Similarities Between Fahrenheit 451 And Alabama Mass Shooting

Sophie Woehl
Mrs. Wenshau
04/19/2023
F451 Current Events Final Project

Alabama Mass Shooting → https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/alabama-Dadeville-mass-shooting/?id=98616435

A universal theme in Fahrenheit 451 is that of violence. The people of society have become so numb and out of touch with their emotions. Tragic occurrences like death and suicides hardly produce a reaction. Due to this lack of sentiment, killing happens far too often. At the novel's beginning, as Montag and Clarisse get to know each other, Clarrise expresses her fear of other kids her age: “I’m afraid of children my age. They kill each other” (Bradbury, 27). Not only is the act of murder common, but it is also prevalent among children. We are seeing similarities

The article above is written on a mass shooting that took place on the evening of Saturday, April 15th. In the midst of a sweet 16 birthday party in rural Alabama, four victims were killed and 32 injured. While there was no reference to mass shootings in the novel, there are still many similarities between this event and Fahrenheit 451. The mass shooting in Alabama also reflects a lacking value for life. According to ABC News, there have been more mass shootings than days in 2023. (Alfonseca) This is something to be fearful of, just as Clarisse was fearful of her peers. All young victims of the Alabama shooting were entirely innocent. The motives for the killer's actions have not yet been determined. This relates directly to the scene in the novel when Montag was crossing the street. A group of kids were driving recklessly and almost killed Montag solely for the sake of pleasure: For no reason at all in the world, they would have killed me” (Bradbury, 122). The loss of innocent lives is seen time and time again in our world today. Violence is increasing at rapid rates in our

The government intervenes in all situations and highly regulates any information that is obtainable. The destruction of books is the main way in which the government controls access to information in Fahrenheit 451. In our world today the act of censorship is becoming increasingly common. There are endless topics of controversy and with that comes controversial books. In Texas, the governor is proposing a bill to ban all public school libraries from having any books that include material with same-sex couples and transgender characters. The topic of LGBTQ is one that is very contentious. In the novel during Beatty's lecture, he explains to Montag why life is so much easier without books containing highly disputed topics: “Colored people don’t like Little Black Sambo. Burn it. White people don’t feel good about Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Burn it. Someone’s written a book on tobacco and cancer of the lungs? The cigarette people are weeping. Burn the book” (Bradbury, 57). This is Beatty emphasizing the conflict that books can cause for minorities. He believes that without all the varying viewpoints books can hold, we are far better off. This goes hand in hand with the banning of “woke” culture books. Regardless of which side of the argument we take, it is vital we start to recognize this act of censorship. Also in Beatty's lecture, he elaborates on the discomfort and dissatisfaction literature