Fahrenheit 451 Censorship Analysis

American-born, Supreme Court of Justice William O. Douglas said, “The restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us.” (libguides.com). In this futuristic society, all books are banned. Protagonist Montag is a fireman who keeps the fire at 451 degrees, the temperature at which paper burns. He finds a deep desire for stories after he meets a book-loving girl named Clarisse, and reads a few on poetry. When Montag realizes how precious they are, he meets a man named Faber who is willing to help him preserve the knowledge in books, even if that means getting burnt. In Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451, a major topic is the idea that censorship can brainwash and change people's thoughts.
Montag’s job as a fireman and the laws of his society provide an
Drivers cannot “clearly see what they are passing... they only know [it as] a blur.” You must drive over “forty miles an hour… [or get]... jailed for two days.” (9). This way, nobody has the opportunity to stop and think about what they are doing since they are going to fast. By drastically elevating the speed limit, the government censors their peoples process of thoughts and disrupts their abilities to comprehend what’s going on in the world around them. Therefore, burning books and increasing the speed limit are two ways the government takes authority over its people. Ultimately, in Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451, censorship is used to hide concerns that would be produced by the public's unanswered questions. Readers should take away that the forbiddance of knowledge and slow actions make it impossible for everyday people to really stop and understand any given situation. The worst limitation that anyone can set is the limitation of free