Fahrenheit 451: A Comparative Analysis

The government dystopian society in Fahrenheit 451 uses a variety of tools to control the minds of its citizens and, its weapon of choice censorship. This dystopian society utilizes censorship to accomplish a number of goals that are comparable to the goals and methods of censorship in modern societies. Freedom of speech, press, and internet access are common liberties that are restricted by governments; likewise, the primary intentions of censorship in Fahrenheit 451 are similar. Analyzing the Fahrenheit 451 censorship and comparing its aspects to those in highly, moderately, and lowly suppressed societies such as Cuba, China, and United States provides the best understanding of how censorship affects our lives. This comparison can also alert …show more content…
The article elaborates on the various methods the government applies to completely shut off the country from the outside world; the account clarifies the true extent that is needed to achieve such an isolated state. The author of this Freedom House article emphasizes the comprehensive barriers that must be placed by the Cuban government in order to truly capture the severity of the past situation in Cuba. Similar to Chinese and Fahrenheit 451 censorship, the government in Cuba heavily regulates the amount of information accessible by the Internet, yet the length the Cuban government goes to is far more than both. Firstly, the meager 23% of the population that has internet is actually accessing an intranet full of .cu cites run by Cuban universities and government offices. This regulation is comparable to the Fahrenheit 451 regulations because the news outlets, television shows, and websites are all run by the government in the dystopian society as well. In addition to these, a 5 year prison sentencing is used to threaten anyone who connects to the real internet, and $1.50 intranet/$7 internet per hour access fees are placed upon citizens (average monthly Cuban salary is $20).