Argumentative Essay on Should Fahrenheit 451 Be Taught in School?

The conversation of whether Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 should be taught is quite controversial. On one hand, you have this award-winning novel; with many life lessons tied to it. On the other hand, you also have this boring and lifeless book that has “vulgar” language which is being taught to children. So, the question is, does one side outweigh the other? Are we willing to risk the education of children because a book has a few “bad words”?  I don’t think we should be banning Fahrenheit 451 from being taught because I think the pros of education and value outweigh the cons. 

The pros of education span through the three main themes in Fahrenheit 451. The first is censorship. Censorship is preventing the public from seeing certain parts of media or seeing any type of media at all. In Fahrenheit 451 an example of censorship would be the fact that the citizens are not allowed to read books and have to burn them.  “So now do you see why books are hated and feared? They show the pores in the face of life. The comfortable people want only wax moon faces, poreless, hairless, expressionless.” pg.44.The metaphor of burning books can represent the control that we can have over the information that we receive and how we perceive it. With the rights in place we have, you can make ties with everyday life. Another message is technology addiction and how it can become a distraction. In Fahrenheit 451 an example would be Mildred. ”The converter attachment, which had cost them one hundred dollars, automatically supplied her name whenever the announcer addressed his anonymous audience, leaving a blank where the proper syllables could be filled in.” Mildred is addicted to her parlor room which is where her tv is.  Mildred is so addicted to it that she tends to be detached from the world around her. This message can be helpful today because of our current use of technology. Nearly everything we do is through a screen and it can sometimes become difficult to recognize when it has become a problem. The last main theme is knowledge V.S ignorance. "Mrs. Bowles stood up and glared at Montag.' You see? I knew it, that's what I wanted to prove! I knew it would happen! I've always said, poetry and tears, poetry and suicide and crying and awful feelings, poetry and sickness; all that mush! Now I've had it proved to me. You're nasty, Mr. Montag, you're nasty!'" pg. 54. This is what Mrs. Bowls says when Mrs. Phelps is crying. This after Montag reads The Sea of Faith. Even without knowing the meaning behind the poem, Montag felt that it was urgent to share what he had just read. Furthermore, when Mrs. Phelps starts crying it only ensures Mrs. Bowles’s idea that poetry is grim and makes people sad. This really shows how their idea of “literature is bad” came to be. In more current times, it is so easy to gain information through social media. You can learn how to equate the importance of knowing what is going on around you and how it is a liberty. 

Another reason to not ban Fahrenheit 451 is that it is an award-winning book. Fahrenheit 451 has won the Prometheus Hall of Fame award in 1984 which is set out to honour classic libertarian fiction. Fahrenheit 451 also won the Retro Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1954. This award is given out for science fiction and fantasy. The Hugo Award for Best Novel award is known to be one of the best literary awards for science fiction novels. Assuming that this book is not “good enough” to be taught, it would not have won these prestigious awards. Fahrenheit 451 has too much acknowledgement to be banned. Taking away the opportunity to read this book from students can affect the way someone could view books. Considering Fahrenheit 451 is about the importance of books it would show how the world would be without them.

Additionally Fahrenheit 451 is said to have accounts of vulgar language and using God’s name in vain. “God damn, they rise like the midnight sun to sweat you in your bed!" pg. 59. I do not think that a few “bad words” is enough reason to ban such a classic novel. It is stated in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that we have the freedom of religion. Removing this book because it goes against a single religion would be unlawful. Along with this, another reason people want to ban Fahrenheit 451 is that it has “immoral doings”. There has been no proof that reading about “immoral doings” does not result in people copying the literature and those said immoral doings. A lot of the reasons for banning Fahrenheit 451 are opinion-based in which does not suffice as a viable reason when it comes to deciding whether or not to ban this book from being taught to everyone. Books are very expansive and have a large variety when it comes to topics and not everyone is going to want to read about it. Nonetheless, such a rich book like Fahrenheit 451 should not be banned from being taught just because one person does not approve of its word choice and teachings. 

Nevertheless Fahrenheit 451 should not be banned from being taught. This novel is loved by so many people and educators should have the freedom to teach what they want. Taking it away would be preventing students from being able to learn about so many topics that are easily applicable to everyday life. Fahrenheit 451 also has too much public recognition to just be outlawed so abruptly. Along with missing out on learning opportunities and publicity reasons, it would be unfair to ban this beloved book based on someone’s personal beliefs. Everyone has their freedoms and because one person with their own views feels offended by a few words in a book doesn’t mean that everyone else has to stop learning this book. Therefore with all of this taken into consideration, Fahrenheit 451 should continue to be taught and not banned for the sake of learning and the reputation of this book.