One of the main themes of Fahrenheit 451 is censorship. Technology has changed immensely in the past century. Many people believe that technology is helpful to society, and others think technology has had a bad effect on society. Rad Bradbury believes it is hurting this society. In Ray Bradbury’s science fiction novel, Fahrenheit 451 censorship has stopped knowledge from expanding in society leading to ignorance and the blockage of new ideas which is horrible for society.
“Burn the book. Serenity, Montag. Take your fight outside… Let;s not quibble over individuals with memoriams” (Bradbury 57). Beatty is telling Montag about how the books are hurting society because they create conflict and disagreement. Most of the people think it is better to have an opinion because it can define someone’s interests. People have the right to voice their opinions for others to see. Censorship has led to some people making stupid mistakes in society and caused them to stop spreading opinions and ideas. Without having opinions, out society would just stay the same because people would not express their feelings about certain topics. Even if somebody wanted books to be banned, it would be hard to get their word out without any books. Without them, new events and laws would not be created and the world would not change.
“Books were pulled off the shelves, including Robin Hood…” as stated in History Behind Fahrenheit 451. This was the time period when many Americans had feared communism and did not want it to spread to America. Some people were so afraid that they would censor media, books, and news to calm Americans down. Senator McCarthy told the US that he had a whole list of people that supported communism and it made censorship even worse. Most of the censorship powers belonged to a leader, just like McCarthy. A leader can be someone more powerful if the civilians do not speak out. The printing press was also a major historical event. It changed how others thought that introducing other people's ideas, and it is still true today. Books can even express how people feel and convince people to change their opinions. Books can also influence society to change its ways, and it has in the past. Slavery is good example of that in the past. One book that was written was Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and it has changed society’s feelings towards slaves.
Conclusion
In conclusion, censorship is harmful to society. It has stopped people’s creative thoughts and ideas from being shown to shown to everyone and it gives the power to the government in Fahrenheit 451’s society. Today, humans have started to use technology more which could be a reflection of the society. This could lead to censoring people.
