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Fahrenheit 451 Censorship Research Paper

Decent Essays

Censorship vs. Moronic Television The author of the novel Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury, claims that the theme of his work is Moronic television. Fahrenheit 451 is set in a futuristic dystopian society where books are illegal. When one is not allowed to read books as an act of force from a governing body is a form of censorship because they are censoring books from the public. Therefore, there is controversy surrounding the theme of this novel. Is it Moronic television or is it censorship? The theme of the novel Fahrenheit 451 is in fact censorship. Television does not play a large role in the story. In fact, the word “television” is only mentioned three times in the entire novel. If the theme of the story was intended to be moronic television, more emphasis should've been placed on the issue of television. However more emphasis was placed on the conflict of books being banned which is censorship. …show more content…

Bradbury stated, “The public itself stopped reading on its own accord” (Bradbury 40.) This could be an attempt to address the topic of moronic television. However the main conflict revolved around censorship so it drowned out any attempts at the theme of moronic television. If moronic television was the intended theme, the author failed to get the point across to his audience. The theme of censorship makes more sense rather than a theme of moronic television. The plot revolves around the censorship of books; According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, theme is defined as “a subject or topic of discourse or of artistic representation” Because censorship is used as the subject of Fahrenheit 451. As aforementioned, television is only referenced three times in the entire novel. If Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 with the intent to address a theme of moronic television, the issue of television should have been more relevant to the

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