"There Must Be Something in Books” : Literature, Censorship, and Imaginaries in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Lois Lowry’s The Giver

Abstract

Literary censorship is rising in contemporary America. What is it with the literary form and the imaginary that threatens a society to the extent a censor bans or restricts public access to books? This thesis examines Fahrenheit 451 (1953) by Ray Bradbury and The Giver (1993) by Lois Lowry to problematize and discuss what could factor into the rising bans today. Both novels belong to the dystopian genre and are analyzed in connection to their thematic depictions of explicit and implicit censorship, homogenization, and literary imaginaries. Through one fictionalized example of censorship (Fahrenheit 451) and one example from our contemporary world (The Giver), this thesis suggests that literature can oppose forces of cultural homogenization and self-censorship.

The introduction looks at some modern literary critics’ understanding of the ‘literature’ term and presents reading as an active mode of contemplation over language that stimulates diverse worldviews. Ideas of pluralism and democracy are introduced in connection to the imaginary, and the censorship term itself is problematized. From these theoretical frameworks, this thesis aims to exemplify how censorship is more complex than singular, explicit acts and problematizes this issue further through the socio-cultural forces impacting more implicit self-censorship.

The first chapter explores how Fahrenheit 451 fictionalizes explicit and implicit censorship in a society. The term ‘performative censorship’ is introduced to problematize the reach of self-censorship, propaganda, and groupthink. The second part of the chapter discusses how the motif of literature is depicted in the novel through its impact on different character’s fight for individualization and democratization in praxis.

The second chapter continues to build upon the discussions surrounding censorship, homogenization, and individualization further depicted in The Giver. Ultimately, the novel is examined as an example of a frequently banned book in America. Here, I suggest that novels such as The Giver open up for diverse readings of language/reality in an active individualization process that cannot easily be controlled. Any ‘message’ that emerges from a literary work is consequently seen as potentially different to each new reader that engages with the novel. As a result, books may threaten a hegemony’s ideological worldview and literature’s potential opposition to cultural conformity can be factored into the growing censorship in the US today.

Fahrenheit 451 and The Giver thus exemplify more nuanced literary frameworks that comment upon a rising censorship in the West and effectively criticize its negative impact on the future of democracy. The thesis concludes that strengthening the humanities and literacy aptitudes in the years to come is essential for responding to the growing complexity surrounding AI and information media. The more implicit impact of censorship on social discourses and what is to be considered culturally ‘acceptable’ should further stand central to education and academia.