Censorship In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

"Don't join the book burners. Don't think you are going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don't be afraid to go into your library and read every book, as long as that document does not offend our own ideas of decency. That should be the only censorship,” (President Eisenhower 1953). This is significant because he is addressing the people as a whole and telling them that reading and expanding our knowledge is important as long as it doesn’t go against our nation's idea of decency. As long as the literature being read is constitutional then that should be the only censorship happening. In the dystopian novel of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury they don’t read books but rather burn them. They don’t see the value in

Montag had previously met Faber, an old English professor, and paid a visit to him. He no longer believes the society he lives in is perfect but flawed and is fed up with it. For instance, “Nobody listens any more. I can't talk to the walls because they're yelling at me. I can't talk to my wife; she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough, it'll make sense. And I want you to teach me to understand what I read," (Bradbury 78). This portrays a scene where Montag is sick of feeling invisible to those around him. Nobody listens anymore because they’re yelling at him. He is referring to the walls or as Mildred calls them the family. Mildred would rather talk to the family than to Montag. Technology has taken over his marriage and most likely others. Montag wants to be heard and he feels that understanding books is the way to do that. Mildred is addicted to the family and is isolated from those around her because of it. In present-day society, technology plays a huge role in life. It is used for school, work, entertainment, healthcare, and more. It has become an addiction in both societies but the key difference is that technology doesn’t control modern society as it does in Fahrenheit 451. Another example of the addiction to technology in Fahrenheit 451 is, “It looks like a Seashell radio." "And something

An example of this is when Beatty talks to Montag about why books are banned. “You always dread the unfamiliar. Surely you remember the boy in your 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 wasn't it this bright boy you selected for beatings and tortures after hours? Of course it was. We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal,” (Bradbury 55). This depicts a society where you are bullied for being more intellectual than others. If a child answers more questions than others they are categorized and selected for beatings and torture after hours. People dread the unfamiliar and to those who spend their days watching mindless television intellect is unfamiliar and seen as bad. It is important for everybody to be alike in this society, not just born equal in the eyes of the constitution but made equal. They do this by burning books to hide the differences in people so they appear closer to the same individual. In modern society, we are celebrated for intellect and individuality instead of being oppressed for it. Differences make people unique and are celebrated in modern society, but in Montag's society, they are shunned and can cause you to be punished. Being smart in his society is