Book Censorship Debate: Freedom of Speech in Education"

Book Censorship Debate: Freedom of Speech in Education

“We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other” (Bradbury 55). There are many countries that censor school books in order to conceal or reveal sensitive or dangerous information. Many people believe that censoring books will prevent people from acting, thinking, or believing in certain ways. Books, on the other hand, play an important role in the functioning of a society. People who live in this world are already familiar with the anxiety and panic that comes with being exposed to potentially dangerous information. Adults must understand that censoring educational materials simply weakens people's ability to conduct independent actions or comprehend the genuine meaning of the world's nature. Nonetheless, somewhere in the middle of trying to reach an agreement, the government will have the ability to accept or disallow particular books. The concept of school text censorship plays a crucial role in Ray Bradbury's dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, as well as in today's society since, like Montag, Faber, and Clarisse, there are still those who disagree with the government's right to censor what books can be read. 

As Fahrenheit 451 illustrates, certain societies don't agree with the government's lack of access to books. In Bradbury’s text, Faber says “This book has pores. The more pores, the more truthfully recorded details of life per square inch you can get on a sheet of paper, the more literary you are. Telling fresh detail. The good writers often touch life” (Bradbury 79). This exemplifies how people like Montag, Faber, and Clarisse regard literature as a window into the world's diversity since they represent ideas that people can relate to in their daily lives. This also shows that what people read has the potential to have a tremendous impact on society because it brings together a diverse range of viewpoints, ideas, and perspectives that people either appreciate or despise. Slaughterhouse-Five was threatened with being banned in Island Trees, New York school districts because of the anti-Christian message it possesses, however, Justice Brennan during the Supreme Court battle argued that "Local school boards may not remove books from school library shelves simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books" (USC 4-5). This resembles Montag's, Faber's, and Clarisse's motivations, as they thought that everyone had their own identity and should be able to see things in their own way. This also demonstrates how people like them do not want to be denied access to knowledge based on a variety of viewpoints and perspectives, regardless of what the general population thinks. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was charged with inciting racial tensions at school during the legal case Monteiro v. The Temple Union High School District, however, the court argued that “It is important for students to learn and think critically about offensive ideas to be able to develop critical thinking skills” (USC 1). This illustrates that books serve as a great teacher, whether it is a history lesson or a moral lesson since they contain something that humanity needs to know. This is relevant to Montag and Faber because, near the end of the novel, they worked to end censorship in the hopes of uncovering the world's reality and preventing people from falling into the trap of depending on the information provided to them. Regardless of the basis for a book's prohibition, the restriction of free thought is the one thing that can bring a society to its knees if people are denied the freedom to be informed and aware. 

Irrespective of a person's beliefs, all suppression of school texts aims to limit what enters their minds; the ultimate goal is to limit what they understand. In Fahrenheit 451, Beatty said, “Cram them full of noncombustible data, chock them so full of facts they feel stuffed, but absolutely brilliant with information, Then they'll feel they're thinking, they'll get a sense of motion without thinking” (Bradbury 58). Furthermore, this shows that just like school textbooks, many teachers do not want to provide their students with knowledge that may require them to think or hear more than is necessary. In a similar way to Beatty, this also confirms that someone feels powerful when they limit the resources of people because they see themselves as the gatekeepers to understanding the world. Banning of the text “To Kill a Mockingbird” had been considered by Marie Rothstein-Williams, a mother of a student in the Virginia Accomack County school district because “...there was so much offensive wording towards coloured people... right now we are in a nation divided as it is” (Schaub 3). This suggests that people like Beatty and the novel's government are fearful of reassembling or improving understanding of a certain notion or judgment because it may spread throughout society and produce alternative points of view that may harm a certain set of people. This is also related to Beatty's objectives, since he did not want someone to feel inferior to others simply because they had earned information from reading. 

Call of the Wild was banned in schools in Italy and Yugoslavia in 1929 because "it promoted individuality and self-discovery... it was forbidden in fear of sparking revolution" (Baldassarro 8). This explains why educational texts are frequently banned for instilling a sense of rebellion, as certain governments do not want their population to discover their true selves and realize they are slaves. The motives of Italy and Yugoslavia can be compared to those of the government in Fahrenheit 451 since the government in the novel intended to manage a non-reading society so that people were unaware of anything they could protest or revolt against. Book banning proponents believe it will be a positive change for the future, but they fail to realize the harm they can inflict on the current and future generations. 

The censorship court case involving Harry Potter helps to understand why someone might wish to suppress a school book and why someone might want to fight against it. "Books teaching regulations should be ignored should not be allowed in the school...they could potentially lead to anarchy or pupils in juvenile delinquency," stated a board member in the Harry Potter Supreme Court case, Counts vs. Cedarville School District (DeMitchell, Corney 163). This demonstrates how people like Beatty, who prefer ignoring particular books, do so not to enrage or frighten others, but because they believe it will defend their country and prevent the spread of undesirable ideas in the future. Additionally, this demonstrates why some books may contain knowledge that is too harsh or nasty, prompting people to lock them up and toss them away in the hopes of making the world a safer place. Another court member, on the other hand, noted that "one of the purposes of public schools is to educate kids for citizenship...we must transcend undifferentiated dread or apprehension of disturbance" (DeMitchell, Carney 60). This implies that, like some of Montag's objectives, people want to be able to know more than what is shown to them and not be limited to a single conception option. This suggests that, like some of Montag's objectives, individuals want to be able to know more than what is shown to them and not be limited to a single conception option. Furthermore, this shows that people are unconcerned about being exposed to frightening information because they know that what they read may come true at some time in their lives, and they must be prepared. "If we are to eradicate anything that is unpleasant or contradictory with someone's notions, we will leave the public schools in shambles," said Justice Robert Jackson, a circuit judge in the Supreme Court case McCollum v. Board of Education (Koss, et. al 29). This exemplifies the world in which Montag, Clarisse, and Faber live since the government does not want to create resistance or pour out undesirable material, hence there are no books that people can genuinely have access to. This also illustrates how governments who consent to censorship try to improve the mental health of their citizens by removing anything objectionable to them. Discriminating against a book based on its content has been going on for years, but more and more people are realizing that just because one person doesn't like something doesn't mean it should be ignored by everyone. 

Using a vast amount of restricted knowledge to unglue society's functioning can only lead to rebellion on the part of some people. Censorship, like in Fahrenheit 451, just piques a population's interest, which is when problems arise. Many governments prefer to maintain control over their population; therefore, they attempt to suppress diversity of thinking and force everyone to adhere to a single field of knowledge. Censorship can prevent people from learning important information that will benefit them throughout their lives. People should not be denied access to commonplace material written with the intent of conveying a message. Each message serves a purpose for the author who took the time to write it down. Whether or not a book should be prohibited will frequently be decided by a court. People must, however, stay informed about any book obstacles that exist in their country in order to fight censorship. This will enable people to become more united and reach out to others who share their beliefs. In the long run, society will become stronger, and people will be more willing to speak out against censorship when they believe it is necessary. After all, censorship only reveals a society's flaws, and by speaking up, people are overcoming those flaws. 

Work Cited

 Baldassarro, Wolf. “Banned Books Awareness: The Call of the Wild.” Global Education Network, 24 July 2011, http://world.edu/banned-books-awareness-call-wild/ “Banned Books Week: 4 Famous Library Censorship Cases.” The University of Southern California, August 2017, http://librarysciencedegree.usc.edu/resources/articles-and-blogs/banned-books-week-4-famous-library-censorship-cases/ 

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. Introduction by Neil Gaiman. 60th ed., Simon and Schuster Trade Paperback, 1995. DeMitchell, Todd and John Carney. “Harry Potter and the Public School Library.” Academic Search Premier, Ebscohost. Vol 87, Sage publication Inc, Oct. 2005, pp. 159-65. 

Koss, Melanie, et al. “Censorship and Controversial Materials in Chicagoland Middle and High Schools.” Academic Search Premier. Vol.39, Illinois Reading Council, Winter 2011, pp 29- 39. EBSCOhost. 

Schaub, Michael. “Banning To Kill a Mockingbird? Virginia school pulls book after parent’s complaint.” Los Angeles Times, 5 Dec. 2015, http://www.latimes.com/books/la-et-jc-mockingbird-ban-20161205-story.html