Use Of Censorship In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

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Why are there many arguments about the use of censorships? In this democratic world that encourages free thoughts, censorship would seem to some people to be positively outdated. Looking at it closely, though, one can easily tell that it is a very complex topic. By looking at both personal and literary examples, one will find that censorships are like tightropes, and that societies that walk on them will have the danger of falling if they are not properly balanced on them. In my school, there happens to be one policy that shows this delicate balance.
Every start of the school year, students in my school--a Catholic high school--get a lecture from the staff about the dress code. Students are told that "immodest" types of clothing are considered …show more content…
In this dystopian novel, not only books are censored, but front porches and even being a pedestrian are considered unacceptable as well. As can be seen in this example, the most critical problem of censoring others is that one does not know where to stop. When books are first censored, front porches are probably still considered acceptable. After some time passes, however, more and more things become immoral in the eyes of the society. As a result, more and more things are removed by censorship. By the time Montag meets Clarisse, the people have lost much of what they originally believe in without realizing what is lost. In other words, the censorship in this story keeps expanding to the extent that it cannot tell right from wrong. Such expansions are tempting to censors everywhere. Another danger for the people under censorship is the neglect or even punishments of those who oppose the majority by having a belief of their own. For example, in Fahrenheit 451, Clarisse holds a different belief from what is generally accepted--the belief that the public should be more aware of their own world. As a result, she is considered an outcast by schoolmates and a “time bomb” by censors. Captain Beatty’s unemotional speech on her death further shows the tendency of censorships to neglect values and rights of individuals. Additionally, excess censorship can be very harmful to the society as a whole. A society can easily fall apart due to the lack of knowledge needed to make informed decisions. In Fahrenheit 451, censorship in the society is to be blamed for the death of Mildred and thousands of others, as it prevents them from learning about wars when there is a war coming. In this case, the censorship that is originally designed to help the society blinds the public instead. Fahrenheit 451 provides readers with a clear example of how a
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