Fahrenheit 451 Censorship

In his novel Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury writes about societies focus on entertainment, gratification, and speeding through life. The citizens in the novel, have become engrossed in an over stimulated society, that they have no room for literature, self-awareness and the appreciation of nature. The people in this stimulated society have become self absorbed with themselves, that they have to rely on what others tell them, mainly the technology, that they do not think for themselves. This is why in the book, any type of literature except comic books, were considered a threat to the ideal society that the people have grown accustom to.
Throughout the novel, the reader will find that Bradbury sends a direct message, showing the readers what can happen if they allow the government to take control of what they read, watch, and discuss. For example, the government in Fahrenheit 451 has taken control and demanded that all books be given the harshest measure of censorship, which is systematic destruction by burning them all. One purpose of censorship is because books can often provoke questions that lead to change and revolution, yet knowledge can also be constructive. For example, one benefit of reading is that books contain knowledge of the past, which can prevent people from making the same mistakes in the future. While talking to his wife, Montag begins to realize this concept. “Maybe the books can get us half out of the cave. They just might stop us from making the same damn insane mistakes!”(Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451, 74). Montag is not only attempting to say that books are advantageous, but he is seeing them as hope for the injured world he lives in.
Bradbury shows his negative opinion of censorship by depicting a society without books to be a dangerous society to live in. One of the dangers is not being capable to think for yourself. This affects the characters in Fahrenheit 451 because they just believe whatever their complex televisions say and never stop to...