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Theme Of Censorship In Fahrenheit 451

Decent Essays

Censorship is defined as the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc., which are considered obscene, politically unacceptable or a threat to security. Ray Bradbury’s ideals for the novel, Fahrenheit 451, have shown a different light on how a society can function. The theme of censorship is displayed in the novel by the firemen and how they are uneducated about the values of knowledge and happiness, the secret understanding the people don’t have about books, and the standards and sameness these people rely on in their everyday life. In the novel, the characters Montag, Clarisse, Mildred, Faber, and Beatty have some impact on the effect of censorship in this futuristic society. Montag uses the phrase, “It was a …show more content…

Especially, since in this society, no one is really happy or sad, this makes him question more than he has ever before. Montag also dives into the unknown world of censorship, which has taken a drastic effect on the kind of world he is living in.
Another reason why censorship is thought of as a crucial point in the novel is society’s normalities do rely on the government for their safety, comfort and most influential, their sameness. The people in this society are so focused on being the same, that it is what they know and only know of.
We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone must be made equal. Each man is the image of each other; then we are all happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower; to judge themselves against. So! A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take a shot from the weapon. Breach the man’s mind. And so when the houses were finally fireproofed completely, all over the world there was no longer a need for firemen for the old purposes. They were given a new job, as the custodians of our peace of mind, the focus of our understandable and rightful dread of being inferior: official censors, judges, and executors. (Bradbury p. 57)
This explains how censorship has such a present impact in this futuristic society, not only to the readers but to the characters as well. “It didn’t come from the government down. There was no dictum, no

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