Farenheit 451 as a Warning

Farenheit 451 as a Warning

What are the rights of a government? Does the government have the right to control what we think and where we get our intellectual stimulation? After the Constitution of the United States was drafted, a Bill of Rights containing ten articles was adopted and ratified by the thirteen states. In the first article, it guaranteed the people the freedom of religion, speech, the press, and public assembly. People were given the right to enrich themselves with knowledge accumulated through their readings from whatever source they chose and to make criticism towards the government as they saw fit. Because of the liberty given to its people, it is no wonder that the United States government is considered a model government in the world today. Any sound government would allow its people to make their own free judgement according to their knowledge from any sources they may gather.

Ray Bradbury's vision of a disordered world was expressed in his book Fahrenheit 451. Set in the future, it deals with a man's struggle between his destructive government position and his inner self-conscience. Guy Montag was a fireman but he did not put out fires. Instead, he created them through the burning of books. This was what Bradbury was trying to imply through the title of his book, Fahrenheit 451, the temperature at which books burn. Montag was leading a fairly happy life until he met a girl, Clarisse, who aroused his deepest feelings and fears. He became curious about the contents of books and wondered why they were so feared. This led him through a series of events which changed his life forever. When Montag asked Beatty about the burning of books he was told, "If you don't want a man to be unhappy politically, don't give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none." The futurist government displayed in Fahrenheit 451 tried to prevent any feelings or opinions contrary to their own because they did not want to be challenged. Instead, they fed unwanted junk into the minds of their people through the parlor, a wall to wall television. This machine, that does not inspire the thinking process, lead them to make the conclusion that their world revolves around it and nothing else.