Seed, David. “The Flight from the Good Life: Fahrenheit 451 in the Context of Postwar American Dystopias.” Journal of American Studies, vol. 28, no. 02, Aug. 1994, p. 225, 10.1017/s0021875800025470.
In this study, the author describes that 20th-century science fiction looks to the future with the pessimism of those individuals who believe that the more man increases his mastery of nature and controls it, the less he has to control himself. Seed in his article further argues that Bradbury’s dystopian Fahrenheit 451 clearly shows that any attempt to establish utopia in the postwar world which has allowed firemen to burn the books would only make matters much worse. Seed’s article discusses the recurring motif that the idea of banning and burning books has taken a flight from a good and informative life to detrimental unfavorably literate culture offering the futuristic society as a place that highly fears knowledge, critical thinking, censors free will and independent thought (Seed, 1994). In my opinion, Seed particularly utilizes Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 to provide an insight into the fear of censorship and the book-burning to forcibly cease individuals’ minds to think independently in a society shortening the outgrowing book culture.
Patai, Daphne. “Ray Bradbury and the Assault on Free Thought.” Society, vol. 50, no. 1, 21 Dec. 2012, pp. 41–47, 10.1007/s12115-012-9617-x.
Daphne Patai goes into great detail in his article about what Bradbury has stated in his book Fahrenheit 451 that wall size big screens of televisions could take control over individuals’ free wills and eventually could control people’s minds. He further goes on with examples from Muslim counties who had not the freedom of action or even their expressions outburst in the form of riots while they were tried being silenced to talk about their rights pertaining to the right of free speech so the Muslims fought for the rights of individuals (Patai, 2012). I agree with Patai’s notion that the modern world of television and digital sensations has destroyed people’s idea to live in nature in order to survive. Patai relates the banning and burning of books as a political assault and persuasions to end free will and speech and everything that instigates critical thinking that their nefarious politics could never approve of.
Ramin Bahrani. “Why “Fahrenheit 451” Is the Book for Our Social Media Age.” The New York Times, 10 May 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/05/10/books/review/fahrenheit-451-ray-bradbury.html.
In this news-based article, Bahrani gathers details from the Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 to demonstrate a futuristic society where people burned books, the houses that had them, and eventually, human beings. Bahrani argues that it seems throughout the novel that Bradbury could connect behaviors and objects to today’s society where books are outlawed. Bahrani debunks the central theme of the book which is the conflict between censorship as Bahrani states that the society Bradbury has depicted voluntarily given up books and freedom of thought as in Bradbury’s society people do not feel censored (Bahrani, 2018). The author of the article warns about the bombardment of digital sensations such as Wikipedia and Twitter where people only read headlines that could substitute for the critical thinking process. In the nutshell, Bahrani extends the idea that the more human beings erode the language by banning books and switching digital sensations, the more they erode the complex thought process which is the distinctiveness of humans among all other creatures, and eventually, the easier we humans are to control in today’s censored world.
Ceaser, Dan. “Banning Books Mocks the Intelligence of Young Readers.” Gainesville Sun, www.gainesville.com/story/opinion/2022/03/26/dan-ceaser-banning-books-mocks-intelligence-young-readers/7063624001/
Dan Ceaser in this web-based article explores his attempts to uncover the truth about the banning of books due to “diverse content” has mocked the intelligence of the young readers as Bradbury in his Fahrenheit 451 envisioned a dystopian society where books are banned by those in power to control what people are and how they think. This article represents an overarching debate that grown-up adults are not the mere target of censorship in this bleak society but only the young readers are censors’ targets. He argues that critical thinking has always been a significant goal with myriad benefits in nurturing young learners’ minds that could only be promoted through the deep reading of diverse texts to introduce young readers to diverse perspectives such as increasing cross-cultural friendships and healthy identity formation. On the other hand, book banners get kids to pick up the device instead of books to limit the readers’ viewpoints that young minds can access and assess (Ceaser).
“Why Fahrenheit 451 Is Supremely Relevant to the Times We Live In.” FactorDaily, 4 Nov. 2016, archive.factordaily.com/fahrenheit-451-ray-Bradbury-relevant-present/#:~:text=Fahrenheit%20451%20posited%20a%20culture.
I have selected this article as an additional source to further argue Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 that how independent thinking and intellectualism have become abhorrent in today’s modern society. The author delves into some relevance of Bradbury’s predictions he has made in Fahrenheit 451 that modern day society is banning and burning the books on one hand and introducing digital media sensations on the other hand for the censorship of individuals’ beliefs and thoughts. He sheds light on the reality that people in today’s modern world books are thrown away with disrespect and libraries are getting closed down to keep everyone brainwashed and mediocre while being entertained through digital media. I strongly concur that books were more geared to the bright and knowledgeable future of mankind as compared to these modern digital sensations. The author of this web-based article calls Bradbury’s effort to unmask the politics behind shortening the book culture as an allegory for this modern era although written in 1953 because it is so relevant to today’s society where people are surrounded by constant entertainment and instant gratification yet with mediocrity.
Hillerbrand, Hans J. “On book burnings and book burners: Reflections on the power (and powerlessness) of ideas.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 74.3 (2006): 593-614.
This article is taken as an additional source to draw on how Bradbury presents the idea of banning and burning books in his predicted dystopian society as books were the symbol of freedom of mind in the world before, the notion of book-burning has now become the epitome of censorship of ideas. The ritualistic censorship in today’s modern world through the acts of burning books and closing down libraries is to declare what is permissible and what is not acceptable by those in power under their political agendas. Hillerbrand argues that censorship is an actual death blow to the free minds as it ceases the ethical and critical inquiry of the individuals and eradicates creativity of minds which eventually ends the exchange of effective ideas in the discourse. The key inspiration of this article is the threat of banning books and switching modern lives to media rather than reading in a terrible futuristic society where people are discouraged to think and connect with each other through their thought-provoking ideas actively (Hillerbrand, 2006).
Works Cited
Seed, David. “The Flight from the Good Life: Fahrenheit 451 in the Context of Postwar American Dystopias.” Journal of American Studies, vol. 28, no. 02, Aug. 1994, p. 225, 10.1017/s0021875800025470.
Patai, Daphne. “Ray Bradbury and the Assault on Free Thought.” Society, vol. 50, no. 1, 21 Dec. 2012, pp. 41–47, 10.1007/s12115-012-9617-x.
Ramin Bahrani. “Why “Fahrenheit 451” Is the Book for Our Social Media Age.” The New York Times, 10 May 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/05/10/books/review/fahrenheit-451-ray-bradbury.html.
Ceaser, Dan. “Banning Books Mocks the Intelligence of Young Readers.” Gainesville Sun, www.gainesville.com/story/opinion/2022/03/26/dan-ceaser-banning-books-mocks-intelligence-young-readers/7063624001/
“Why Fahrenheit 451 Is Supremely Relevant to the Times We Live In.” FactorDaily, 4 Nov. 2016, archive.factordaily.com/fahrenheit-451-ray-Bradbury-relevant-present/#:~:text=Fahrenheit%20451%20posited%20a%20culture.
Hillerbrand, Hans J. “On book burnings and book burners: Reflections on the power (and powerlessness) of ideas.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 74.3 (2006): 593-614.
