Censorship: Bradbury on Hitler You stand in front of a burning building. You see ashes rise into the air as sirens surround you. The heat of the flames is unbearable on your skin, the pain made even more harsh as you realize what is being burned. Your friends... your teachers... your memories. All of it gone with a spray of kerosene and a flick of a switch. You realize all this as tape goes over your mouth and you're shoved into the back of a van. All of your books are gone and they are never coming back. Ray Bradbury crafted an instant classic with his creation of the book Fahrenheit 451. This book set in a futuristic dystopian United States asks what if books were illegal? This thought experiment is what drives the entire narrative of the
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These reasons can vary, but one of the main reasons books are banned is because “Censors are often targeting the latest social issues”(Scales). Many books are banned because they represent a current controversial or heated topic.. Take for example the book Daddy's Roommate, a children's book that focuses around a child whose father divorces his wife and then lives with another man. They participate in family activities and act as any other couple would. This book has come under fire from many fronts because it features homosexual relations between two men. Whether it be homosexual relationships or some other modern controversial topic, it will most likely come under fire. To provide an example of this “Most censors have just recovered from the idea that fictional characters can have periods” (Scales). The fact that books are being banned for these reasons hurts everyone, because while these books may be for children, they are meant to make children think. Some people however think that “books are not meant to make kids think”(Scales) but rather believe that children’s books are meant to entertain children and distract them. This is wrong as many modern children's books contain healthy doses of thought-provoking material for kids to discover. When people censor books because the contain controversial content, it hurts children because it prevents them from thinking and being inquisitive creatures as they are spoon-fed pre-approved
These reasons can vary, but one of the main reasons books are banned is because “Censors are often targeting the latest social issues”(Scales). Many books are banned because they represent a current controversial or heated topic.. Take for example the book Daddy's Roommate, a children's book that focuses around a child whose father divorces his wife and then lives with another man. They participate in family activities and act as any other couple would. This book has come under fire from many fronts because it features homosexual relations between two men. Whether it be homosexual relationships or some other modern controversial topic, it will most likely come under fire. To provide an example of this “Most censors have just recovered from the idea that fictional characters can have periods” (Scales). The fact that books are being banned for these reasons hurts everyone, because while these books may be for children, they are meant to make children think. Some people however think that “books are not meant to make kids think”(Scales) but rather believe that children’s books are meant to entertain children and distract them. This is wrong as many modern children's books contain healthy doses of thought-provoking material for kids to discover. When people censor books because the contain controversial content, it hurts children because it prevents them from thinking and being inquisitive creatures as they are spoon-fed pre-approved