Censorship In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

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Censorship is a very prevalent issue within today’s society. From entertainment outlets such as television, to informal outlets such as news articles, censorship seems to find its way into every aspect of our culture. Because of this, many people have expressed their displeasure of censorship by making various critiques, commentaries, or satires on the matter. A perfect example of one of these commentaries is the 1953 science-fiction novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

In the world of Fahrenheit 451, everything is censored and books are outlawed. The government has taken complete control of what citizens see and perceive in their reality. For this reason, everyone has become entirely warped and disillusioned from what is truly going on around them. Such as Mildred or the book’s protagonist, Guy Montag, the fact that there are people who are willing to think freely simply is not enough to save the people of the …show more content…

However, this is also a direct violation of the First Amendment, which states that “the commitment to free speech is not the acceptance of only non-controversial expressions that enjoy general approval“ (CliffNotes). Despite the fact that in this society the government has complete control over what people see, hear, and even think, an outcome like this is not theoretically possible. At least, not anytime in the near future. Although, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 certainly does serve as a good cautionary tale of what could happen if censorship is taken to the extreme.

Despite the fact that censorship might never reach the level it has in Fahrenheit 451, it very well has already overtaken various media outlets such as television, internet videos, news articles, and books. One good example of censorship in modern times is on the YouTube platform itself. In October of 2015, a content