Examples Of Censorship In Fahrenheit 451

Bubleen Somal
Mrs. McAllister
ENG1D1-01
31 October 2015
Censorship established in Fahrenheit 451
Is too much technology taking over our brains to the point where knowledge is not given any place? Ray Bradbury author of Fahrenheit 451 gives a great example of censorship in their society. To summarize Montag is a middle aged fireman who is portrayed as a man who is forced to follow the orders of the government by burning books. First, the society experiences rejection towards books because the government has made them illegal. Then the lack of books affects education because people cannot make decisions for themselves. Lastly, the absence of books in the society has affected humanity because the citizens are suffering depression. Ray Bradbury’s

Ray Bradbury says, “He wanted above all, like the old joke to shove a marshmallow on a stick in the furnace, while the flapping pigeon-winged books dies on the porch and lawn of the house” (3). The author is describing how Montag use to act before he met Clarisse, who made him question existence along with her. This quotation supports rejection because it indicates the government’s opinion that firemen are portraying and throwing onto people by making them think they are happy but they are not. This quotation shows how rejection is a part of this society that is ruled by censorship, which is the opinion of the government, because the quote is telling us that the society has thrown books away, they find books and knowledge meaningless. People think books are evil and pointless, books are said to only cause problems. So the government decided to get rid of the books by making them illegal. For example when Montag was reading “Dover Beach” to Mildred and her friends. Mrs. Bowl’s called the book evil. “Silly

Montag defines, “her face was like a snow-covered island upon which rain might fall, but it felt no rain; over which clouds might pass their moving shadows, but she felt no shadow” (13). Montag is describing how Mildred appears to him every day. This quotation proves that without books and knowledge (guidance) people in the society are unhappy, but they believe technology such as “parlor families” have the ability to keep them happy. Mildred symbolizes her society. This quotation supports depression in the society because the story clearly shows that the people are not pleased. Evidence is the fact that Mildred tried to commit suicide. If she were happy with her life and their society she would not have thought about committing suicide. “You took all the pills in your bottle last night” (19). Books not being a part of the society created a society in which everything is bad, a frightening place in the world. Mildred’s society is a dystopian society where everyone who does not have knowledge is suffering depression, they are devastating. Another example that proves that citizens in the society are depressed is when Montag feels that Captain Beatty wanted to die because he did not even try to move and purposely let Montag kill him. Evidence for the text is “he lay where he had fallen and sobbed, his legs folded, his face pressed blindly to