Censorship In Fahrenheit 451

While Fahrenheit 451 is set way in the future, there are still current events that portray societal elements of the story, such as censorship. The society in Fahrenheit 451 burns books to keep people from reading about the past and how things used to be. The government in Fahrenheit bans all books and only shows on tv what they want you to see, and they hide the rest much like countries today.

There are many forms of censorship in the current world. Many countries block things on the internet or ban books from libraries that would make you question their ruling. In the 1930’s the Nazis made a list of books and raided every library burning every title on the list. This is almost identical to what the government did in Fahrenheit 451. However, this also happens today in our own country. The United States Government hides documents from its citizens until they feel that the people can “handle the truth”. For example, in 2005, the American people wanted to know if Area 51 really existed, and, if so, what went on there. In response, the government only acknowledged its existence, rather than answering any questions involving its purpose. This can be tied directly to

Throughout the book, Montag speaks of how the government works. At one point he even said, “The televisor is ‘real.’ It is immediate, it has dimension. It tells you what to think and blasts it in. It must be, right. It seems so right. It rushes you on so quickly to its own conclusions your mind hasn't time to protest, What nonsense!” (Bradbury 80). The televisor is something the government controls. They only allow things to be televised that they see fit for their people. This is something done in modern Chinese culture. The close connections between this book and the modern world are almost scary in the excessive use of censorship by the government in order to shelter its people from secrets and