Censorship In The Handmaid's Tale, Offred

Throughout history, writers have challenged society through the use of controversial art. From author Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 touches on the suppression of literature by the government and the power of language. Due to the harsh realities present in the book, many schools and individuals believe it should be banned. However, Fahrenheit 451 is necessary in schools curriculums because it reveals the power of language to the reader, which drastically outweighs the dilute possible negative influences.

In the scholarly article, Sam Weller: Ray Bradbury’s 180 on Fahrenheit 451, Sam Weller clarifies the controversial theme of censorship in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Sam Weller begins by introducing Ray Bradbury and his first prominent novel, Fahrenheit 451. Weller describes the book as “the story of the near-future society” and categorizes alongside other dystopian literature such as Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and George Orwell’s 1984. The article sounded like any other analyses of the book, until the author made an unexpected statement: Sam Weller had personal relationship with Ray Bradbury.

A simple book written with the best intentions; Ray brings to the world Fahrenheit 451 in

Ray Bradbury, the author of Fahrenheit 451, presents a society in which humans suffer from depression, fear, and loss of empathy which are the result of censorship of free thought and knowledge.Humans suffer from loss of empathy due to their lack of human interaction. People live in fear of the government as the dystopian society deprives the people of knowledge. Depression is evidenced by suicidal tendencies caused by hollow lives.

Fahrenheit 451 is a book of warning. It is a reminder that we need knowledge to survive, and we need people who crave this knowledge to take over in generations to come. We need knowledge to combat ignorance and we get this knowledge from reading books and listening to other people's opinions. It is a warning of what might happen if we were to let the ignorance win, and a warning to never let this happen. It is a warning that what we have is valuable and a reminder to never take that for granted. Censorship is dangerous, and too much of it can lead to an inevitable destruction of our

“Stuff your eyes with wonder, he said, live as if you 'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It 's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.”(Bradbury 82).

Some have named Ray Bradbury “the uncrowned king of the science-fiction writers” because of his imagination and beautiful way of making Fahrenheit 451 come to life. The book Fahrenheit 451 is one of the first books to deal with a future society filled with people who have lost their thirst for knowledge and for whom literature is a thing of the past. The author mainly portrays this world from the point of view of Montag, a man who has discovered the power that knowledge contains and is coming to grips with the fact that it is outlawed. However, the reader also gets to see what life is like for one of the people content in living a life lacking in independent thought and imagination through his wife, Millie. Through the characterization of Mildred, and his use of figurative language in Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury warns that technology has the ability to hinder independent thoughts and ideas.

Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury was published in 1953. The novel depicts a future society where books are devalued and firemen burn books. It is one of the representative dystopian fictions. Dystopian fictions are influenced by the authors’ personal experiences and thoughts. Ray Bradbury’s negative view on technology, book burnings, witch hunts, and censorship led him to writing his dystopian novel.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is an excellent utopian/dystopian fictional story about a man who fights for the freedom to read. The government in this world has made almost every book (with a few exceptions) illegal. They have done this due to the contradictory ideas found in them. It was thought that all of the contradictions might confuse citizens on what is the truth and what isn’t. This book, along with being a utopian fiction, follows the Hero’s Journey archetype. Even though this book may not have purposely been made as an example of the Hero’s Journey the book and many others follow the paradigm. It may not be a perfect example, however, it definitely has it’s moments.

Persis Karim said in The New Assault on Libraries, "Obviously, the danger is not in the actual act of reading itself, but rather, the possibility that the texts children read will incite questions, introduce novel ideas, and provoke critical inquiry." Set in the 24th century, Ray Bradbury’s book, Fahrenheit 451, depicts a society in which books have been outlawed by a government fearing an independent-thinking public. Enforcing this law through incineration of book material, homes, and even book owners is the duty of firemen, such as the Chief Captain Beatty, whose insidious personality makes him the quintessence of an antagonist. However, his contradictions

The world gets crueler everyday. There are new crimes being committed daily, and sometimes it can be because of what people are subjected to. In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, this topic is discussed. In order to create a more positive environment, the world needs censorship. Without it, kids would be surrounded by bad influences, people would always find topics to argue about, and lives can even be ruined without it.

In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury conceptualizes a society based on censorship. In the society depicted in the novel, books are burned when they are discovered in anyone 's possession. Montag’s job is to burn books and the houses containing them to ash. “‘Do you ever read any of the books you burn?’ ‘That’s against the law’” (Bradbury, 8)! Montag seems horrified that Clarisse would ask him a question with such an obvious answer, but the truth is Montag is really curious as to what lies within these forbidden books. Montag wonders what makes people do it? Why would someone risk their life for some pieces of paper sewn together? It marvels Montag that a woman would rather die than part from her cherished books. “The woman on the porch reached out with contempt to them all and struck the kitchen house against the railing” (Bradbury, 40). This peaks Montag’s interest in books, and even prompts him to steal one from the burning house to add to his hidden collection. Nevertheless the harms of censorship are eventually recognized, people become curious and want to know what 's being hidden from

“The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame” (Oscar).

Censorship of literature has always been a powerful means of manipulating society by limiting what the people are exposed to. This has been used as a way to suppress free thinking and new ideas, that could cause a shift in power in the society. The censorship of literature has been used by the powerful members of society forever, because of this societies fear the idea of their governments hiding information from the public. In Americus, a small town in Oklahoma is divided over a new teenager book series that some feel the series should be banned from the library. In contrast in Fahrenheit 451, a curious fireman indulges in a banded book, which enlightens him to a new outlook on life. While in both cases the cause behind censorship is different

The argument of censorship of books has become a recent topic in the modern age of sensitivity. This can be proved by Merriam-Webster’s definition of censorship which is “The system or practice of censoring books, movies, letters, etc.”, the first example they give proves it is an important modern issue in today’s society. One particular example of censorship in literature is the elimination of indecorous words and racial epithets in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. For example, the use of the word slave as a replacement of “nigger”. Another way sophisticated people wish to censor the book is to ban it completely from impressionable readers who risk having their minds corrupted by such convoluted ideologies. This topic is discussed in the article from Huffington Post Education entitled, “Educate Don 't Censor: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the N-Word” by Hetert-Qebu Walters,