Fahrenheit 451: Censorship

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.

During the 1950s, America was facing the competitions with Soviet Union. Cold War, fear of atomic warfare, and communism influences intensified the society’s instability. What’s more, many social problems attracted people’s focus: many writers “concerns about censorship and conformity during a period when free expression of ideas could lead to social and economic ostracization” (Telgen 138). Many essays and novels reflected this social background. However, one author, Ray Bradbury, became a preeminent writer in that era. His work not only pointed out that the people are becoming more and more apathy as well as the censorship problem, but also showed people’s fear about war.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is a powerful novel that has transcended time. The novel was published in 1953. Bradbury’s piece continues to resonant with readers. Fahrenheit 451 is a futuristic piece that tells a story of a society in which books are banned, firefighters are not used for putting out fires but rather starting them when banned books are found, and anyone who talks about the time when books were not shunned is considered an outcast. The novel’s protagonist, Montag, is a fireman who discovers the lies and develops an interest in the books he has been ordered to burn. Ray Bradbury’s intent for the novel, might have been to express his concerns about television taking over but the theme is censorship.

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 was written as a social criticism of 1950s America which was effectively constructed through Guy and Mildred Montag, and Captain Beatty, representing censorship, conformity and alienation. This American classic warns against the dangers of suppressing thought of becoming a totalitarian society, conveying the dangers of censorship and government control is as relevant as today as it was first written. ‘Oppressive government, left unchecked, can do irreparable damage to society by limiting the creativity and freedom of its

“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.

In the novel Fahrenheit 451, the conflict the character Guy Montag deals with in the book is him against society. He is a fireman and in his society firemen ignite instead of extinguish fires, they treat books as dangerous possessions. Montag becomes curious and decides to immerse himself in literature, which makes him a danger to society. He risks getting caught by the men he works with, anyone who possesses books disappears from the public or is killed. Guy Montag’s conflict with ignorance in this society teaches the reader that censorship is dangerous through the reckless behaviors and twisted values that people living in this society exhibit.

Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel written by Ray Bradbury in which the members of Bradbury’s futuristic society do nothing but destroy books and neglect knowledge, as well as watch television. Due to the government’s censorship practices, books are illegal and if caught with one, firemen set the book and the place it was found in on fire. One of those firemen, Guy Montag, was just as mindless as everyone else until he learns the joy of knowledge and escapes this world. In the much censored world of Fahrenheit 451, the people did not have a choice to read books, much less the luxury to own them, and this resulted in quite an unstable society. Bradbury’s novel is an anti-censorship piece, warning society of the dangers that come with censorship. Due to the absence of books, everyone relies heavily on television parlours for satisfaction, but even that is not enough to keep them

The common image that comes to mind on the topic of censorship is that of book burning. Dating back to ancient times, the easiest way to deal with unwanted writings has been to get rid of them, usually by heaping them into a blazing pyre. In his most famous science fiction novel, Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury warns of a futuristic society where all literature is destroyed under a kerosene flame and the citizens' freedoms are kept in check by the lack of written information. In fear of this kind of totalitarianism, many bibliophiles have fought against all manners of censorship, wielding the first amendment and the rights recognized by our fore-fathers. But with the technological advances of this the last decade of the twentieth century and the up welling of a new informational medium comes a new twist to the struggle for freedom of expression.

Another factor in Montag’s life used to warn people is his relationship with his wife Mildred. The realization Montag makes about what censoring books results with, distances his relationship with his wife, who is consumed in technology and sees no problem with the government’s decision to ban books. From the beginning of the novel, it is evident that Mildred has a different mindset than Guy. While Mildred says she’s happy with the things she has Guy says “We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren 't happy. Something 's missing. I looked around. The only thing I positively knew was gone was the books I 'd burned in ten or twelve years. So I thought books might help”(Bradbury 82). This illustrates how censorship can create barriers

Many books have been questioned and challenged. Even as far as to banning them. But what exactly is a banned book and why are they banned? A banned book is a book that has been censored by an authority, a government body, a library, or a even school system. A book that has been banned is actually removed from a library or school system. The actual contextual reasons as to banning them is use of explicit violence, gore, sexuality, explicit language, religion, or dark times in history. On the non-contextual side of the reason why they are banned books are usually because with the best intentions to protect people, frequently children, from difficult philosophies and information. Teachers, or even more common adults, often censor books from children if they feel that the books have maniacal or controversial ideas in them. In some scenarios, those who are censoring books think that a book might be appropriate for a certain, or several groups in society. A book that might be perfectly fine for a ninth grader might easily be horrendous or confusing to a fourth grader. Thus having them exposed and influenced to thinking a certain way and act upon what they have just read. Well at least that’s what people think is going to happen anyways. But honestly, reading books of any genre gives us knowledge, entertainment, and imagination so therefore no books or novels should be banned and is ultimately dependent on the reader’s choice.