In schools all over the country, books are being banned from classrooms. They are being deemed as inappropriate and no longer suitable for a mass audience. While there are some valid reasons for wanting a book banned from a school, the negative effects far outweigh those reasons.
Let’s first look at the reasons books become banned in the first place. Books are typically banned because people feel that the book contains unfitting themes or acts. Sometimes books are banned for their racial themes, political views, religious implications, or the alternative lifestyles they represent. They can also be banned for content that is considered inappropriate for certain ages. Things such as drugs, alcohol consumption, sex, and violence are also reasons why books are sometimes banned. While these reasons are mostly legitimate, there is far more danger and harm in holding a book back from someone.
There are however many valid reasons why books should not be banned. One of the main reasons is that preventing people from learning about some of the harsh realities of life robs them of the knowledge they need in order to grow. Books also are one of the main sources that teach us about history, emotions, and new ways of thinking. They are where we learn about life and love. We can find so much knowledge from books and gain so much life experience just from reading a book. Books have the ability to inspire people and opinion, which can have many lasting effects on us and our society. Books are our entrance into another world. They can teach us so much about both our past and our future. Books teach us about ourselves and who we want to be. So, preventing someone from receiving this joy and knowledge seems wrong.
One of the most ironic banned books is Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Personally, this is the book that spurred my love of reading. It is so ironic that this book has become banned in some public schools.
Fahrenheit 451 is about an alternate reality in which all books are actually banned and illegal to own. They are forced to live in a society with no books to rely on for growth of the people individually and the society as a whole. Fire fighters strictly enforce these rules and burn any books they find still in existence at any cost. However, the main character from the story eventually realizes that he no longer wants to be censored from the wonders that reading can bring. He begins reading and searching for the truth about life and who he wants to be in the pages of books. He didn’t want to be prevented from growing his mind anymore.
The fact that a book about books being banned is actually banned is ridiculous. Fahrenheit 451 shows its readers how important reading is and how awful society would be if that joy was taken away from us. A lack of reading produces narrow minded people who never have the chance to learn about other cultures and ways of life. They are never given the opportunity to learn about different people’s reactions and emotions to certain situations.
Why would we try and prevent people from learning about life? While there are some valid reasons for wanting to ban certain books, those reasons don’t compare to the damage that is done by prohibiting someone from getting to learn the valuable knowledge and life lessons that are given to us solely through books.