Fahrenheit 451 Socratic Seminar
Question 1:
Are there circumstances where censorship might play a beneficial role in society? Are there some books that should be banned? How would Ray Bradbury answer this question? Explain using evidence from the book.
Notes:
Yes, sometimes censorship might be beneficial, especially in schools, but Ray Bradbury would say no as it silences opinions. Censorship should not be present in adulthood since everyone has different opinions and we need to respect both sides even if we don’t agree with them.
Quotes:
When Captain Beatty starts yelling at Montag he yells, “What traitors books can be! You use them, too, and there you are, lost in the middle of the moor, in a great welter of nouns and verbs and adjectives”
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I knew it, that’s what I wanted to prove! I knew it would happen! I’ve always said, poetry and tears, poetry and suicide and crying and awful feeling, poetry and sickness; all that mush! Now I’ve had it proved to me. You’re nasty, Mr.Montag, You’re nasty!” (97).
While Faber is talking to Montag, Faber tells him, “I remember the newspapers dying like huge moths. No one wanted them back. No one missed them. And then the government, seeing how advantageous it was to have people reading only about passionate lips and the fist in the stomach, circled the situation with your fire-eaters”
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Why would "mirrors" be important in this new society? Explain.
Notes:
I don’t think that “mirrors” as an object are necessarily important in this society, but the implication is that people need to start looking at themselves and reflect on their actions is important as we see society blindly following the ‘rules’, and figure out what they are doing, why they are doing it and reflect on the things they have done indeed of blaming/hating others.
Quotes: Beatty states when talking to Montag, “For everyone nowadays knows, absolutely is certain, that nothing will ever happen to me. Others die, I go on. There are no consequences and no responsibilities (108-109).
While Montag is talking to the ladies he shouts, “Did you hear them, did you hear these monsters talking about monsters? Oh God, the way they jabber about people and their own children and themselves and the way they talk about their husbands and the way they talk about war, dammit, I stand here and I can’t believe it!”
Montag’s spark for his hatred of their society is lit, thinking “Strangers come and cut your heart… and take your blood. Good God, who were those men? I never saw them before in my life!” (16).
The first amendment states that the government can not pass any law abridging the freedom of speech. Schools and libraries, being government supported buildings, should not be able to completely ban books. Also, a book may be banned if the author of the book recognizes it may not be appropriate and allows the school or library to ban the book. However, in the case of Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury had said on the topic of censorship of his books, “Do not insult me with the beheadings, finger-choppings or the lung-deflations you plan for my works.” When he says this he clearly is talking about how censorship in his books is borderline offensive to
Censorship robs people of knowledge. In the time period of the book Fahrenheit 451, many books are illegal. They offend people, and make them feel uncomfortable. Some people wonder why they are censored, but it is the people who want them censored, and the government that makes the people happy.
Even today, many people don't believe that books are constantly being banned, censored, or even burned. In Florida whole elementary school libraries are being covered because all of the books aren't vetted by the government. With that being said, Ray Bradbury really captured what society would look like in a couple of decades even if most of us are scared to admit it. In the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, when conflicts encourage delusion or ignorance, questions are posed and realization occurs.
He says his voice “went out across the desert...and around the women there in the great hot emptiness.” (pg 96) The desert and its metaphorical heat once again convey the blazing and intense revolt caused by Montag’s new ideology. The problems he sees caused by the conformist society, motivate him to grow even larger in his revolution. During the burning of his own house, Montag expresses that he could never decide “whether the hands or Beatty’s reaction to the hands gave him the final push towards murder” (pg 113).
A majority of people agree with this ban, and see books as an obstacle to joy. The role of censorship in Fahrenheit 451 is to insulate the people from being disturbed or reflective, feelings caused by exposure to books discussing unpleasant or philosophical topics. The driving forces behind the banning of books were the increasing population of the world,
In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury explores how dangerous close-mindedness and censorship can be. Set in a dystopian society where everyone is closed off from the literature world, the main character must do some serious rethinking. This causes some great challenges in his life, as anyone else would. Banning a book requires a lot of thinking in general. Deciding to go against the way you were raised requires some complicated thoughts.
Though even though I won’t perish for believing in my beliefs, Montag could get killed for it because of the type of world he lives in. That can cause fright amongst people, especially with Faber. Faber stopped reading and he tried to keep his visions
The Reality of Censorship All around the world there is knowledge that is restricted because governments censor learning materials. This is very harmful to society and in my opinion, governments shouldn’t be allowed to do this because it can spread more missimforation, lessen the education of children, and put all the power in the government. Censorship shouldn’t be all over the place because it’s important to understand reality as it is and learn from it. Knowledge is power and censoring that power is a step in the wrong direction.
When Montag is talking to his wife Mildred, she is very tuned into the sudden loud noises to keep her paying attention. "Speed up the film, Montag, quick, Uh! Bang! Smack!... Politics?
Faber is the mastermind behind many of Montag’s plans and continues to assist him despite staying home. He values his safety more than anything else, leading him to contribute in many essential ways. We can also infer that in Faber’s perfect society he is a leader who fights for good with coming into the spotlight. This attribute is useful for Montag to catch his enemies off-guard with the unique skill set that Faber has. Despite the lack of danger, Faber conveys how his job is important and shows how influential he is.
Montag has finally realized what is wrong with his society and takes action, he wants to change it and make it more “human”. Montag talks to Faber and they have been exchanging ideas about their society and how they feel about it and the way people in it act. Montag and Faber are talking and Montag tells Faber that he has noticed that no one listens to each other anymore. “Nobody listens any more. I can’t talk to the walls because they’re yelling at me.
At the end of the novel, Montag is not in the best place in his life. He was talking to Faber and he said, “this is happening to me” (108).
By true definition, censorship is the suppression and illegalization of speech, public communication, and other information which may be considered objectionable, harmful, or politically incorrect as determined by the government in authority. The purpose of censorship is perhaps to protect the people, however, negative outcomes typically follow when this route is taken to control a governed people. Censorship directly attack the main characters of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and George Orwell’s 1984. Although government censorship was perpetuated to create a whole and perfect society, Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 both demonstrate that censorship brought on by the government negatively controls a community’s thoughts, actions, and their people as a whole.
Ray Bradbury actually has “argued till the cows come home that Fahrenheit 451 is not about government censorship. In his mind, the novel is about the scary potential for TV to replace books, causing us to forget how to think for ourselves. ”(Shmoop Editorial Team) Fahrenheit 451 becomes a classic Anzaldua 3 and Ray Bradbury’s best-known work because of “its exploration of themes of censorship and conformity. In 2007, Bradbury himself disputed that censorship was the main theme of Fahrenheit 451, instead explaining the book as a story about how television drives away interest in reading: "Television gives you the dates of Napoleon, but not who he was.