What Are The Ethical Issues In Fahrenheit 451

Improved Essays
Former Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw once said, “The first condition of progress is the removal of censorship.” As censorship becomes more of a pressing issue in today’s society, opposing views on the extent to which it should be carried out and possibly limited itself have arisen. Some feel that suppressing controversial ideas would create a safer and more understanding community. Yet, many like Shaw are aware of the fact that imposing these constraints impedes the advancement of people themselves and the general public. i
In Fahrenheit 451, author Ray Bradbury creates a society in which strict regulations cause just this to happen. Thus, through reading the dystopian science-fiction novel Fahrenheit 451, the twenty-first century reader learns of the negative impact excessive censorship has in discouraging individual or intellectual thoughts and powerful emotions. First off, Bradbury emphasizes how censorship ultimately results in the loss of emotion in those whom it restricts. Although censorship in the world of Fahrenheit 451 was not implemented specifically to make the public emotionless, it ended up doing so to a rather large extent. Initially, books and other information was banned to ensure that nobody’s happiness was put at risk. Only works considered offensive were restricted, as Beatty, captain of the firemen, describes, “Colored people don’t like Little Black Sambo. Burn it. White people don’t feel good about Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Burn it” (Bradbury 57). However, this gradually began to escalate until anything that made anyone remotely sad at all was disposed of. For instance, Beatty goes on to mention how “Funerals are unhappy and pagan” (Bradbury 57). In response, the deceased are taken away and reduced to ash in just ten minutes to ensure that the people do “not quibble over individuals with memoriams” (Bradbury 57). However, as Diana S. Wood writes in Bradbury and Atwood: Exile as Rational Decision, “unhappiness” and “unpleasantness” are often “an integral part of the human condition” that allow people to appreciate and reflect on the good and bad in life. Thus, by getting rid of hurtful experiences, a key part of the human emotion is lost concerning empathy and the general ability to have strong feelings. Additionally, all materials containing opposing views on any event or topic were eliminated in the fear that they too would create conflicts and unhappiness. In their society, the officials, as described by Beatty, believe that in order to make sure someone is happy, they should not “give him two sides to a question to worry him;” rather, they should “give him none” and “Let him forget there is such a thing as war” (Bradbury 58). Furthermore, Beatty believes that the role of the firemen is to “stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought” (Bradbury 59). He is under the impression that it is his job to “do away” with books, for they are so “notorious for their slippery and contradictory ideas” that a world without them would “become easier and safer” (Eller). By disposing of the contrary opinions found in books, the people of Fahrenheit 451 were not being exposed to ideas that, despite being harsh and unwanted in the moment, could help to better shape their personality and way of life. That is, by being exposed to different opinions, people learn to become open minded, see many new aspects of life, and develop their own beliefs. However, with all opinionated work being banned, people’s emotions flatline without the ability to use these works to create their own convictions. In his novel, Bradbury uses the presence of certain characters to shed light on the
…show more content…
Although these regulations in this world did not start out extreme, over time the society became more and more constricted until the significance of human lives was completely lost. In today’s world, this very concept should be considered as censorship becomes a more relevant topic. Various steps are being done to protect people from potentially harmful information, such as implementing trigger warnings or blatantly discouraging people to explore new ideas that may seem uncomfortable. However, it should be remembered that the most seemingly trivial actions could sooner or later result in the oblivion of human

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Censorship is big in movies, shows, and books; it is the idea of keeping things away from us to maybe help us in the future. Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451 tells the story of how censorship is displayed throughout our everyday lives. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury uses tone to illustrate his stance on censorship through emotional words, negative symbols, and positive speaking. In the documents that are corresponding to the book by Ray Bradbury, we see things that are good but also, bad.…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Censorship made a huge influence on how people act, as a result they act like machines; just saying and thinking what the organization instructed them to say if they somehow happened to say something incorrectly, then demise or imprisonment with harsh punishment would be the main answer. Similarly, in the world of the Fahrenheit 451 the fire fighters go to individuals' homes and burn the books. “Coloured people don't like…

    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, reading is forbidden. Reading enables people to act on their own free will, and the thought of this terrified the government. Despite the government’s decision to burn books, the law was only enforced because of the people's hatred for the books, and the government not wanting the citizens to educate and think for themselves. The government believed that they were helping the citizens to remain sane.…

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Have you ever thought about censorship? Who decides what needs to be censored or not, and is it really necessary? Many people wonder what censorship even is, well;…

    • 1216 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Censorship Throughout the course of the semester our class has discussed the controversial topic of censorship. On one hand, some argue that censorship is detrimental to society; whereas others, think that censorship is beneficial and reassuring. According to Potter Stewart, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, “Censorship reflects society's lack of confidence in itself.…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, conveys how censorship can have a dramatic and disastrous effect. First, the government bans literature as it is believed to cause dangerous thoughts. Books contains ideas and knowledge, which makes people question things. This is a threat to the government as their authority can be defied. Second, the people do not have meaningful conversations.…

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Imagine living in a world where you are not in control of your own thoughts. Imagine living in a world in which all the great thinkers of the past have been blurred from existence. A world without books and not being part of the literary adventures is a world without meaning and truth. Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 takes place in a futuristic world where books are illegal to read and keep, and if a citizen is caught with one, it’s burned. In this society, all works of literature have become a symbol of unnecessary controversy and are outlawed.…

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Self-censorship is what a person does to themself in order to avoid criticism from whom they live around or their peers. When we keep ourselves from writing and expressing our creativity we become our own self-censors. In the poem, “Burning a Book,” by William Stafford, the reader is able to imagine the burning of a book in a creative way, and compare something that is thought to be a more severe situation. A book written by, Ray Bradbury, named, “Fahrenheit 451,” provides the reader with an understanding of the problems in a controversial society where someone would care about something so much that they would be willing to commit suicide over it. These texts share a theme of how we are all our own self-censors when we suppress what we care about for the sake of society.…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Ward, David V. "Philosophical Issues in Censorship and Intellectual Freedom. "www.ideals.illinois.edu. Illinois.edu, n.d. Web. Xu, Beina.…

    • 1175 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Fahrenheit 451 Research Paper Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 materializes a world where censorship is so strong, it influenced the near- disintegration of domesticity, the banning of books and other pieces of literature, and the absence of memory of a time where books and historically accurate facts were not so “covered up.” Domesticity went into a strong decline after literature was illegalized. People began to lose their moral values. They took up violent forms of entertainment, such as running over animals and even fellow humans, indiscriminately, with their jet cars. Mildred and her friends watched bloody cartoons of white clowns killing one another.…

    • 1141 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The youth of today is the society of tomorrow; raise them right, and the world will go on to be a better place. In order to do so, they must have a safe environment brought about by the suppression of ideas, words, or images that are generally considered offensive; this concept is most widely known as censorship and can be. Critically acclaimed, George Orwell’s 1984 is one of the most popular examples of censorship taken too far. However, 1984 does make a few good points when it comes to what should be hidden from public view. Some of the most common things censored are nudity and pornography, profanity, racial slurs, and other sensitive topics.…

    • 1586 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay #2 Censorship And Banned Content Ever wanted to read a book, but then you lose your motive to because of what someone said? Well it happens to everyone. It doesn't necessarily just happens to with books, but it can happen to everyone with something else. There are many ways a person’s decisions or actions can impact others. Just because they think that their decisions is helping them isn't always the case.…

    • 663 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Censorship is a practice that is continuously used to shield people from reality- banning and suppressing speech that is considered “harmful” to others. Banned books have continuously played a significant role in our contemporary American culture- depicting both civil and ethical issues in our society. Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451, and Anthony Burgess, author of A Clockwork Orange, were both novelists who produced books that fell victim to censorship, being banned for their artistic and realistic views. Offering both controversial and persistent protests against societal issues, Fahrenheit 451 and A Clockwork Orange foster impactful messages that changes the way the reader perceives the world. Anthony Burgess wrote A Clockwork Orange with three questions in mind- “Is freedom of choice really all that…

    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel written by Ray Bradbury in 1953. The book describes what Ray Bradbury anticipates the world would be like in the future. He depicted a society in which values like appreciation of nature, independent thinking and meaningful conversations are not practiced but discouraged and replaced with excessive amounts of television viewing and listening to the radio. He envisioned a society where firmen do not put out fires but start them, particularly when it comes to the burning of books. Censorship is the altering or suppression of speech, public communication and other information that may be considered harmful determined by the government.…

    • 1207 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Censorship is the tool of those who have the need to hide actualities from themselves and others. Their fear is only their inability to face what is real. Somewhere in their upbringing they were shielded against the total facts of our experience. They were only taught to look one way when many ways exist.” Charles Bukowski, an American author, unintentionally explains perfectly the customs of the people, influenced by the government, in relation to Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury; he does this by explaining the habits of people who are naive and intellectually vacuous.…

    • 706 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays