Read a banned book!!!
So I just finished listening to Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I had read it once a looooong time ago in highschool, but I don't remember appreciating it nearly as much as I did. Also, I don't remember it being as scary as it was.
We all know the basics of the book. In the not too distant future firemen start fires rather then put them out. And what do they burn? Why books of course for it is against the law to possess books. Our hero, Guy Montag, is a fireman who has lost his spark. And so we follow him as he goes through life wanting to be an individual but not quite having sufficient independent thoughts to succeed. He's a great protagonist even if he's a bit wishy-washy.
Bradbury's future is a bleak one. No one thinks for themselves and everyone is a slave to parlors with 3-wall TVs (plasma I'm sure), and seashell radios that are always in your ears (think iPod). It is actually very close to reality. During the climactic chase all I could think of was how we were all glued to the screen when OJ was on the run!
This brings me to the core of the story, and something that is absolutely terrifying to me. Censorship. The idea that certain thoughts, beliefs, and ideas being censored frightens me a lot. It only takes a few steps in the wrong direction before we are letting someone else think for us. Censorship, above all else is the practice of letting someone else tell you what you should think or telling someone what they should think. We are all intelligent people who can make our own decisions based on knowledge and experience. Does Harry Potter encourage witchcraft? Do Huck Finn and Tom engage in homosexual acts? Does The Origin of Species make a man out of monkeys? Maybe. Maybe not. But do not scream to ban these books just because they make you uncomfortable. Read the book. Make your decision. Tell your friends. But then let your friends read the book too and make there own decision. Don't burn the book just because your made uncomfortable.
Read Fahrenheit 451. Enjoy it. Let it teach the lesson of what not to do, and let it scare the hell out of you as you learn.
Note: For those of you who think I am nuts regarding the banning of books, check out these websites!
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/banned-books.html
http://www.booksatoz.com/censorship/banned.htm
We all know the basics of the book. In the not too distant future firemen start fires rather then put them out. And what do they burn? Why books of course for it is against the law to possess books. Our hero, Guy Montag, is a fireman who has lost his spark. And so we follow him as he goes through life wanting to be an individual but not quite having sufficient independent thoughts to succeed. He's a great protagonist even if he's a bit wishy-washy.
Bradbury's future is a bleak one. No one thinks for themselves and everyone is a slave to parlors with 3-wall TVs (plasma I'm sure), and seashell radios that are always in your ears (think iPod). It is actually very close to reality. During the climactic chase all I could think of was how we were all glued to the screen when OJ was on the run!
This brings me to the core of the story, and something that is absolutely terrifying to me. Censorship. The idea that certain thoughts, beliefs, and ideas being censored frightens me a lot. It only takes a few steps in the wrong direction before we are letting someone else think for us. Censorship, above all else is the practice of letting someone else tell you what you should think or telling someone what they should think. We are all intelligent people who can make our own decisions based on knowledge and experience. Does Harry Potter encourage witchcraft? Do Huck Finn and Tom engage in homosexual acts? Does The Origin of Species make a man out of monkeys? Maybe. Maybe not. But do not scream to ban these books just because they make you uncomfortable. Read the book. Make your decision. Tell your friends. But then let your friends read the book too and make there own decision. Don't burn the book just because your made uncomfortable.
Read Fahrenheit 451. Enjoy it. Let it teach the lesson of what not to do, and let it scare the hell out of you as you learn.
Note: For those of you who think I am nuts regarding the banning of books, check out these websites!
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/banned-books.html
http://www.booksatoz.com/censorship/banned.htm
posted by The Angry Chef at
10:47 PM
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