Government Censorship In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

Throughout history, a government or any higher power tends to interfere in the information the citizens receive. This is known as government censorship, and it is a common occurrence in this world as well as the fictional world of Fahrenheit 451. With this censorship or outright ban, a government intends to alter what its citizens know or believe by either tainting the information or changing it all together. There are many examples of this throughout history, and it will happen anywhere there is a controlling force. This is incredibly evident in both Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and societies where government interference is so common, many do not even notice it anymore. It is most evident in this world since many governments fear losing

This is a common event in the novel Fahrenheit 451 where the government decided to take no chances and just burns any book they come across. It’s fears are proven true though when Montag gets a hold of a few books, reads them, and encounters the truth of the fate that has befallen literature. Similar situations have occurred in reality, with a controversial book called the Tropic of Cancer being published in 1939 as shown by the quote, “The publication was met with controversy, however, and numerous attempts were made to have the book banned”(25). This novel was greatly appreciated by the public until its contents were brought into question by the french authorities. Since the novel detailed the life of Henry Miller during the early 1930’s of Paris, it featured everything from his struggle to survive, to his sexual encounters, making it obscene in the eyes of the government, resulting in its censorship. This shows how there are many correlations between fiction and literature even among novels, especially in Fahrenheit

In Fahrenheit 451 much of the information ever given to the public is heavily censored or altered for the benefit of the government. One of the biggest examples of this is when Montag is escaping from the hound due his crimes and after a quick visit to faber flees to a river. After losing him at the river, the government’s men, to protect their public image, turn and find a scapegoat whose face they blur out to make him seem like Montag. Censorship by government in other forms of communications such as letters are also prevalent, especially in the past. In fact, during world war 1, british soldiers who wrote home had their letters heavily censored by strict guidelines as to not endanger those fighting. These restrictions were when there was information that was not permitted, these parts were ripped out of the letter, scribbled out, or marked out with a black permanent maker(2). This censorship was for the good of the people as to not lower moral or reveal any sensitive information which worked brilliantly but made these times depressing since communications were not the only things being censored, anything from plays to photographs were