Friday, June 10, 2011

Fahrenheit 451 Is Not About Censorship

Sometimes people have ideas about a book that are just wrong. Usually those ideas are left to a small group of friends and are never used as the correct meaning of a book. However, there are a few that slip through the cracks.

One of the examples of this is Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. It is famously stated to be about the dangers of censorship. There is a truth that censorship does come into play here (with the firemen starting fires to burn books in this book's future).

However, this book is really about the dangers of technology. While the book does mention censorship numerous times, there is a greater fear of technology in the book and the author's life.

Notice how the wife wanting her fake life is of a very great importance. And the fact that the main character only escapes when he goes to a place of not so great technology (the escaped band of people who memorize books).

This fear of technology is very true to today's culture. Notice WoW or Second Life as examples of ways people escape into a fantasy realm.

Whether people being consumed with technology or censorship is the greater danger, the truth is that Fahrenheit 451 is about the dangers of being consumed by technology.

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