Megan Hayes
Fahrenheit 451 Essay In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the somewhat dystopian theme of the censorship of books by burning is used to draw a parallel to the censorship of minorities through various media. It also shows the quagmire of realizing that you are part of a system that is destroying what may be valuable to its communal wealth. As the book was published in 1953, some may find it surprising that the themes that is continuously relevant in society today. Bradbury's vision of television becoming the supreme and lone form of pastime is still a real fear for many people, especially when the information passed through capitalist, majority-centric filters. Losing resources like books, newspapers, and more recently social media platforms, is devastating to the truth and experiences that people share. In a way, the novel describes events that are always happening, but through hyperbole as a forewarning of what might come to be if people do not resist consumption by media. Fire is a very dominant and obvious symbol in this novel, with the burning of books and one of the official fireman's symbols being a hearth. Fire is seen as an extinguisher, and while books are set ablaze a flame of desire also ignites with Montag's desire to read. This brings on his subversive thoughts about the society he lives in and how flawed it truly is. Fire also burns inside of Beatty with his hatred for books, which is ironic because he is so versed in literature, and doubly so because he hates the way that books are open for interpretation when he is in a book himself. When the city is bombed, Montag and company are