Fahrenheit 45 was written as the end of World War II was approaching, and the significance of the time was the actions of Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi party. In this time period, Hitler was working to complete the largest mind-control experiment ever. According to Edward Ellers Overview of Fahrenheit 45 Hitler was attempting this mind control experiment through the use of schools that were sponsored by the state, and a propaganda machine that was able to censor all ideas and information that could be in the public eye. In addition, not only was Hitler attempting an experiment like this, but the Soviet Union with Stalin was able to further censor the Soviet people by destroying books that they did not agree with and also creating new writings that contained positive state ideas. Also, the United States had a movement happening which was called the McCarthyism movement. Ramin Bahrani explains this movement as repression, and censorship of literature and arts. In the eyes of the American people, Ramin says that it was equivalent to a cloud of fear hanging over America. All three of these examples of censorship influenced Ray Bradbury when it came to writing this novel. Another quote from Bradbury that is found in Ellers writing states, that when Hitler burned a book I felt it as keenly, please forgive me, as his killing a human, for in the long sum of history they are one and the same flesh (Eller). This quote expresses the passion that he put into this book and the way he viewed Hitlers actions during WWII. Lastly, these examples prove that censorship is something that can easily happen. Most people, especially in America, feel as if there is no way for their government to censor them. However, it is not only possible for these governments to do so, there are examples of it actually happening in history.
In Fahrenheit 45, not only was the government able to censor the people from information, especially philosophical ideas, but they were also able to control what they were thinking. They were able to do this through the use of technology. In Edward Ellers overview of the book
, he uses Mildred, MontagΒs wife, as the perfect example of who the government wanted to create. He says Mildred is the end product of this system. Mildred, as does most of the community, immerses herself in the media provided for her to consume. Whenever she is not at the TV, she plugs in her earphones, always soaking up the artificial stimulus and messages someone else feeds to her (Eller). As Eller describes Mildred is glued to the screen and does not care about the fact she cannot read a book. She has no desire to obtain any information in a way besides it being fed to her through the screen and an earpiece. Mildreds mind is controlled by the screen, and it has taken away from her ability to think for herself. Eller compares Mildred to an empty shell due to her inability to remember the most frequent things. According to Ramin Bahrani, this was another thing that Bradbury feared while he was writing this book, he feared that the ability to memorize things would fade. While this book was published in 953, his fears seem to become more and more true. His fears are becoming true because, with the internet and search engines like google, there is no need to memorize the simplest things when technology can give them to someone within seconds. This adds to Bradburys warning because once the population loses the ability to memorize they become more susceptible to censorship. For example, as time moves forward if people stop memorizing history which shaped the world, who says anyone would be able to point out if history was changed? Looking at events that Bradbury was witnessing while writing the novel, like the Holocaust, why would the German government not do everything they could for people to forget, or never learn that the Holocaust happened? One last example that continues to be debated today is the Armenian genocide, if there is nobody who remembers it, or no books that prove it, then who says that it can not just disappear? The fears that Bradbury held while writing this book are fears that need to continue to be looked at today, to ensure that they do not become a full reality.