Fahrenheit 451: Censorship’s Perilous Grip on Society

Montag’s Transformation: From Blindness to Enlightenment

In the literary work Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the reader is introduced to an interesting society that’s much different from the society and world we live in today. At the beginning of the novel, the main character, Guy Montag, is lost and confused about his life; however, he eventually comes to realize that he is basically living a lie and wants to really figure out the world around him, along with becoming truly happy. A lesson the main character learned is how too much censorship is very negative and damaging for a society/population and that it’s the government’s way of controlling citizens.

The character starts off as brainwashed like most of his peers but later becomes more curious and thoughtful after he realizes he doesn’t truly know the world around him and how immoral the censorship in his life is. It is apparent that at the beginning of the novel, Montag realizes he is lost in life. As mentioned on page 12, “He was not happy. He said the words to himself. He recognized this as the true state of affairs.

He wore his happiness like a mask, and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask, and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back.” It is clear that Montag always thought he was happy, but then, when he actually thinks about it, he really isn’t happy at all. This demonstrates how the society he lives in is very sad and messed up due to censorship because, like Montag, the rest of the people in his society are also truly sad or angry underneath but are brainwashed into thinking they are actually happy people.

Bradbury’s Plea: Cherishing Freedom over Control

Understanding what happened to Guy Montag makes me realize that a lot of people in our society take freedom for granted, and we need to start being more grateful for the freedom and knowledge we are provided with in life. People these days seem to complain and constantly want more and more all the time, but we don’t even have it that bad, and I believe some people just need to come to a realization that life isn’t that bad. In conclusion, the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is trying to teach us that censorship is damaging to society and blinds people from the real truth about themselves and their lives.

References

Bradbury, R. (1953). Fahrenheit 451. Ballantine Books.