Burning Passion: Controversial Thoughts in Fahrenheit 451
The thought of a new perspective and views on different way of life is what has shaped the world we live in today. However, some people prefer to restrict the advancements of those that could bring revolutionary change to the human race. The action of banning and placing limits on the ideas presented by Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is out of fear of awakening the inner thoughts that lead to change and individuality.
Ray Bradbury was an American fantasy and horror author who rejected being categorized as a science fiction author, claiming that his work was based on the fantastical and unrealistic way of thinking that humanity will eventually develop (Biography.com Editors). His best
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Ray Bradbury firmly stated that Fahrenheit 451 grew out of his fear of television's growing influence on people and society as a whole. That theme is clearly present and supported throughout the novel.
(Breazeale). However, due to the laws banning books represented in Fahrenheit 451, this also demonstrates the theme of censorship. Censorship is the act of suppressing something, and, since we're talking about a form of art here, censorship in this case means specifically the act of suppressing something the censor finds objectionable or offensive, usually on moral, religious or political grounds. (Breazeale). This means that the reason for banning the novel Fahrenheit 451 was because of the controversial ideas that went against the growing popular thought of propaganda and technology being supported by the government.
In the novel, Bradbury stated “We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against”. (Lee)
Which means that the reification of human relations and human reason itself—goes hand in