Ray Bradbury demonstrates many outcomes in the book Fahrenheit 451 of how the lack of books can torment a given population. The effects of censorship stem from the government in Fahrenheit 451 enforcing all books to be burned down along with the house they’re contained in. Books include an unlimited variety of general knowledge that incredibly improves any individuals’ intellect when they read them. Hence the effects of this censorship by the government include brainwashing a population into totalitarianism, creating a false reality for citizens, and diminishing knowledge along with the value of life for citizens.
The lack of books makes it easier for a population to be brainwashed and in a totalitarian form of government. This is because without literature people are unable to recognize mistakes that were made in history, learn lessons, and improve intellect. With the absence of this, it is easy to take control over someone, hence why the government in Fahrenheit 451 is able to take control of its entire population.
The author makes this clear by addressing early in the book
“That’s sad,” said Montag, quietly,(referring to The Hound) “because all we put into it is hunting and finding and killing. What a shame if that’s all it can ever know.” (Bradbury, 31)
In this quotation Montag discusses the issue of censorship through a metaphor, he compares the Mechanical Hound to the population. Montag says it’s a shame that all the hound will ever know is hunting, finding, and killing, which is similar to how the population will only ever know what the government allows them to. It is also evident how in Fahrenheit 451 the government has managed to brainwash its population by lowering the kindergarten age year after year. In Beatty’s speech to Montag, he mentions
“The home environment can undo a lot you try to do at school. That’s why we’ve lowered the kindergarten age year after year until now we’re almost snatching them from the cradle.” (Bradbury 57)
They can therefore groom and control the population’s minds by only feeding information they want them to know and nothing more in order for them to obey and not rebel against their government for all the wrong it is doing. In Fahrenheit 451 People will only acknowledge what they are told by their televisions or earpieces and later on, in that society, there won’t be stories being shared with one another or any “odd ones out” such as Clarisse but only the stories the government wants to be shared and everyone with like minds.
Analysis:
The essay “Vocation of Eloquence” by Northrop Frye outlines the censorship placed in Fahrenheit 451. According to Frye, as citizens we must all take on “the job of speaking well” he mentions “the way you say things can be just as important as what is being said” This tells us that without being well-spoken citizens our speech itself would suffer from being meaningless. He emphasizes greatly on maintaining 2 pictures of society, one being what we see through our eyes which we can label as reality and the other being what we picture in our minds of the society we want to live in. The relation Fahrenheit 451 has to this essay is without being able to read books and acting a puppet for the government like the population in Fahrenheit 451 is, it is nearly impossible to obtain the correct image of that 2nd society in your imagination. In Fahrenheit 451 there was only one character that was able to gather this 2nd picture and it was Clarisse. Because of this, she was known as a weirdo up against the rest of the blue pilled society. Therefore it is clear how Clarisse was a part of the very few left in that society that could face reality.
Citizens in Fahrenheit 451 are unable to see life for what it truly is. This is because with the absence of books the population is not knowledgeable enough to face reality for what it truly is. Therefore everyone lives in the false reality that the government displays for them, and those who try to avoid it and face reality for what it is, are suppressed. The government in Fahrenheit 451 censored so much inside and outside of its society, that the citizens have no idea what is truly occurring around their world. Through the ban of books and citizens being restricted from reading about their own planet and what occurred around their planet in the past, they are also not being informed about what is currently occurring around their planet. Montag confusingly says
“I’ve heard rumors; the worlds starving, but we’re well fed. Is it true, the world works hard and we play? Is that why we’re hated so much?” (Bradbury 36)
This suppresses pain and struggle around the world and affects the population of Fahrenheit 451 as they assume that everyone is living in the same conditions as them. This displays a completely false reality for the population as the government is censoring the rest of the world and eliminating communication with the rest of the world in order to gain more power over its own population. Furthermore, towards the end of the novel, Montag says to Faber
“I’ve been a fool all down the line, I can’t stay long. I’m on my way God knows where.” (Bradbury, 134)
This represents the end of Montag’s dynamic change as he finally shows his total belief in censorship at the end of the novel. The quote shows that Montag believes that he was being fooled all his life for believing the government and was living in a completely false reality for thinking he was right by burning down all the books, houses, and people he did as well as never questioning the intentions of the laws. Lastly, in the novel, the government was so successful at displaying a false reality for its population that even though at the beginning of the book when
“A radio hummed somewhere. ‘…war may be declared any hour. This country stands ready to defend its-” (Bradbury 30)
Nobody could care less, even when Mildred invites friends whose husbands are in the army to their house, they say
“…the Army called Pete yesterday. He’ll be back next week. The Army said so. Quick war. Forty-eight hours they said, and everyone home.”
This goes to show that the government, through the ban of books has erased knowledge of what war truly is. Citizens really believe that their loved ones are safe at war and they will nevertheless return.
Due to the lack of knowledge as a result of not being able to read books. Morals go extinct and people lose the sole value of life itself. Citizens in Fahrenheit 451 seem to have lost the sense of the meaning of life. In the novel, Ray Bradbury describes random citizens as emotionless, fearless, and self-absorbed. They all seem to be walking around with masks in society that show that their loved and happy when truly they aren’t and that’s mainly the reason why their value for life is so little and they don’t spend time establishing basic morals. After talking with Clarisse who runs away with Montag’s happiness mask by asking him a simple question
“Are you happy?” (Bradbury 7)
It is at this point in the novel that ignites the flame in Montag to face reality and it’s only because his mask was stripped off. Montag then starts gaining awareness of how corrupt human morals/values are through Clarisse. She tells him
“I’m afraid of children my own age. They kill each other. Did it always use to be that way? My uncle says no. Six of my friends have been shot in the last year alone. Ten of them died in car wrecks.” (Bradbury 27)
Bradbury displays how the kids in that population are not loved, cared, thought well, or have any values. This stems from their parents not being able to teach them at a young age due to kindergarten being lowered. The cycle goes on and on and every generation the kids get worst as every generation the kids are taught fewer morals and more violence. Ray Bradbury makes readers understand that this is all planned by the government but he doesn’t tell us why or what was the government’s master plan. This is evident as over the course of the book the government seems to be leading the sense of no values by condoning: fear through fire, burning people’s houses down, burning people, eliminating people who face reality and deadly high speeds with a requirement of insurance. The government towards the end of the novel kills someone just to keep viewers entertained by making them believe it was Montag and revenge was sought for a citizen disobeying the law.
“They’re faking. You threw them off at the river. They can’t admit it. They know they can hold their audience only so long. The show’s got to have a snap ending, quick! If they started searching the whole damn river it might take all night. So they’re sniffing for a scape-goat to end things with a bang.” (Bradbury 141)
This is a clear example of a depressing society, a one that Ray Bradbury is trying to warn us about.
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