(MIP) The following meme is centered on two focal messages presented by the government in Fahrenheit 451—burning books is completely moral and being different is wrong. (SIP-A) One of the goals of this meme is to persuade people to oppress reading and support book burning—an idea that is quite prevalent throughout the novel. (STEWE-1) At first, we see how much the government has enforced the rules of burning books through the actions of Mildred and her friends. When Mildred first saw a book, she began to “[breathe] rapidly” and afterwards, she “seized the book and ran towards the kitchen incinerator” (Bradbury 63). Mildred had been so manipulated by the government that even seeing a book makes her feel insecure; making her want to burn the book even against her husband’s request. Later on, when …show more content…
In this society, somehow, going outside gets you a trip to the psychiatrist and being a pedestrian gets you arrested which is a very evident example of censoring people away from noticing too much around them, hence, the idea that being different is wrong. (STEWE-2) When this idea is implemented, individuality starts to decline and more and more people turn out like the same. Beatty explains to Montag the time when there was a “boy in [his] own school class who was exceptionally ‘bright’, did most of the reciting and answering while the others sat like so many leaden idols, hating him]” and it was “this bright boy [who was] selected for beatings and tortures after hours” (Bradbury 55). The reason behind this is because the government wants the people to be the same and so by doing this, no one questions the authority and in the government’s eyes, everyone is living in a happy wonderland. (CS) In summation, the meme that is presented focuses on the idea of burning books and the argument of how being different is wrong–two concepts which are frequent in the