Back once again to thwart the efforts of people who enjoy censorship, here is another book that has been banned, and why you should read it.
Click here to read Banned Books Part 2.
Click here to read Banned Books Part 1.
(3)Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
What This Book is About
Guy Montag is a fireman. His job, in this dystopia of a world, is to start fires,not to put them out. He and the other firemen get calls that direct them to which houses they are supposed to go burn down. Why choose those particular houses? Simple! Those houses belong to people who have gathered up and hidden away lots and lots of a very dangerous substance that the government does not want the general population to be infected with. The substance in question is books! All books are banned and destroyed. People found with books are also destroyed, often by the fireman at the scene of the crime.
So, basically, Bradbury has created a world that is my personal version of Hell itself.
This is a world set “in the future” where no one is allowed to read, or own, or even talk about, books. Instead, people sit in front of large screens and watch funny shows. They spend their waking (and sleeping) hours listening to music and random noises that they can hear through a small device that fits directly into their ears. No one communicates with friends or family anymore, substituting instead the characters they watch on their big screens. Most people have no concept of historic events, and even less idea of what their government is doing right now. They are told about “the war”, (which never seems to end), but, for the most part, are kept from hearing too much about it. Sound frighteningly familiar to anyone else?
Guy, of course, eventually becomes curious. What’s in these books that is supposed to be so terrible? Almost subconsciously, he takes one book away with him from a fire. Eventually, he’s got his own horde of books to be worried about. Will his wife find them? Will she turn him in? What will happen to him if he’s caught? Guy begins reading some of the books! The result is that Guy not only begins to think for himself (horror of horrors!), but he also starts to believe that the government is wrong! People should read! His choices after this epiphany lead him on an exciting chase through the rest of the story.
Oh, and in case anyone reading this did not already know, the title itself is interesting. Fahrenheit 451 is the exact temperature at which paper begins to burn.
Why This Book Gets Banned
People wish to keep other people from reading a book that is not only about governmental censorship, but also about actually burning the questionable books! Are they even capable of seeing the irony?
Some parent’s feel that Fahrenheit 451 should not be part of a school’s curriculum because it contains swear words. They especially are offended by the words that they feel go against their religious beliefs, because the words “take the name of the Lord in vain”. Others are offended by the books use of “dirty talk”, the situations that involve drinking and/or smoking, and the violent scenes depicted in the book.
One parent in Houston felt so strongly about this book, he demanded it be removed from the curriculum….. during Banned Books week.
I kid you not!
I’m not convinced that this man was actually educated enough to realize when Banned Books week was, or that one even existed. It would likely be beyond this particular irate parent’s mental capacity to understand why we need a Banned Book week in the first place. So, instead of this being a big stunt to attract attention to his cause, he managed to make himself look like a complete idiot. Priceless!
There is an interesting twist about censorship and Fahrenheit 451 that I did not realize until I was reading the notes included at the end of the book (in the version I picked up, at least). Seems that Ballentine Books was using a censored version of this story in textbooks published for high schools. It did this for years, and without the permission of Bradbury!
You can read more details about that here.
Why You Should Read This Book
With our nation of cell phone, ipods, and citizens who are more likely to vote for their choice of “American Idol” than for their choice of American President, this book has never been more relevant! Read it to see just how far we could fall, if no one decides to stand up for books, and history, and ideas not sponsored and spoon-fed to us by the government. Read this book because you agree that the ability to think for yourself, and the ability to act on those thoughts is important! Or, just read it because it happens to be a great story, that includes fires, destruction, and an epic chase through the countryside. This book shares important ideas, and those ideas should not be cast aside simply because a few unsavory words were included in the text.
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