Censorship 101 Book Analysis

Bethel School District will introduce a last recourse before the United States Supreme Court and have the Supreme Court justices delivered a controversial opinion about the exercise of the freedom of expression within American schools. Mainly, as noted before, the Bethel School District v Fraser case was related the right of freedom of expression as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the US Constitution, in its exercise and its limitation within the school boundaries.

This paper will discuss how censorship denies citizens of the United States our full rights as delineated in the First Amendment. It will outline how and why the first amendment was created and included in the Constitution of the United States of America. This paper will also define censorship, discuss a select few legal cases surrounding freedom of speech and censorship as well as provide national and local examples of censorship.

“A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon." (Bradbury 58) Censorship is the act of suppressing speech, works of literature, music, movies, work of arts, and ideas that are thought to be politically incorrect, offensive, and threatening to society. The United States Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances ( law.cornell.edu) However, historically, government officials and organizations have been “abridging” our freedoms since the inception of this

To start off, censorship is a controversial issue which dates back to ancient times, in ancient cultures for a multitude of reasons. However in America recently, older persons have tried to limit, filter, and censor what the youth have had access to. This includes print

Censorship has been a topic of debate for decades. Despite the existence of the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech, the United States has a long history of censoring literature. Most Americans believe that it is unethical to stifle freedom of expression, but often some of the First Amendment’s biggest supporters are its worst enemies. It shocks many to see how rampant it still is in the present day. This paper will show examples of how governments, religious institutions, and schools try to limit first amendment rights through censorship.

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, is a uniquely shocking and provocative novel about a dystopian society set in a future where reading is outlawed, thinking is considered a sin, technology is at its prime, and human interaction is scarce. Through his main protagonist, Guy Montag, Bradbury brings attention to the dangers of a controlled society, and the problems that can arise from censorship. As a fireman, it is Guy's job to destroy books, and start fires rather than put them out. After meeting a series of unusual characters, a spark is ignited in Montag and he develops a desire for knowledge and a want to protect the books. Bradbury's novel teaches its readers how too much censorship and control can lead to further damage and the repetition of history’s mistakes through the use of symbolism, imagery, and motif.

Censorship can be described as the act of cutting out certain material that can be considered obscene or inconvenient for the community. This material can be found in social media such as in the TV, radio, or the internet. Censorship can be challenged because of the first amendment: freedom of speech. Free expression is the right of expressing opinions and ideas without any fear of being restrained or censored. However, freedom of speech does not include the right to incite actions that would harm others or the distribution of obscene material (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, 2000). There are many reasons why various organizations and people are censoring different kinds of topics; some people say it’s the right thing to do and others think its controversial to the first amendment.

Humanity needs to change before all information is censored. In “College at Risk,” Andrew Delbanco discusses liberal learning and the “whole person” that may not be developed in college due to a lack of income. Liberal learning develops the “whole person” by teaching the basic ethics and morals a person should have. Anne Applebaum presents examples of censorship in her essay, “The Decline of American Press Freedom.” She uses China and Yale to make the point that differing forms of censorship are doing more harm than good. In the formal essay “Making it in America,” Adam Davidson brings up what other people tend to ignore. He discusses the injustice the low income factory workers are receiving, even though productivity has grown. Humanity

Ellie Reynolds advances a rhetorically effective argument on why government should not have regulatory control over offensive Native American mascots in schools across the country. She believes this control is more of a detriment to society than a service. Her article published on the DenverPost.com, “Native Americans Have Become a Political Pawn,” offers a compelling point of view on this controversial issue because Reynolds is a member of the Oglala Sioux tribe herself (Reynolds 659). Along with her strong view against government involvement on this issue, which she considers censorship by political correctness, Reynolds uses her personal experience, historical context, and the negative effects of political correctness to convey her effective

Captain of the firehouse, Beatty, once said: “[....] A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon, breach one man’s mind.” (Bradbury 58) Could you imagine our world without books? No textbooks, poems, or Bibles; leaving comic books as the only thing possible to read for leisure time. This is a reality in the book Fahrenheit 451. The setting is in a large futuristic city where books are outlawed and believed to bring insanity and unhappiness to one’s mind. If a person is caught to have books they are punished by fire. Books, houses and sometimes the people are even engulfed in the flames. Behind all the madness is ten year veteran fireman, Guy Montag and his captain Beatty. They both love their jobs and hate books with a passion, punishing all law breakers with unforgiving kerosene and fire, until Montag meets seventeen year old Clarisse who

Many countries strive to interfere on what their citizens are able to experience. Governments from different countries work to censor publication from their citizens such as entertainment, communication, news media, and more. Censorship is done to hide objectionable or sensitive acts, or speech to the public. In Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag finds himself in a world where censorship dominates and covers the truth of reality. In the story, firemen burn books, manipulate parlor families, and have strict rules to respect the boundaries. The government in Fahrenheit 451, censors publication because the inhabitants can discover and overthrow a world with flaws. The inhabitants act as what the government expects and as a result, they do not think or, act as

Censorship is used all throughout the book. People like Montag (early on) and his employees burn books. “Rule 1: Answer the Alarm, 2: Start the fire swiftly 3: Burn everything, 4: Report back to the firehouse immediately, 5: Stand alert for other alarms” That is a quote explaining their duty. “‘What's going on?’ Montag RARELY sees lights on in houses. ‘Oh my family are just sitting around talking. It’s like being a pedestrian, only rarer. My uncle was arrested once for being a pedestrian.’ This shows how controlled they were

Should art be censored? Throughout history, many have felt the need to remove or suppress material that they consider to be morally or politically objectionable, such as books, films, or other materials. They feel that these materials should not be taught in schools or shown in public museums. These people believe no one should be subjected to something that may be against their teachings or beliefs. Others, however, do not feel that these or any works of art should be suppressed. They believe that art and free expression is part of a culture that should be respected. They believe that we should teach and expose all elements of art to the world, and allow free expression.

Misinformation of material given to the public through the internet can have a large impact of the beliefs that society has about their government. Censorship plays a role in hiding or removing material they believe the public should not know about. On the positive side, some countries ban violence through films to perceive a violent-free environment. Also, some country’s purposely remove certain content that shouldn’t be viewed to children because they are the future, and they don’t want violence to be a part of that future. Censorship is quite a controversial topic and has is positive and negative outcomes to society’s around the globe. People may say it’s eliminates our freedom of speech, but some people take advantage of that freedom and should have at least some limitation for what is said on the internet. According to David French, from the National Review, he states,“...freedom of speech does not mean a blanket permission to say anything...it means balancing the inherent value of a given view with the obligation to ensure that other members of a given community can participate”(French). In other words, everyone should express their opinion but in a mannerly style, and that all points of view should be apprehended for everyone’s individual opinion. Censorship’s part in our society is to protect the minds of the public to prevent the violent and traumatization it can

Censorship is a control over unacceptable sources found in all forms of media: such as, newspapers, television, and the Internet. Censorship in the media is to examine all the information found in the media, and deleting or censoring anything that is considered objectionable to the state. Each country controls their own media depending on their religious beliefs, culture and moral ideas. There are many reasons to why censorship of the media is a disadvantage. Governments love to control their nations, and a way of controlling their ideas is by censoring information, which citizens have every human right to access. Censorship is unnecessary because in some cases, it blinds people from the truth. It also leads to misunderstandings that tend to cause disputes.