The Effects of Censorship on Society Today, there are many ways for people to freely share their ideas and beliefs, especially in books. However, Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” shows the devastating effects on society if all opportunity for expression is taken away. The story demonstrates the amount of control the government holds over its citizens, which ultimately leads to the suppression of free will. This is shown through Mildred because of her lack of knowledge and diversity. In short, the story shows how censorship can alter people’s way of thinking, and how it can change a society. The lack of free will in the story is a major issue because characters are stripped of their capacity for independent decision-making, …show more content…
This is shown through Mildred because of her lack of understanding about her health. “The bottle of sleeping tablets which earlier today had been filled up, now lay empty.” This shows how Mildred has little care for her health and has no understanding of physical well-being. Another example of Mildred’s lack of knowledge was when she betrayed Montag and sold him out to the firemen. “Was it my wife turned me in the alarm? Beatty nodded.” The censorship laws that have been placed also contribute to the lack of knowledge. Books provide valuable information and if taken away, it will lead to an uneducated society. Lastly, the government is also another reason why society has a lack of understanding. They are the ones who are “pulling the strings” by forcing laws that forbid people to read books, thus undulating the public. This makes it easier for the government to spread lies among the public. Therefore, the extermination of books and total government control will make the public ignorant about their physical well-being and