Censorship causes diminished individual thought.
The theme “Censorship causes diminished individual thought” is important to our understanding of the story because the characters in this book are incapable of thinking for themselves because the government controls everything for them.
This theme connects to our modern-day society because this kind of censorship still happens today in some countries. It is important to be aware of this theme to prevent this extremity of censorship from happening in our nation.
Part 1 Quote:
"Are you happy?" she said. "Am I what?" he cried. But she was gone-running in the moonlight. Her front door shut gently. "Happy! Of all the nonsense."(Bradbury 7)
Part 2 Quote:
“We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren’t happy. Something’s missing. I look around. The only thing I positively knew was gone was the books I’d burned in ten or twelve years.”(Bradbury 78).
Part 3 Quote:
“It’s strange, I don’t miss her, it’s strange I don’t feel much of anything,” said Montag. “Even if she dies, I realized a moment ago, I don’t think I’ll feel sad. It isn’t right. Something must be wrong with me.”(Bradbury 147)
Timeline:
- Montag meets Clarisse, a person who is observant of the world around her, and she makes him question the world that he is living in. Montag has never before questioned the society around him, and begins to open his eyes to his surroundings.
- Montag reads a book to Mildred's friends, and they also begin to think deeper thoughts than they originally would.
- Beatty tells Montag that there are no need for thinking and books, as everything in society is censored.
- Montag and Faber devise a plan to stop the censorship of books, but Montag is being chased after by the government.
- Montag runs away into a society where people are free to think what they want, and there is no censorship of books.
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. [Book Club ed. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2013. 7, 78, 147. Print.
