Censorship in Dystopia in Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451"

Ray Bradbury comments the censorship in the future, even though this novel was written in the early 1950's by showing these same ideas in a dystopian novel called Fahrenheit 451. He shows the readers how terrible censorship really is by writing about it in his novel. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury uses "technological controls", such as television and seashells, to show the reader about how controlled the public is by the government and how their minds are being controlled by these certain technologies in the twenty-first century. Technology he uses are the Mechanical Hound and also TV’s, to show the genius the government has by feeding information into the minds of the citizens, in his novel. Fahrenheit 451 is a chilling example of censorship comparing to the twenty-first century, therefore making it a dystopian novel.

Information, independent thought, and freedom are restricted in this dystopian world. In the first part of the book, the Hearth and the Salamander, books are forbidden. Citizens in this novel aren’t allowed to like books or even read books. If they do, then they have to face major consequences such as their books being burned along with the houses they were being kept in. In the second part of the book, The Sieve and the Sand, Montag reads books, yet tries to hide the fact that he does. Beatty knows that Montag reads and tries to make sure he doesn’t. Montag showed Mildred, his wife, the importance of books and why he likes them, but Mildred’s mind is so controlled by the government that she doesn’t even want to understand him. “Books aren’t people. You read and I look around, but there isn’t anybody!”(Bradbury, 73) Mildred doesn’t care about the importance of books the way Montag does. All she cares about is her sa...

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... then, and even now, although the novel was written back in the 1950’s. Many of the problems discussed then, are also present now, such as the situation with Clarisse and how being different indicated being and outcast and bad. Even today, many people don’t get work because of their way of thinking (religion) and their individuality. For example some Muslims don’t get work today because of their religion Islam and the fact that they dress differently. Some are actually treated horribly as well. The situation with Montag and him having restricted freedom still is an issue today. It might be for the “better” of society, like making laws and regulations, but it still does stop the society from doing many things. In Fahrenheit 451, censorship is a very big issue and can lead to many problems. It’s about time our world fixes and addresses these problems as well.