Fahrenheit 451 was inspired by a variety of historical occurrences that occurred during Ray Bradbury's lifetime. There is a reason why tyrants who take control try to find means to suppress their writers and other artists by banning or even destroying books. The reason is that literature and art frequently convey an independent attitude and the value of free thought. This was perhaps never more apparent than during the flurry of book burnings carried out by the Nazi administration in the 1930s. These book burnings evolved under the direction of the German students into ceremonial events where all concepts that were thought to have Jewish influence or that disagreed with state-sanctioned theology were destroyed. Such censorship would take on an even more brutal form in the Soviet Union, particularly between 1936 and 1938, when Stalin's Great Purge saw the systematic arrest and frequently execution of authors, artists, politicians, specialists, and others who dared to challenge, or merely question, Stalin's ruthless regime. …show more content…
But the committee really got going in 1950, when Wisconsin senator and Republican Joseph McCarthy became a major figure in politics. Senator McCarthy presided over these hearings, which rank among the most oppressive and harmful in American history. Artists, writers, actors, and other public figures who were allegedly using their influence to spread Communist ideologies were summoned to testify before the committee, interrogated vehemently by Senator McCarthy, and regularly blacklisted, which effectively ended their lives and careers by making it impossible for them to find employment again. The blatant abuse of power by the government, the restriction of ideas, and the marginalization and persecution of artists undoubtedly incensed