Fahrenheit 451 - Censored and banned

[Jim H]

I don't know if anyone knows this buuuut... Fahrenheit 451 has been banned several times and censored for offending materials.

I don't know why I made a thread for it. Just everytime I thnk of it, it always makes me laugh.

[bob]

The most harmless are books are always banned.

Of course, in the case of Farenheit 451 it takes on a special irony...

[Jim H]

Yeah. I wonder if any lunatics have burned it? Probably.

I read that The Giver was banned because it portrays infanticide and euthanasia. It isn't as if the book is FOR THEM or anything.

One thing I liked about my schools copy of Fahrenheit 451 was the letter in the begining. It was from Kurt Vonnegut, who was writing to a school that burned all copies of Slaughterhouse Five. Good reading. He was REALLY mad.

[Cronos]

Out of curiosity, what material caused the book to be banned?

i really dont get it, is it religious people that hate books that arent called the bible or contain something about god so they have to be banned or something?

[Jerk Shapiro]

Originally posted by Jim H


I read that The Giver was banned because it portrays infanticide and euthanasia. It isn't as if the book is FOR THEM or anything.

Shame. Great book. Damn shame.

[Grim H.]

The irony is quite amusing. I didn't think this book was at all offensive. It's been a while since I read it (I read it in the 5th grade), plus my father had suggested I read it and I know he wouldn't have suggested it if it were offensive...Where has it been banned?

I also read The Giver...also a terrific book.

[DONNIE. DARKO]

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[bankholdup]

Hmm, I did not know that. But I do know that I just read Fahrenheit 451 a bit less than a month ago, and it's easily one of the best books I've read. It's great.

[Droog989]

Actaully, at a highschool near where I live, an english teacher was trying to incorporate Fahrenheit 451 as part of their program, and the principle would only allow it under the conditions that the language was censored (it was a grade 9 class I believe, so they were still young fragile minds )

Anyways, the teacher preformed a bit of a protest by leaving the charred remains of one of the schools novels on the principles desk (he lit the book on fire himself) with an attached note which stated:

"hypocrite"

A few weeks later the class was studying the uncensored version of the novel.

I always like that story

[Scarface98.9]

Not to sound like a broken record, but what was deemed so offensive in it that it required a banning of the book?

[Jim H]

75 things were censored in a version that was distributed from 1967. Mostly minor changes - words like abortion and hell. Supposedly it kept getting more chopped up as the years pass, til Bradbury found out and got super pissed and made them change it back.

As far as bannings go, I've read vague stories but have been unable to confirm them. Possibly never happened, but considering the lunacy of some towns, especially in the south, I think it is likely it has happened.

[Iacon5]

wait a minute, the south? aren't they all just inbread hicks with 3 or less teeth named bubba or billy-bob? when the hell did they learn how to read?

[RickySlade]

Why?

451 is a book about the banning OF books. What, people scared that one day in reality this could happen?

[Jim H]

More likely they themselves were proponents of banning books, so they banned a book criticizing them...

[Nachokoolaid]

Originally posted by Iacon5
wait a minute, the south? aren't they all just inbread hicks with 3 or less teeth named bubba or billy-bob? when the hell did they learn how to read?

Ha Ha. It's funny, because differeent states view each other differently. States from the same region even have stereotypes. Like, I'm from the South, (Texas) but everyone I know can read. But as for Arkansas...

[Jon Lyrik]

Originally posted by Jim H
I read that The Giver was banned because it portrays infanticide and euthanasia. It isn't as if the book is FOR THEM or anything.

Great book. Where was it banned?

[Annie Hall]

I wrote a paper on banned books a few years back, and, you all'd be amazed at what gets banned.

Shel Silverstein's poem book A Light in The Attic got "challenged" (attempted to be banned) for several reasons, the funniest of which, is for the following poem:

If you have to dry the dishes
Such an awful boring chore
If you have to dry the dishes
Stead of going to the store
If you have to dry the dishes
and you dro one on the floor
Maybe they won't let you dry the dishes anymore.

How was this little poem relevant? It, I quote "encouraged children to drop dishes on the floor"


...In comparison, the banning of Farenheit 451 is downright logical

[Jim H]

A WWII poster

http://www.ala.org/Content/Navigatio..._1990-2000.htm

I haven't been able to find too many specific cases. There were two seperate towns in California though.