Ryan, Madison

Period 6
Boske
12 February 2015
Censorship: The Ultimate Denouncement

Censorship is telling a man he cant have a steak because a baby cant chew it(Mark
Twain).

In this quote, Twain is describing the censorship of books as unfair. He compares it to a man and
a baby, using the man to represent the average reader, and the baby as the easily offended. I
personally agree with this. I believe censorship is the condemning of books for the sole reason
that a few people out of many cannot handle them. It deprives many people of a good thing, and
smothers the creativity of the author as well as it covers up the painful truth of reality.
One reason that censorship is disagreeable is that it constrains the originality and
creativity of the authors. Authors work very hard, spending years at a time making quality work,
only for it to be vandalized by conservative or fundamentalist ideals. An example of this is the
editing of Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451. Editors and publishers, without the consent of
Bradbury, cut out crucial words and parts of the story for the sake of cleanliness. It was over
thirteen years later that the author found out, and demanded that the redaction of the book be
undone. These words (Hell, abortion, etc.) emphasized the messages of the book and gave more
meaning to the dialogue. By cutting them out, the main ideas were lost upon the reader.
Additionally, the work that Bradbury had put so much effort in was defaced without his
knowledge. Censorship razed the creativity, imagination, and genius in the work, and effectively
damaged the seriousness of the story.
Another reason that censorship is disadvantageous is that it covers up reality and the truth
of our past. An example of this would be Thomas Bowdler, and his editing of classic
Shakespearean works to be less lewd and suggestive. Bowdler made the literature more
appropriate through the changing of dialogue and the total restructure of characters. What was
once comedic and flirtatious was turned bland and flat. The suggestiveness and clear innuendo
are key parts in the stories impact upon viewers, as well as what sets the characters apart from
one another. To have that removed totally murdered the intended meaning of the original author,
and lessened the intrigue of the tale exponentially. The act of hiding and changing words written
in or about certain time periods to end controversy is controversial in itself. Censorship also
hides the truth of the past from readers, and keeps children from preparing for the harsh reality
we live in. An example that can be used would be the attempted removal of Of Mice and Men
and To Kill A Mockingbird from the school curriculum. John Foley is responsible for this, and
defends himself by saying that old literature wasnt necessary, as the past is in the past, and
discrimination written in older books is no longer needed to be viewed by impressionable
students. Updating literature would effectively keep the truth of the past hidden from children,
and destroy the importance of history. Society needs to learn from old mistakes, or well be
doomed to repeat them. The hiding of these historically accurate novels because of the harshness
of discrimination would be very, very bad for the growth of humanity.
Censorship is a fancy word for ignorance. By getting rid of specific, harsher elements, we
ruin the art of literature, and we ruin the lessons history has taught us. There will always be
vulgarity in the world, and redacting books unnecessarily does not help that. The thing that
should be made a goal for people is toughening up, and taking harshness and vulgarity as a
lesson for the future.