Fahrenheit 451 theme handout

This is the handout for our group project of the theme Censorship Causes Diminished Individual Thought:

Timeline:

1. Montag is a normal member of society, and comments on how Clarisse thinks too much in this censored society.
2. Beatty talks about how everything is shortened and censored so there is no room or need for thought
3. Montag realizes there is something to books, that possibly makes people happier, trying to break through the censorship.
4. Beatty attempts to rebut Montag’s realization by saying books can be used for people as well as against people.
5. Montag joins up with Faber to try and stop this censorship, but Beatty keeps trying to stop them.
6. After killing Beatty, Montag runs away where he meets a group of men, who open his mind to the world of books, thoughts and literacy.

Textual Evidence:

Part 1:

• “You think too many things,” said Montag uneasily (Bradbury 6).
• “School is shortened, discipline relaxed, philosophers, histories, languages dropped, English and spelling gradually gradually neglected, finally almost completely ignored. Life is immediate, the job counts, pleasure lies all about the work. Why learn anything save pressing buttons, pulling switches, fitting nuts and bolts?”(Bradbury 53)

Part 2:

• “We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren’t happy. Something’s missing. I look around. The only thing I positively knew was gone was the books I’d burned in ten or twelve years.”(Bradbury 78).
• “‘Oh, you were scared silly,’ said Beatty, ‘for I was doing a terrible thing in using the very books you clung to, to rebut you on every hand, on every point! What traitors books can be,”(Bradbury 104).”

Part 3:

• “It’s strange, I don’t miss her, it’s strange I don’t feel much of anything,” said Montag. “Even if she dies, I realized a moment ago, I don’t think I’ll feel sad. It isn’t right. Something must be wrong with me.” (Bradbury 148).
• “The chase is still running.”...”They’re faking. You threw them off at the river. They can’t admit it. They know they can hold their audience only so long. The show’s got to have a snap ending, quick! If they started searching the whole d*** river it might take all night. So they’re sniffing a scapegoat to end things with a bang.”(Bradbury 141)

This theme contributes to the progression of the story because it shows how Montag changes his views of the society, how he wants to change himself.

In today’s society, this theme could be seen as people trying to stop people from making their own decisions, North Korea being an example. If people can’t think for themselves, a dictator can have absolute authority.