Fahrenheit 451 Research Paper

Haley Montgomery

Professor Darcy Lewis

English 1302

8 February 2017

Censorship: The Many Perspectives of the Characters of Fahrenheit 451

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the definition of censor is “a person who supervises conduct and morals such as: an official who examines materials (as publications or films) for objectionable matter; an official (as in time of war) who reads communications (as letters) and deletes material considered sensitive or harmful” (“Censor”). Throughout the entirety of history, censorship has been exercised in some way or another across the world in many different aspects of culture such as works of art, media, television, music, education, the internet, and literature. There are many different types

with Socrates who refused to allow the Greek government to censor his teachings. Much like the characters in Fahrenheit 451, there was punishment for this and Socrates was eventually sentenced to death by being forced to drink poison (“Plato”). Centuries later, in the mid-1900’s, censorship was still very common. Specifically in Boston, the city issued more bans on books than any other city in the United States. This trend continued across the country with a focus on literature that is still prevalent today. It wasn’t until the early twentieth century that the laws and legal rights in America regarding the censorship and banning of literature was addressed. The Constitution of the United States of America defines through the First Amendment that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (U.S. Constitution). Despite the law specifically outlined here, declaring the freedom of speech for Americans, censorship continues to be a reoccurring theme in our culture. Group that trigger and support censorship range anywhere from the government to small private

There are many reasons as to why literature may be censored such as for obscenity, threat, or criticism of a government or religion. With the overwhelming evolvement of technology, one type of censorship that is becoming more and more common is self-censorship, which is the voluntary censorship of material in order to avoid judgement or forceful censorship in the future ("What Is Censorship?"). One of the most intriguing examples throughout the history of literature regarding censorship is the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Authored in the 1950s, the theme of the novel is based on the complete censorship of books throughout society due to the eventual effects of self-censorship by the community over time. Ray Bradbury's use of censorship in Fahrenheit 451 sends a strong message about freedom that applies to not only the subjects in the non-fiction novel, but also relates to various cultures and societies throughout all of