Fahrenheit 451: Foreshadowing American
Government in 2015
by Barry Wright
Essay: Fahrenheit 451: Foreshadowing American Government in 2015
Pages: 10
Rating: 3 stars
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Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil, in its worst state, an intolerable one.” Revolutionary
Thomas Paine describes the government, which may seem evil at times, as a necessity for becoming a functioning
society. A lot of responsibility is entrusted onto today’s government to create a safe, law based environment in
which everyone can live and prosper. Although without the structure of a government to create laws and have the
authority to enforce them, society itself would become chaotic. If a strong government ever became corrupt, it
would have the ability to keep control on society by creating laws that limit people’s free-will. This creates a
dystopian society for every person living under that government.
An example of a manipulative government that becomes over powerful occurs in Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit
451. Bradbury’s novel takes place in a dystopian future where books and any form of literature are outlawed. The
government in the story has issued fireman enforce the “anti-reading law” by doing things such as: raiding
citizen’s homes while they are there, removing all their hidden books, and burning the books with a kerosene hose
in front of their home while the whole neighborhood watches. Citizens in this dystopian society are limited to only
certain rights. Things such as owning books, walking around, and reading are all made illegal. The novel
Fahrenheit 451 draws awareness to the fact that if a government becomes too controlling, citizens are subjected
to biased laws and inhumane living conditions.
Before I display how our modern government can become controlling, it’s important to first understand how the
government was expressed in Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451. The story begins with ...