Transcript Censorship in: Fahrenheit 451

Censorship in: Fahrenheit 451
American Literature II – The Academy
Part I:
Explore the following
sites for information
on the kinds of
historical censorship
Ray Bradbury
discusses in
Fahrenheit 451. For
this part you will be
collecting answers to
the questions that
accompany each web
site.
Step I:
The burning of Hugh Latimer
and Nicholas Ridley:
1. Why were Latimer and Ridley burned at the
stake?
2. Why was Latimer confident that they were doing
the right thing?
3. Why would it be important to remind people of
this history?
Bishops Ridley and Latimer Burned at the Stake:
http://www.christianhistorytimeline.com/DAILYF/2003/10/daily-10-16-2003.shtml
http://www.fofweb.com/NuHistory/default.asp?ItemID=WE53&NewItemID=True
Step II:
The Trial of John Peter Zenger:
The case of John Peter Zenger reminds us of a time
when freedom of the press could not be taken for
granted. Censorship was a normal activity.
1. In what ways is this similar to the world Bradbury is
describing in F451?
2. How might our news media be different if Zenger
had lost his case?
The Trial of John Peter Zenger:
http://tinyurl.com/jo3j6
Step III: Nazi Book Burning:
The Nazi Book Burning:
You are going to go to the website of the US Holocaust
Memorial Museum’s photo archives. Listed, you will see a
number of pictures with captions. Look at a few of the
photos.
http://www.ushmm.org/search/results/?q=photo+archives+
nazi+book+burning
In what way might these images have inspired Bradbury to
write F451?
Step IV: Works of Art that
Nazis Banned as "Degenerate:"
Degenerate means to be without the qualities that are
considered normal, healthy, and moral.
1. Why might these works be considered "degenerate?"
2. Choose a work that you either especially like or especially
dislike and explain your feelings towards it.
Works of Art that Nazis banned as degenerate:
(not all the links on the page work)
http://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/holocaust/arts/artDegen.htm
Step V: McCarthyism and
Blacklisting in Hollywood:
This site will take you to a PBS NewsHour story
about blacklisting.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Why did it happen?
Was it right or wrong?
Could it happen again?
How might it have inspired Bradbury to write F451?
Blacklisting in Hollywood:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/julydec97/blacklist_10-24.html
Part II:
Explore some of the websites on the following slide to look
at censorship issues that are in the news today. Use at least
four (4) websites to answer the following questions. These
questions will also help to guide your thinking for your
rationale assignment.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Who is in favor of these limitations on freedom of speech?
Why are they in favor of them?
Who is opposed?
Why are they opposed?
Which side do you agree with? Why?
The Sites:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/26/books-censorship-prisons-schools-freespeech-un-shakespeare -censorship in prisons and schools
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/freedom-house/state-partitioning-of-the_b_5843162.html
-Internet censorship
http://www.lehigh.edu/~infirst/musiccensorship.html - music censorship
http://www.tvguidelines.org/ - TV ratings
http://parentpreviews.com/movie-ratings/usa - Movie ratings -- from the motion picture organization
http://ncac.org/issue/books/ -reasons for reading challenged books
http://judyblume.com/censorship.php -reasons for reading challenged books
http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/righttoreadguideline -reasons for reading challenged books
Evaluation:
This assignment will be evaluated in two
ways:
• You will receive two separate grades for Parts I and
II of the assignment. Make sure you have explored
the web sites thoroughly and that you thought
about the information you found.
Due Date: Monday, October 6th
Which idea do you
like more?
Credits:
John Loonam, Humanities High School