Censorship is defined as: the action of preventing part or the whole of a book, movie, work of art, document, or other kind of communication from being seen or made available to the public, because it is considered to be offensive or harmful, or because it contains information that someone wishes to keep secret, often for political reasons.
By making widespread censorship a phenomenon that emerges from the culture itself—and not one that is simply imposed by the government—Bradbury is expressing a concern that the power of mass media can ultimately suppress free speech as thoroughly as any totalitarian regime like Hitler’s.
Analyze the role of censorship and suppression of information in Fahrenheit 451 by examining current events, media trends, and freedom of expression in our society, and evaluate whether they reflect a similar atmosphere of restricted information.
The Free Press Project (this site has SO many links!)
A visual dive into an alarming increase in attempts to restrict books
Banned in the U.S.A.: The Growing Movement to Censor Books in Schools
Banned books are on the rise. What are the most banned books and why?
Nazi Book Burning - Holocaust Museum Encyclopedia
Book Burnings in Germany, 1933
From Gale/Galileo:
"Fahrenheit 451." Novels for Students, edited by Diane Telgen, vol. 1, Gale, 1997, pp. 138-157. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2591400017/GVRL?u=alph77682&sid=GVRL&xid=1b63f31c. Accessed 29 Jan. 2021.
Gottlieb, Erika. "The Dictatorship of American Censorship." Censorship in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, edited by Candice L. Mancini, Greenhaven Press, 2011, pp. 48-57. Social Issues in Literature. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX1941000015/GVRL?u=alph77682&sid=GVRL&xid=6008945f. Accessed 29 Jan. 2021.
Boyd, Fenice B., and Nancy M. Bailey. "A Contemporary Book Banning Illuminates the Dangers of Censorship." Censorship in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, edited by Candice L. Mancini, Greenhaven Press, 2011, pp. 116-126. Social Issues in Literature. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX1941000024/GVRL?u=alph77682&sid=GVRL&xid=142c1d27. Accessed 29 Jan. 2021.
Zebrowski, Marianne. "Knowledge Up in FLAMES." Faces: People, Places, and Cultures, vol. 16, no. 7, Mar. 2000, p. 26. Gale In Context: High School, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A62346995/SUIC?u=alph77682&sid=bookmark-SUIC&xid=bbb75da5. Accessed 10 Feb. 2023.
McCarthyism
"McCarthy, Joseph R." Cold War Reference Library, edited by Richard C. Hanes, et al., vol. 5: Primary Sources, UXL, 2004, pp. 166-173. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3410800137/GVRL?u=alph77682&sid=GVRL&xid=928562a5. Accessed 29 Jan. 2021.
"Fahrenheit 451." Novels for Students, edited by Diane Telgen, vol. 1, Gale, 1997, pp. 138-157. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2591400017/GVRL?u=alph77682&sid=GVRL&xid=1b63f31c. Accessed 29 Jan. 2021.
Gottlieb, Erika. "The Dictatorship of American Censorship." Censorship in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, edited by Candice L. Mancini, Greenhaven Press, 2011, pp. 48-57. Social Issues in Literature. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX1941000015/GVRL?u=alph77682&sid=GVRL&xid=6008945f. Accessed 29 Jan. 2021.
"House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)." Cold War Reference Library, edited by Richard C. Hanes, et al., vol. 5: Primary Sources, UXL, 2004, pp. 146-165. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3410800136/GVRL?u=alph77682&sid=GVRL&xid=c9a3453f. Accessed 29 Jan. 2021.
McGiveron, Rafeeq O. Fahrenheit 451. Vol. First edition], Salem Press, 2013. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=689399&site=eds-live&scope=site.