Censorship as a Source of Control

The following excerpt is taken from Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

Government:

IT WAS A PLEASURE TO BURN

IT was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed.

With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous

kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the

hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning

to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history. With his symbolic helmet

numbered 451 on his stolid head, and his eyes all orange flame with the thought of

what came next, he flicked the igniter and the house jumped up in a gorging fire that

burned the evening sky red and yellow and black. He strode in a swarm of fireflies.

He wanted above all, like the old joke, to shove a marshmallow on a stick in the

furnace, while the flapping pigeon-winged books died on the porch and lawn of the

house. While the books went up in sparkling whirls and blew away on a wind turned

dark with burning.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury demonstrates a strong censorship of books enforced by the government. The government isn’t trying to aid the people; but instead they’re destroying it. It’s plausible that the government originally intended to burn books because society decided that it wasn’t worth the time anymore. However, by doing so they brainwash the people by not only allowing society to think for themselves by educating them with less education – only sports and activities where they can’t stop to think. If they allow society to stop thinking then they won’t go against the laws they set. With a strong government control people won’t go against laws and just follow it exactly which allows the government to create whatever laws they see fit. People don’t even see the need to think because they know that the government will help them in creating a strong centralized society; but they will never be able to understand that when they don’t even stop to think. Censorship is established to control, not help – what the people in this society don’t realize is that the government isn’t helping them. If the people allow leaders to lead the control with 100 percent authority, they’ll use that to their advantage by gaining absolute control and people will lose their freedom. In Fahrenheit 451 if people wanted that type of government they should have moved to a communist or a dictator run country instead – which goes against ideal society of America. This shows that when people throws something away such as reading – the government will establish laws to censor it in order to end disputes; but as people give up on other things; that’s when the government will take full control.

How will the world stop the government if they took full control? Will the government ever attempt to gain absolute power? Is censorship going to lead to the end of society? How far will people go in order to stop something?

In the end, there will always be a group of people to go against the government because everyone has their own set of ideals. No matter how hard the government attempts to destroy something another group will continue to form and hide items that are censored and spread their ideals. Government can’t gain full control even if they wanted too as others will go against their enforcement.