Examples Of Censorship In Fahrenheit 451

To reveal meaning of his novel to the reader, Ray Bradbury develops a significant theme of censorship. The suppression of books began as self-censorship when people stopped reading literature gradually over time as the culture around them grew shallower. The cofounders of LitCharts, explain how the society works, “in such culture, books became shorter, magazine and newspaper articles became simpler, cartoon pictures and television became more prevalent, and entertainment replaced reflection and debate” (Fahrenheit 451 Censorship ). This passage suggests that the restraint of books resulted from the people themselves. In addition, the containment of special interest groups’ controversy slowly vanished from society. The cofounders of LitCharts

On the first page of the novel, Bradbury displays how the firemen enjoy the darkness of fire. Montag reveals his feelings about the fire, “it was a pleasure to burn, it was a special pleasure to see things blackened and changed” (Bradbury 1). This example reveals Montag stating he enjoys watching things “blackened and changes”. Therefore, it symbolizes darkness and destruction. Second, the meaning of the symbol changes when Bradbury shifts to a more neutral approach. Montag actually starts to appreciate the use of fire, “…he felt himself gush out in the fire, snatch, rend, rip in half with flame and put away the senseless problem. If there was no solution, well then now there was no problem either. Fire was the best thing for everything!” (Bradbury 152). This evidence suggests that the connotation of the symbol is beginning to turn towards the positive end of the spectrum. Third, towards the end of the novel, Bradbury describes how Montag viewed fire in a positive way. At this point in the novel, Montag exits the river and the first thing he sees is the fire, “That small motion the white and red color, a strange fire because it meant a different thing to him. It was not burning, it was warming” (Bradbury 188). As I have shown, Ray Bradbury uses fire to symbolize destruction and rebirth throughout the