Fahrenheit 451 Research Paper

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Analyzing and Connecting Themes Within Fahrenheit 451 Today, there are over 3,362 books banned in schools around the United States. Every year, this number rises dramatically. Censorship and book-banning is a very debated topic for people today. But, what are the true effects of censorship and book-banning? In Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451, he discusses various themes, including the effects of censorship on society. Are there quotes, historical events, or other individuals that prove this? To start, what is some background information about the novel Fahrenheit 451? Fahrenheit 451 is a novel that was written in 1953, by author Ray Bradbury. The novel focuses on the main character Guy Montag, who lives in a futuristic city run by an …show more content…

Members of the Nazi party burned thousands of books that they considered to go against German ideology. Almost all of these books were written by popular Jewish writers. This event was a show of power made by the Nazi party, demonstrating their strict tolerance with their policies. It also showed how they viewed censorship. One quote that shows the significance of this event can be seen here, “Along with the Nazi ideology that there existed a superior race of people came the idea that there was one true cultural and ideological canon; that which didn’t fit was consigned to the fire.” ‘The old goes up in flames, the new shall be fashioned from the flame in our hearts,’” Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels told the crowd then” (Rothman). Evidently, the way that Hitler influenced Germany had countless repercussions. Jewish culture and ways of living were completely destroyed. Years of heritage and knowledge were completely erased in a matter of days. Furthermore, the Nazi party continued to censor every form of media, completely brainwashing people into believing that what they were doing was alright. The events in Fahrenheit 451 are not completely the same as the tragedies that happened during the rise of the Nazi regime. Regardless, there are some similarities that can be made. Overall, both of the governing parties completely censored the media that the people were receiving, mainly through …show more content…

This spanned almost half of the 20th century. According to Millercenter.org, The Red Scare can be defined as this, “In the early 1950s, American leaders repeatedly told the public that they should be fearful of subversive Communist influence in their lives. Communists could be lurking anywhere, using their positions as school teachers, college professors, labor organizers, artists, or journalists to aid the program of world Communist domination” (The Miller Center). So, in a useless attempt to combat the suspicion of growing communism in the United States, the government decided to “educate” people. This included forcing them to question almost everything in their lives. This movement can be likened to the events that occurred in Fahrenheit 451. In the novel, people were given a simple motto, “Books are dangerous, they need to be destroyed.” People questioned those around them, doubt was a constant emotion. For example, if one was suspicious that someone they knew possessed books, they could be reported, and then dealt with. Division was evident in their society, people didn’t know who to trust. These historical accounts, and fictitious examples, give more evidence of connections that can be made between Fahrenheit 451 and the real-world. Nevertheless, this is one example of a connection that can be made between the novel, and an event that is occurring

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