REVIEW: The temperature of censorship
Paper burns at 451 degrees fahrenehit, and that is where Ray Bradbury got the name for his classic novel, “Fahrenheit 451.” In honor of Banned Books Week, why not read the ultimate book about banned books? “Fahrenheit 451,” is a book about the consequences of censorship, and it is a book everyone should read before they finish college.
“Fahrenheit 451” tells the story of one man, Guy Montag, and his eventual rebellion against the system he once enforced. The story is set in a futuristic world, one in which no one is allowed to read books, and everyone sits around watching wall-sized TVs and listening to “seashell radios” in their ears.
Montag is a fireman, only instead of putting them out, firemen in this age ignite the fires. Montag is part of a team that exterminates literature, traveling around building bonfires out of books.
Montag begins to question why they are burning the books and does not show up for work one day. Montag’s boss comes over to his house and explains it is normal for firemen to go through this stage of questioning. He begins to tell the story of why books were banned in the first place, saying many “special interest groups” and “minorities” protested against things that offended them. Writers lost their creativity, because they were too worried about being politically correct and not offending anyone.
Soon, rather than read books that all sounded similar, the authorities decided to ban books altogether. They began to burn all books, even classic literature, completely wiping them off the face of the earth. Or so they thought.
After a series of events, Montag runs away and finds a group of rebels who are trying to preserve the literature that is almost extinct. They each have an assignment to memorize, and Montag’s is the book of Ecclesiastes.
Now, I won’t ruin the ending for you, but I will say it’s not what you would expect. This book is about questioning what we perceive as normal and having the courage to rebel against it. And it succeeds in the most simple, yet spectacular, way.
This book sends a perfect message of the consequences of censorship. Sometimes things need to be written, even if they might offend a few people. Discussion causes progression, and if we are too scared to say anything, how will we ever progress?
I recently heard that some people want to go through classic literature like Mark Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn” and take out “the N-word,” because nowadays it is offensive. Yes, it may be offensive, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist in real life. Literature is about showing life — about studying it. How can we be realistic if we don’t acknowledge that sometimes people offend other people?
“Fahrenheit 451” casts aside political correctness in favor of growth. It is a book about refining who we are by questioning what we see. It demonstrates how dull our lives can get without books, without discussion. Montag’s wife literally believes everything she sees on her wall-sized TV, never once asking where the information is coming from, or if it is true or not. She suffers the consequences of conformity, and even betrays her husband for stepping out and asking questions.
More of us should be like Montag, and less of us like his wife. Let us encourage discussion and be less easily offended. Let us realize the true purpose of literature, and do everything in our power to prevent the same fate in our own lives.
– Kellyn is The Statesman’s features editor and a senior majoring in English. Her column runs every other Friday. She loves reading both her Kindle and paperback novels and can be reached at kellyn.neumann@aggiemail.usu.edu