Censorship is the suppression of words, images, or ideas considered offensive. In Fahrenheit 451 everything was censored to please everyone. Conveying the impact of censorship on society is essential to the development of the story; especially in the way it is delivered. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury alludes to the impact of censorship by alluding to Millay, Little Black Sambo, and Lord Byron in the story. The use of Edna St. Vincent Millay further explains the censorship in this future society. "It's a great job. Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner, burn them to ashes, then burn the ashes. That's our official slogan" (Bradbury 8). Edna St. Vincent Millay is a perfect example of someone whose work was censored in this futuristic society. Millay controversially introduced topics such as female sexuality and feminism in A Few Figs From Thistles, published in 1920. Her open marriage to other lovers also proved scandalous, inspiring sonnets in Fatal Interview, published in 1931. There were minorities who disagreed with Millay and to keep the peace, like the life work of many other authors expressing radical ideas, his work had to be censored and burned by the government. Little Black Sambo is another great example of alluding to controversial topics. In Fahrenheit 451, Beatty talks about this story during his speech to Montag. "Black people don't like Little Black Sambo. Burn it" (Bradbury 59). Written by Helen Bannerman and published in 1899, Little Black Sambo was criticized for its polemics and racial slurs. This story is about a South Indian boy named Sambo who encounters four hungry tigers and gives up his new colorful clothes, shoes and umbrellas... amidst paper philosophies. They simply ignored it so that minorities would act the same way regarding their philosophies. But then people changed as technology changed. What Bradbury is saying through Fahrenheit 451 is that it is impossible to make everyone happy. By burning and censoring the minorities become happy but by continuing to publish the works the minorities get angry. What needs to happen is that you have to accept that happiness is 100% if the time is impossible. If you are never unhappy, how would you know what happiness is anyway? Works Cited Bradbury, Ray. New York: Del Rey, 1987. Print.Simkin, John. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk. Spartacus Educational, September 1997. Network. 8 December 2013. .Wikipedia.com. Wikipedia and Web. 8 December. 2013. .