Fahrenheit 451 Censorship

In this society, censorship sets back society and decreases the civilization’s development. Captain Beatty’s presence in Fahrenheit 451 reveals his character, showing censorship, causing a lack of intellectual freedom in society. In Fahrenheit 451, Beatty’s villainy characterization enhances the story by being the chief, where he represents censorship, which reveals how society is careless about the intellectual freedom of citizens The censorship in Fahrenheit 451 reveals how humanity is on its downfall because society is being limited from developing. When Montag asks Mildred about Clarrise disappearing she says, that “she’s dead,” and that she didn’t tell him sooner because she “forgot all about it” (Bradbury 48). This shows the impact of a society without intellectual freedom. Mildred

When Beatty comes to Montag’s house he says, “the word ‘intellectual,’ of course, became the swear word it deserved to be,” implying that becoming “intellectual” is a bad thing (Bradbury 60). Beatty invokes fear in people because he doesn’t want society to question them so that humanity doesn’t find out knowledge, helping them find uniqueness in themselves. Beatty is the sole cause of society losing their psychological liberty. This shows when he tells the world that being intellectual is shunned, and that the word shouldn’t be used. He is censoring the world from being intellectual by banning books and restricting everybody's access to them. People are absentminded because of Beatty’s sayings about knowledge. He is an obstacle to society because he hinders society's advancements to have freedom, and for them to have a mind of their own. When escaping, Faber tells Montag “If you hide your ignorance, no one will hit you and you’ll never learn” telling him that he can’t be controlled and that he has to be curious (Bradbury