or burned. They need to be conserved as a whole to protect the moral integrity of both art and artist. Books are so important to society because it helps individual’s record and keep their ideas and beliefs alive. Ray Bradbury believes that if literature is destroyed, then society will begin to deteriorate with it.