The Banning of Fahrenheit 451

[GreatCarouser]

Who did this gentleman vote for in the election?"If they can't find a book that uses clean words, they shouldn't have a book at all."

[dai bread]

I take it this guy doesn't watch TV or movies.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Guy's an prize idiot. Daughter's an ignorant idiot. I'd assign select portions of the bible for the kid's reading assignment, with a paper due afterwards exploring the themes developed in the biblical reading. Let's see, where should we start?

Rape? Murder? Incest? Lust and treachery and more murder? Scheming and insurrection? King David and his family provide all these edifying themes, in just a few chapters. There are other contenders for the for most dysfunctional - Noah comes to mind. Abraham, Sarah, and the Pharoah. Lot.

Heck, Bradbury's a civilized fellow. His stories are mild.

[GreatCarouser]

I may read the book they assigned her as a substitute...anyone familiar with it?

[shostakovich]

Selma has a good point about the vice and violence of the Bible. But there's little that stands out for bad language. "Carnal knowledge" can sound like a delightful educational experience.

As for the application of political literary correctness damning (oh, excuse my language) F 451 because of wording, they can rent the video. The language doesn't distract. Viewers can concentrate on the horrors of brain washing, death, destruction that may be lost in the book because of dirty words.

Another reason to watch the movie is the sound track by Bernard Herrmann. And we all know good music elevates.
Shos

[analog]

Mark Twain's "Mysterious Stranger" would be a good suggestion I'd think.

http://www.online-literature.com/twain/ ... -stranger/

[GreatCarouser]

I like The Mysterious Stranger, Twain's journey into existentialism. I feel it doesn't address censorship the way Fahrenheit does and so isn't similar in theme in that way. The rascal in me believes the rascal in analog just wants to get Verm all riled up again. As a blogger pointed out...Alton Verm...the name is a novelist's dream.

[analog]

I like The Mysterious Stranger, Twain's journey into existentialism. I feel it doesn't address censorship the way Fahrenheit does and so isn't similar in theme in that way. The rascal in me believes the rascal in analog just wants to get Verm all riled up again. As a blogger pointed out...Alton Verm...the name is a novelist's dream.

Yep. It's a mighty irreverent tale wherein Twain dismisses traditional religion as brainwashing.

We read it in my high school English - but that was 1962 ..... we could read Huck Finn then, too.

I like the ironies.

[barfle]

Damn, but I feel sorry for Diana Verm. Her father thinks he's protecting her, but really, he's telling her that the real world is nicer than it is. He's a jerk, and he's doing his best to raise a fool.

I've met Ray Bradbury on a couple of occasions, and he really is one of the sweetest guys you would ever want to have tell stories to your daughter.

Her father's objecting to a book about people objecting to books should serve as one of those terrible examples one of the regulars used to warn us about. But I suspect that has gone over both of their heads.

[jamiebk]

I guess "Catcher in the Rye" is out of the question??