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Censorship In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451

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In the book Fahrenheit 451, books are strictly outlawed, and if someone is found owning a book, the house of the owner is to be burned down. This form of condemnation on the society is an extreme version of censorship. Censorship is defined as “the changing or the suppression or prohibition of speech or writing that is deemed subversive of the common good.” (Anastaplo) Recently, this concept has taken on a large role in many school systems across the country. School boards have been banning a number of books from their criteria in order to prevent offensive material from reaching their students. However, the good intentions of these teachers may be having the opposite effect that they were hoping for. In his book Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury demonstrates the adverse effects that censorship can have on a society. Censorship, when not used correctly, can retain a quantity of negative effects on high school students. An abounding amount of classic titles is being removed from teaching criteria and school libraries in fear of vexing someone. “Many professional educational organizations and individual school systems have articulated the principles that should ideally govern selection and retention of materials.” (NCAC) The guidelines for …show more content…

“Every time a book is banned, students lose the chance to obtain important information and views on certain topics.” (Blume) Having no views on opinions or topics, students now have nothing to base their own opinions on. This can ultimately lead to the loss of ability for a student to think independently. They will not have the knowledge to be able to base their own ideas from. Other people’s ideas often help spark new ideas in someone else. As a result of censorship, students are not able to read books that would give them these ideas and opinions, ceasing their chances to come up with their own

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