Theme Analysis of Fahrenheit 451 :: Fahrenheit 451 Essays

Theme Analysis of Fahrenheit 451 The theme of Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451 can be viewed from several different angles. First and foremost, Bradburys impertinent gives an anti- censoring message. Bradbury understood censorship to be a natural outcropping of an overly tolerant society. Once one group objects to something someone has written, that book is modified and censorship begins. Soon, another minority group objects to something else in the book, and it is again edited until howevertually the book is banned altogether. In Bradburys apologue, society has evolved to such an extreme that all publications is illegal to possess. No longer can books be read, not only be arrive at they might offend someone, but because books raise questions that often lead to revolutions and even anarchy. The apt imagineing that arises from reading books can often be dangerous, and the government doesnt want to put up with this danger. Yet this philosophy, according to Bradbury, completely ign ores the benefits of knowledge. Yes, knowledge can cause disharmony, but in many ways, knowledge of the past, which is recorded in books, can prevent man from making similar mistakes in the present and future. The society visualise by Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451 is often compared to Huxleys Brave New World. Though both works definitely have an anti-government theme, this is not the core idea of Bradburys novel. As Beatty explains in part one, government control of peoples lives was not a conspiracy of dictators or tyrants, but a consensus of everyday people. People are weak-minded they dont want to think for themselves and solve the troubling problems of the world. It is far easier to live a life of seclusion and illusion-a life where the television is reality. Yet more importantly, Fahrenheit 451 is an anti-apathy and anti-dependence and anti-television message. People in the novel are afraid-afraid of themselves. They fear the thought of knowing, which leads them to depend of oth ers (government) to think for them. Since they arent thinking, they need something to occupy their time. This is where television comes in. A whole host of problems arise from television violence, depression and even suicide.