Bradbury ties personal freedom to the right of an individual having the freedom of expression when he utilizes the issue of censorship in fahrenheit 451. The first amendment to the united states constitution reads: congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for redress of grievances. The common reading of the first amendment is that commitment to free speech is not the acceptance of only non controversial expressions that enjoy general approval. To accept a commitment to the first amendment means, in the words of justice holmes, freedom for what we hate. As quoted in students' right to read ncte, 1982 , censorship leaves students with an inadequate and distorted picture of the ideals, values, and problems of their culture. Writers may often be the spokesmen of their culture, or they may stand to the side, attempting to describe and evaluate that culture. Yet, partly because of censorship or the fear of censorship, many writers are ignored or inadequately represented in the public schools, and many are represented in anthologies not by their best work but by their safest or least offensive work.

What are the issues involved in censorship? imagine that a group wants to ban fahrenheit 451 because montag defies authority. For the sake of the argument, assume for a moment that you wish to ban fahrenheit 451 from the library shelves. What are its consequences? what are the probable effects on youth to see flagrant disregard of authority? in regard to these questions, you may want to read plato's apology to get a sense of how to argue the position. Second, you must have some theory of psychology, either implied or directly stated.

That is, you must establish how a reading of fahrenheit 451 would inspire a student to flagrantly disregard authority. Why is reading bad for a student? how can it be bad? next, you must establish how a student who reads fahrenheit 451 will read the book and extract from it a message that says defy authority whenever possible and then act on this message. You must then reconcile whatever argument you construct with the responsibilities that accompany accepting the rights of the first amendment. Perhaps you should consider and think about the issues of free speech and fundamental rights that you may not have considered before. Indeed, you may conclude that you can't claim your own right to expression if you have the right to suppress others rights to express themselves. Bradbury sends a very direct message showing readers what can happen if they allow the government to take total control of what they do or do not read, watch, and discuss.

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For example, the government in fahrenheit 451 has taken control and demanded that books be given the harshest measure of censorship mdash systematic destruction by burning. Although the books and people have fallen victims to censorship in fahrenheit 451. Luckily, some citizens remain who are willing to sacrifice their lives to ensure that books remain alive.

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As faber notes in a conversation with montag, it's not books you need, it's some of the things that once were in books. Faber then continues this conversation with montag pointing out that people need the right to carry out actions based on what we learn from books. Because the government has censored so much in its society, the citizens in fahrenheit 451 have no idea about what is truly happening in their world. A direct result of their limited knowledge is that their entire city is destroyed because propaganda wouldn't allow individuals to see that their destruction was imminent. Previous dystopian fiction and fahrenheit 451 set in the 24th century, fahrenheit 451 tells the story of the protagonist, guy montag. At first, montag takes pleasure in his profession as a fireman, burning illegally owned books and the homes of their owners. However, montag soon begins to question the value of his profession and, in turn, his life.

Throughout the novel montag struggles with his existence, eventually fleeing his oppressive, censored society and joining an underground network of intellectuals. With his newfound friends, montag witnesses the atomic destruction if his former city and dedicates himself to rebuilding a literate and cultural society. At the beginning of the novel, montag develops a friendship with his 17 year old neighbor, clarisse mcclellan. Whose humanistic outlook and inquisitive nature prompt montag to examine his life.

Meanwhile, millie is unwilling to deal with reality and instead chooses to immerse herself in interactive television, seashell radio, and an addiction to tranquilizers. Unfulfilled by his occupation and discontent with a society unconcerned with reports of an impending atomic war, montag begins to question the ways of the world. Specifically, montag wonders why books are perceived to be so dangerous and why some people are so loyal to them. What power lies in books? driven by his increasing uneasiness, montag steals a book from a collection he is sent to burn. At the scene of the burning, montag is shaken when the owner of the books, an older woman, refuses to leave her home. Instead, the woman sets fire to her kerosene soaked house and remains there as it, and she, are destroyed by flames. The woman 39 s dedication to her books makes montag realize that perhaps the happiness he lacks can be found in books.

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After the burning, montag returns home, feeling ill as he relives the woman 39 s horrific death. He begins to realize that although, over the past ten years, he thought he was serving society as a fireman, he was actually purely an instrument of destruction. That night, in a discussion with millie, montag learns that his friend clarisse was killed by a speeding car more than a week earlier. Visits montag that morning, and appears to somehow be aware of the internal struggle montag is suffering through, and that montag might possess books. Beatty lectures montag about the offensiveness of books and the superiority of their current society, where homogeneity and structure are mandated, to the old society where free thought was encouraged and people were permitted to express differing opinions. During beatty 39 s visit, millie nervously organizes the bedroom and tries to pull montag 39 s pillow away.

When he won 39 t let her, she puts her hand underneath it and finds the hidden book. Millie is astonished, and although she does not directly give up her husband, she asks beatty what would happen if a fireman brought a book home. Beatty says firemen are allowed to bring a book home, but must burn it within 24 hours. When beatty departs, montag retrieves some 20 books that he has stolen from alarms over the years and begins to read.