Censorship In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

George R. Martin once said, “When you tear out a man's tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you're only telling the world that you fear what he might say.” Ray Bradbury is an American short story writer, novelist, scriptwriter, poet, editor, and nonfiction writer. Fahrenheit 451 is the most widely read novel, which was published in 1953. The novel describes the impact of censorship on a group of people living in a society where books are forbidden and burned. The title of the novel is very relevant to the story because it refers to the temperature at which book paper catches fire. The author takes his readers into the future where owning books has become illegal, technology is widely used and social skills among people have become scarce.

Unlike the modern-day firefighter, Montag creates fire rather than extinguishing it because he is supposed to destroy books. The government wants to destroy all of the books. The other firefighters and Montag burn the homes of people found to be in possession of books. However, later on, Montag discovers that watching excessive amounts of television does not grant him the satisfaction he yearns for in life. Instead of burning the books, Montag uses them to search for greater meaning (Bradbury, Ray). The government uses censorship to limit people’s independence and freedom of expression. The novel is important because it explains the relationship many people have with books, media and technology in the 21st century. Censorship results in a society that is uneducated and