Essay Outline On Fahrenheit 451

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I. INTRODUCTION:

Thesis: Fahrenheit 451 has many parallels with our current society. Reading this story had me really looking at where we as a society are headed.

II. BODY PARAGRAPH 1:

Opening Sentence: Guy Montag is a fireman; however, the type of fireman that he is is decidedly different from what is usually thought of when firemen are spoken of.

Detail1: Censorship in the name of religious liberty.

Detail2: Not offending anyone is political correctness taken to its ultimate form.

Detail3: Left unchecked, the United States may find itself worse off than the society depicted in the story.

III. BODY PARAGRAPH II:

Transition/Opening Sentence: Many comparisons can be made from Fahrenheit 451 to what some would desire for our own world.

Detail1: The police used as the government’s arm of enforcement.
Detail2: Don’t question authority; do as you are told.
IV. BODY PARAGRAPH III:
Transition/Opening Sentence: Currently our education system is under political attack with many educators finding themselves in the crosshairs of politicians seeking to win political points with their base. As in Fahrenheit 451’s society, the development of critical thinking skill is not a desirable outcome for the populace.
Detail1: Critical thinking not welcomed here, the defunding of the educations system
Detail2: People are fighting back against being controlled.
V. BODY PARAGRAPH IV:
Transition/Opening Sentence: Fahrenheit 451 is a work of fiction, so not everything in it will find a place in our present society; however, many aspects of their society will.
Detail1: The people of American will always be under surveillance by their own government.
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Detail2: Americans will never be able to fully trust that our government has our best interest at heart.
VI. CONCLUSION:
Reconfirmed Thesis: With all the dark things mentioned here, no one truly knows what tomorrow will bring for America or the world; however, censorship is most likely here to stay in various forms.
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Rachine Vernon
Professor: Susan Winslow
Class: English 1302
August 27, 2015
They would be Gods.
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, has many parallels with our current society. Reading this story
had me really looking at where we as a society are headed.
Guy Montag is a fireman; however, the type of fireman that he is decidedly different from what
is usually thought of when firemen are spoken of. He destroys books and sometimes, the homes that
contain them.
The burning of the books is a form of extreme censorship; however, this is what Guy Montag’s
job is to do. He and the other firemen that he works with burn books wherever and whenever they are
found. 1. (Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451). In America, today, there are elements of our society who want
to control the types of knowledge that people learn. There are many reasons that these individuals will
give for this. Many of them will say what is in this or that book is profane or immoral, that it teaches kids
about disobeying authority, or that it goes against their religious beliefs.
2. “Religious censorship is defined as the act of suppressing views that are contrary of those of
an organized religion. It is usually performed on the grounds of blasphemy, heresy, sacrilege or impiety –
the censored work being viewed as obscene, challenging a dogma, or violating a religious taboo”.
(Censorship in America. Wordpress.com, 30 Jan. 2011. Web. 28 Aug. 2015.)
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The above example is just one example of a types of censorship that takes place here today
in America brought about by a religious belief system.
Another form of censorship that is taking place in America is the current trends in political
correctness. The definition of political correctness as defined by Oxford Dictionaries is: 3. The
avoidance, often considered as taken to extremes, of forms of expression or action that are perceived to
exclude, marginalize, or insult groups of people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against.

(OxfordDicktionaries.com). This also falls in line with Fahrenheit 451 because in the story because part

of the reason for their societies extreme censorship is because they claim it is because no one should be

offended. 1. (Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451). Left unchecked, political correctness in the United States,

taken to extremes, could have our society worse off in some ways then the society depicted by Ray

Bradbury. While it is realized that certain things should not be said in such a way as to offend others,

sometimes in order to have dialog leading to a good outcome, requires that some should have a bit

thicker skin and not be so easily offended by another’s views that differ from their own. This is in no way

to suggest that I support racial epithets, sexual comments, or attacking someone due to their sexuality;

however, how can we as a society find common ground without everyone feeling comfortable enough to

lay all of their cards on the table?

Another thing that I found to be worrisome after reading Fahrenheit 451 was the fact that

government ruled over society with all the dictatorial authority of petty gods with the firemen

and
security forces being used as the instruments of their wrath and control.
In Fahrenheit 451, individualism is not what the government wants for the people. What has
been brought about in their society is a bunch of mindless drones that do what they are told and question
nothing 1. (Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury).The people of this fictional America find themselves under
constant watch by their government’s enforcers. The firemen. In our own society, it is our police forces
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that have had this role thrusted upon them. Growing numbers of Americans are becoming concerned
about the ability of the police and other governmental bodies to spy on us with little or no oversite. In
fact, many of us are walking around with tracking devices in our purse or pocket that can and are used to
track us everywhere we go. In a recent article on thegaurdian.com it was stated:
Local police around the country are increasingly using high-tech mass surveillance gear that can
vacuum up private information on entire neighborhoods of innocent citizens - all to capture minor
alleged criminals. Even worse, many cops are trying to put themselves outside the reach of the law by
purposefully hiding their spying from courts to avoid any scrutiny from judges. 4. (Many police
departments spy on you without oversight. This must end. Trevor Timm @theguardian.com) Many of
these practices are unconstitutional; however, our governmental bodies continue to turn a blind eye to
such abuses of their own operatives misuses and abuses of the powerful authority the we the people
have entrusted to them. This is not the only example of such things happing. In fact, it is taking place on
such a wide scale, that our government has the ability to gain access to any and all thing that we do in
our daily lives. They have the ability to not only listen in on our phone call, read our text messages, and
emails they can, at any time, confiscate any ones property and cash with only the confiscating officer
stating that he or she felt that the said cash or property were going to be used in some form or fashion
for drugs. When this happens, it is up to the person who has had their assets taken to prove that it in no
way had anything to do with drugs. Law enforcement in America is able to do this because of the current
drug laws here in our country. 5. (George Leef, Time For Civil Asset Forfeiture Laws To Meet The Same
Fate As Jim Crow. Forbs Magazine). I uses this example due to the fact that in the book, the firemen
have the ability to enter into anyone’s home and take their property, books, because it has been
deemed dangerous contraband by the government. This is all done in the name of keeping society safe;
however, it goes against, to me, all that a decent society should represent, and I am not alone in this
feeling this way at all.
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All of this points to society being led to do as we are told and not to question authority.
However, I don’t think things can continue in such a fashion for very much longer without it leading to
great civil unrest and political upheaval.
Another current situation in America for which a parallel can be found in Fahrenheit 451 is the
current attack on our countries education system. Currently there are many political figures using our
educational system to make political points with base all to the detriment of future generations of
children, young adults, and those who may seek to return to school to further their education. The
reason that I find this relevant to Fahrenheit 451 is because, in the story, education is this dumbed down
affair were critical thinking isn’t taught nor is it desired by those in charge for it to be so. There is a trend
towards moving public education funds to charter schools even though there is no proof that they
perform any better than public institutions, and our teachers and college professors under scrutiny like
never before in this country. 6. (Liza Featherstone, The US public school system is under attack,
AlJazeera.com). It is the belief of many that the reason for these attack is to further the dumbing down
of American citizen. It is like the political elites in this country are saying to the populace “you don’t
need to worry or think about these things, for we have it all in hand.” However, education is critical for
the growth and prosperity of a nation. People should not be treated or taught to be mindless drones
who walk in lockstep with the whims of the powerful. They are not Gods but fellow human beings.
In Fahrenheit there is very little info concerning the war that is taking place in the novel;
however, the destruction of the city served as a catalyst for Montag and the other educated people to
come forth and teach others so that they and their families would have a future. 1. (Ray Bradbury,
Fahrenheit 451). It caused me to wonder if it will take civil unrest of some kind for us to have a reset of
the current system of things.
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With all of the dark things mentioned here, no one truly knows what tomorrow will bring for this
country or the rest of the nations of the world; however, censorship is most likely here to stay in our
country in various forms until something of enough significance happens to change the way things are
going. Although Fahrenheit is a work of fiction, elements of Bradbury’s fictitious society can find fertile
soil in our present. It is my hope that our present course can be everted at all cost.
1. Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. [Book Club ed. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. Print.
2. "Religious Censorship." Censorship in America. Wordpress.com, 30 Jan. 2011. Web. 28 Aug. 2015. .
3. "Definition of Political Correctness in English:." Political Correctness: Definition of Political Correctness in Oxford Dictionary (American English) (US). Web. 28 Aug. 2015.
4. Timm, Trevor. "Many Police Departments Spy on You without Oversight. This Must End." The Guardian, 26 Aug. 2015. Web. 28 Aug. 2015. . 5. Leef, George. "Time For Civil Asset Forfeiture Laws To Meet The Same Fate As Jim Crow." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 12 Sept. 2014. Web. 28 Aug. 2015. . 6. Featherstone, Liza. "The US Public School System Is under Attack." - Al Jazeera English. Al Jazeera English, 25 May 2012. Web. 28 Aug. 2015. .
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