Propaganda In Fahrenheit 451

The most
clear way the government uses propaganda to manipulate people's opinions is by burning books.
This directly destroys a vast amount of information: from literature to philosophical works to
texts on government policies. And these texts, works, and policies certainly include ideas which
would contradict the propaganda of the ruling government. So, in this way, the government
destroys any potential propaganda which might oppose their own propaganda. By eliminating any
opposition, the people are only left with the government's propaganda. 

The
symbolic 451 on the firemen's helmets serves to reinforce the idea that burning books is for the
public good. When people see firemen, even in the world of , they think of
a protective force, an institution designed to make people safe. Combining that with the notion
of burning books, symbolized by the "451," the government reinforces the idea that
burning books is for the greater good. This is propaganda in the form of a symbol (451): similar
to the way nations encourage patriotism or nationalism with flags, mottoes, symbols, crests,
etc. 

Another use of propaganda is the firemen's code, absurdly (to the
reader) misapplied as the words of Benjamin Franklin (who actually was involved in the founding
of the first fire department): 

"Established, 1790,
to burn English-influenced books in the Colonies. First Fireman: Benjamin
Franklin."

RULE 1. Answer the alarm swiftly.
       
2. Start the fire swiftly.
        3. Burn everything.
        4. Report
back to firehouse immediately.
        5. Stand alert for other alarms 

This is noted right after Montag boldly asks Beatty and other
firemen if previous firemen used to put fires out. Obviously, the current government and fire
departments have taken historical records (that of Franklin's involvement with early fire
departments) and twisted the historical records to suit their propaganda.