ipl-logo

Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 Be Banned?

1918 Words8 Pages

A society where books are burned and reading is banned, seems like a far off dystopian land, but it's happening in America, and it's happening now. Books such as Ray Bradbury's ""Fahrenheit 451"" are being banned daily. The book, ironically, is about a fireman who runs away from society because he refuses to burn books and submit to a life without meaning. Although "Fahrenheit 451" brings up issues pertaining to controversial beliefs, it should not be banned because of it's educational value. By reading this book students are exposed to life lessons and experiences all within the confines of a book. Some parents may dislike the books provided at their child's school, but the books are there for the children, not the parents. According to Webster …show more content…

If not in a safe classroom environment, where is a better setting to expose children to real world issues and behaviors. While there is heavy emphasis placed on the importance of breaking the status quo and the law in particular, such behaviors demonstrated in "Fahrenheit 451" encourage problem solving and individual thinking in the minds of students. As stated by Grace Chen, "The attempt to expose students to challenging topics and issues, as many teachers support, is not intended to force students into a certain mode of thought; moreover, the books are to serve as opportunities for students to think, theorize, question, and explore(8)." Books like "Fahrenheit 451" truly foreshadow this future of complete censorship and lack of individual thinking. Huckleberry Fin demonstrates critical thinking, and promotes the understanding of the time period it is set it. Just as Anne Frank's Book, exposes students to the situation she was in. All of these books are being censored in schools today, taking away from the reality of the past. Chen asserts that, "By exposing students to a myriad of confusing and troubling topics, teachers are guiding students into the reality of the complex adult and social world. Each text is chosen for a specific grade and age group; therefore, the books serve as a scaffold to slowly guide students to build upon more complicated ideas and realities(7)." Having students read these books allows for safe discussions on not just the literature, but also these topics. Students will be enriched when assessing the information attained from these

Show More
Related
1026 Words | 5 Pages

Parents are more likely to have alternative objectives to the type of education their children receive, and can have a variety of reasons as to why they strongly suggest removing a sensitive book from their or other

Read More
883 Words | 4 Pages

The first amendment states that the government can not pass any law abridging the freedom of speech. Schools and libraries, being government supported buildings, should not be able to completely ban books. Also, a book may be banned if the author of the book recognizes it may not be appropriate and allows the school or library to ban the book. However, in the case of Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury had said on the topic of censorship of his books, “Do not insult me with the beheadings, finger-choppings or the lung-deflations you plan for my works.” When he says this he clearly is talking about how censorship in his books is borderline offensive to

Read More
1002 Words | 5 Pages

In the 21st century, many books are challenged and banned for their content, some of these include The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Animal Farm, and Fahrenheit 451. Many of the reasons given for banning are the same. The reasons include violence, language, symbols, and religion. This makes it very difficult for educational professionals; which books should be taught and which ones should be banned, when does protection become unnecessary censorship? Although Fahrenheit 451 shows some dark themes such as banning books, disregard for human life, and suicide, it should be included in the school curriculum because it shows the dystopian future that awaits the world if the events in the book become a reality.

Read More
1498 Words | 6 Pages

How Captain Beatty of Fahrenheit 451 Illustrates “The Mindset of Those Who Censor” Persis Karim said in The New Assault on Libraries, "Obviously, the danger is not in the actual act of reading itself, but rather, the possibility that the texts children read will incite questions, introduce novel ideas, and provoke critical inquiry." Set in the 24th century, Ray Bradbury’s book, Fahrenheit 451, depicts a society in which books have been outlawed by a government fearing an independent-thinking public. Enforcing this law through incineration of book material, homes, and even book owners is the duty of firemen, such as the Chief Captain Beatty, whose insidious personality makes him the quintessence of an antagonist. However, his contradictions

Read More
652 Words | 3 Pages

Ironically, Fahrenheit 451 is one of the most banned books in American schools. The book was seen as evil for ideas like opposing the suppression of freedom by parties that presumed they had all the answers. Books such as Fahrenheit 451, 1984, Brave New World, The Giver, and The Hunger Games have been banned in schools, and they all explore the themes of suppressing freedom, information, and intellectual thinking. Prohibiting these books will only lead less thought; it will lead to the ultimate demise of society. If we do not learn from them, we will become them.

Read More
1517 Words | 7 Pages

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, is a uniquely shocking and provocative novel about a dystopian society set in a future where reading is outlawed, thinking is considered a sin, technology is at its prime, and human interaction is scarce. Through his main protagonist, Guy Montag, Bradbury brings attention to the dangers of a controlled society, and the problems that can arise from censorship. As a fireman, it is Guy's job to destroy books, and start fires rather than put them out. After meeting a series of unusual characters, a spark is ignited in Montag and he develops a desire for knowledge and a want to protect the books. Bradbury's novel teaches its readers how too much censorship and control can lead to further damage and the repetition of history’s mistakes through the use of symbolism, imagery, and motif.

Read More
702 Words | 3 Pages

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, is a novel about a futuristic society where books are banned and firemen burn books rather than put out fires. The main character Montag is a fireman who lives with his wife Mildred. Montag ends up stealing books which is against the law especially because he is a fireman; and Mildred is against anything that has to do with books. Society wants everyone to be happy but there 's an alarming mechanical hound in this novel that kills people and is asymbol of fear. Bradbury’s novel shows how a society overcomes the eradication of books through the use of symbolism, motif, and imagery.

Read More
651 Words | 3 Pages

The novel Fahrenheit 451 should be taught in schools because it teaches us the importance of knowledge and how society can be interrupted by Ignorance, censorship, and by Distractions. Censorship was one of the major things throughout the novel, and Montag still questions and wonders whether the government has the right to censor books and reading. While the other people give him every other reason it’s important that books continue being burned and destroyed. In other words, to the people, books meant nothing to them, and thought books were bad. They never went against the whole burning of the books because they didn’t care.

Read More
979 Words | 4 Pages

The characters opinions of learning are stressed by Bradbury throughout the novel, coming to a consistent conclusion that censorship is not preferred because of its restrictions on

Read More
968 Words | 4 Pages

Gatlin Farrington 12/1 P.4 Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is an excellent utopian/dystopian fictional story about a man who fights for the freedom to read. The government in this world has made almost every book (with a few exceptions) illegal. They have done this due to the contradictory ideas found in them. It was thought that all of the contradictions might confuse citizens on what is the truth and what isn’t.

Read More
1750 Words | 7 Pages

Books can create portals to different life experiences and encourage reading. A few schools and libraries have challenged the educational value of some books, however, therefore leading them to eventually be prohibited in a particular place. Each reason may be different depending on the book and the location of the exclusions. Books are icons of literature and their value should outshine the occasionally offensive topic. Be that as it may, there are multiple reasons why books should be taught and included in a curriculum.

Read More
709 Words | 3 Pages

“American citizens who care about the improvement of education are urged to join students, teachers, librarians, administrators, boards of education, and professional and scholarly organizations in support of the students’ right to read” (The Students Right to Read). Citizens should be allowed to stand up if they believe books should not be banned. It is important that writers should be able to have their books out to the public without getting banned. “Challengers often employ a definition that maintains that banning materials is the only true form of censorship,”(Knox 740). Censorship of books is common and a real problem.

Read More
946 Words | 4 Pages

Books are banned and burned. Feelings begin to fade. All written imagination and controversial thoughts are considered illegal crimes. Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel written by Ray Bradbury in the early 1950’s. The novel primarily focuses on a fictional U.S society within the 21st century, where books and literature are illegal.

Read More
1174 Words | 5 Pages

In some cases books were banned from schools because parents believed there kids should not be opened to certain topic in the stories. Another issue is students have been sent home to read books for certain classes that talk about touchy subjects. For example, religion and magic. Parents

Read More
609 Words | 3 Pages

At one point in time, over 7,220 books have been challenged to be banned. Though these books have been removed for the safety of children, not all books should be banned for many reasons. These include the fact that banning books is infringing on the First Amendment, keeping children from understanding the real world, and, even though there are many reasons for book banning, not banning books could help a student’s education and can even work against itself. Banning a book from a school or public library could go against a person’s First Amendment of the freedom of press.

Read More

More about Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 Be Banned?

Related Topics

Open Document