Fahrenheit 451 and the censorship of books

Throughout history, the publication of many books have been banned. This has had many motives whether this be to prevent the spread of opposing political agendas or to maintain traditional societal values. The question that follows is whether this is ethical or not?

In today’s British society censorship of a book would be a violation of one’s freedom of expression under Article 10 of the Human Rights Act. It would therefore be very difficult for it to happen in modern day Britain without social uproar.

However, in America where freedom of expression is enshrined into The Constitution a multitude of books were banned from schools throughout history. A well-known (and for me well-loved) example is Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Badbury. It was written as an extended metaphor for the way communism was poorly received in the 1950s. Its censorship could be seen as a political move to prevent any more traction for the communist movement. It was prohibited in schools as late as 2010.

Fahrenheit 451 in a Waterstone's display titled "timeless tales".

Censoring books is an attack of an individuals freedom of expression because it tries to erase someone's words and opinions from existence. It limits education and freedom of thought and can only be seen as a threat to society.

In light of this, I would highly recommend reading Fahrenheit 451 as it makes amazingly applicable social comments and follows the incredible story of a young firefighter gone rogue. Furthermore you can sit smugly knowing that simply sitting down and reading this book is a social protest against those who once tried to destroy it.

However, censorship is being challenged today and we now honor previously banned books during events such as “Banned Books Week”. It is a good indication of how freedom of expression is being celebrated worldwide in a way that it wasn't in the past.