It's been a while since I read it, but 451 seemed like either the author wrote half the book in a drug fueled stupor, and then came back to it months later, forgot what the point was, and wrote the other half. First part seems to be about the perils of TV, but then abruptly started focusing on censorship, as if forgetting about the giant tv's altogether.
Truth be told, it's been a looooong time since I read it in high school, so I may have not read the true meaning.