Banning Books in Fahrenheit 451 - Essay Example

It is highly noticeable that each group did not like the idea of reading books for their convenience reasons (Bloom 23). However, the role played by the government in the confiscation of books cannot be understated, as it is evident that several people did not voluntarily surrender their books but were forced to do so. Although the book Fahrenheit 451 did not provide enough evidence of the anticipated banning of books in the future, the content presents a perfect example of censorship in conjunction with a society that is awash with ignorance (Bloom 25). This paper discussed this idea in an in-depth manner by relating it to our contemporary uses of technology.

While it is true that some of the people surrendered their books due to the negative attitude towards education, it is also prudent to allude to the fact that the government's laxity in sensitizing its citizens accentuated the situation (Adams, Clemens, and Orloff 38). Although a host of factors contributed to the banning of books, two major categories of factors emerge namely the negative attitude towards books by the people and the factors that inculcated hostility among the people as far as books are concerned (Bloom 36). Beatty reiterates to Montag this fact in the book in their attempt to unravel the circumstances that led to the passing of the ban that was seen by many as a retrogressive step although palpable to others. These two elements are inseparable in the sense that the ignorance of the citizens leads to their hatred for books, which in turn makes the whole process a vicious cycle (Bloom 40).
One of the major reasons for the negative attitude towards books was and currently still prevails is the rapid advancement in technology that has ensured the availability of information on various technological platforms (Bloom 41). Undoubtedly, the advent of the broadcast media such as television, radio, and print media has led to laxity in reading books as most people felt and still feel that the information provided by such avenues is adequate. This has been especially so in the contemporary world where globalization takes the center stage in the spirit of ensuring ample circulation of information and ideas around the world in real-time. Most people feel the obsession with having too much information in the media to cater to their educational, entertainment, and information needs (Bloom 42).
Perhaps, another thorny issue that fuelled the situation was the fact that those who had brief intellectual knowledge suffered from an inferiority complex (Bloom 44). Indeed, the inferiority complex played an additional role in shunning away people from books and encouraging those who had come to surrender them to the government. Due to this fear, there was a push by both the government and the people to resort to the reading of condensed books. Although some schools of thought may object to this perception, the case of Fahrenheit 451 was a classic case of ignorance versus knowledge whereby Montag insinuates that the main role of the fire was to burn down the books to equalize the population. This would mean that we would have a population of equal ignorance and therefore, there would not be any feeling of an inferiority complex (Bloom 43).
Although the inherent belief of society was to burn down as many books as possible to equalize society, a section of society embraced the modern ways of acquiring knowledge (Adams, Clemens, and Orloff 32). The contemporary methods of handling such information have ensured that not only are the citizens informed and educated but that there are few chances of information overload. This is especially so because the internet platform has provided a major avenue for the public to receive loads of information daily, some of which could require some filtering. In modern society, most people have shifted from using the book in print form and are now using soft copies, a factor that has greatly contributed to the intellectual capacity of most people. Read More