Examples Of Propaganda In Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is a tale of the dangers of outlawing literature and infusing a false governmental rhetoric. The story follows the life and experiences of a firefighter, Guy Montag, in a dystopian society. In this alternate reality, books are forbidden from being read, and if they are spotted the ‘firefighters’ burn the books by coating them with kerosene and igniting them. Guy meets a teenage girl named Clarisse who encourages him to explore what is beyond the societal norms and educates him with regards to books. When she goes missing Guy imitates her spirits and takes someone’s book before burning the rest of them. He has an awakening and seeks help from a retired English professor until his emotionless wife reports him

The government in Fahrenheit 451 uses propaganda to push the idea of false happiness to its citizens along with tarnishing the idea of literature. This directly correlates to the blatant and felonious propaganda perpetrated by the former president, Donald Trump. During a speech given on January 6th 2020, he stated that the elections had been stolen from him. He also encouraged people to march over to the Capitol building and “fight like hell,”. It is now known that the issues from this propaganda caused the capitol building to be damaged and innocent people to be killed. In Fahrenheit 451, the fire chief says that “‘Authors, full of evil thoughts, lock up your type writers. They [do],’”(57). It is seen through real world events recently that falsehoods spread by trusted people hurt people. In the novel, books and authors were taboo. It is hard to imagine that if the word author was replaced with some minority, that there would be hatred towards that group of people. Additionally, once propaganda is spread, it only leaves people in society more susceptible to further falsehoods because people will think that those spreading the misinformation are a reputable source. Again, the spreading of lies is equivalent to the spreading of ignorance and the incitement of danger and potential violence. During World War II, the Nazis blamed the Jews for the war by saying they were the

In Fahrenheit 451 all citizens are forced into a false state of happiness that lacks learning, enrichment, and personal growth. It is a nation full of workers rather than thinkers who have never been introduced to the art of critical thinking. It is quite apparent because books are referred to as, “‘a loaded gun…[That] breach[es] a man’s mind,’”(58). The government also wants to make sure that, “‘The word intellectual…became a swear word…[and] the boy in your own class who is exceptionally ‘bright’... [was] selected for beatings and tortures after hours…[so] we [are] all alike,’”(58). Behaviors like this parallel North Korea’s, where all must conform to not having individuality or face serious consequences. In North Korea or the DPRK, much of the world's knowledge is off limits to citizens. In the novel, books are banned and this makes people believe the country is off limits to the rest of the world much like the coined hermit nation. As it is known, North Korea lives with much less superior technology than the rest of the world, which stems from the stifled creativity of the citizens as well as their restriction of knowledge; additionally, in the book the lack of free will leads the characters to a false sense of happiness and fulfillment in life. The clear parallels between the book and the DPRK exemplify the dangers of an oppressive government that leaves little room for