Censorship In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

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Fahrenheit 451 clearly demonstrates the potential effects of censoring literature. In Bradbury’s society, literature is the only medium directly censored by the government. Their literary ban had such an extreme effect that they don’t even need to censor any other media. The citizens of this society are entertained and distracted to the point where the government can basically do whatever they want. There is no need to censor the news because the people don’t care enough to pay attention or question it. I think Bradbury is only opposed to literary censorship because it can do the most damage. Television and radio programs end up censoring themselves because their goal is to make a profit. The companies don’t produce educational or stimulating …show more content…

In Fahrenheit 451, when Mildred asks for a fourth Wall-TV, Montag responds with “That’s one-third of my yearly pay.” (Bradbury 20). In our society, teenagers are constantly asking for more technology, no matter the price. It’s extremely common to hear about someone receiving another phone, laptop, or gaming console. Additionally, people are always asking for the best technology. People will upgrade their phone, even if they’ve only had it for a couple of months. In addition to wanting more and better technology, the American society is obsessed with making everything faster. Examples of this can be found everywhere, especially in major cities. In New York City, pedestrians are constantly walking in a hurried pace and disregard almost all traffic laws. While I was in the city, I remember seeing a crowd of people walk directly through the center of an intersection. In Fahrenheit 451 this concept of a fast paced society is demonstrated when Clarisse says “I sometimes think drivers don’t know what grass is… If you showed a driver a green blur, oh yes! He’d say, that’s grass.” (Bradbury 9). This quote shows just how fast their society moves. They drive their cars at insanely high speeds, and now they have lost their ability to appreciate the world around