Set in a futuristic society where books are prohibited, the classic dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury depicts the story of a firefighter named Montag who burns books for a living.  Montag was leading an uncomplicated life, where he never questioned his job or society, until he meets a teenager named Clarisse.  She challenges his thoughts and creates questions about life's meaning.  It is not until he comes encounter with an old woman who rather burn with her books than live without them that he truly begins to ponder if books are really important or not.  Fahrenheit 451 should not be banned because it is an important story that teaches its readers that books are important and our world would be nothing without them.  The author mentions immoral things during the book, but the overall lesson it teaches is too important to take it away.

One reason that it shouldn't be banned is because we should have the freedom to read whatever we would like to.  No person should be able to define what is and what isn't tasteful and/or appropriate.  In the Freedom to Read statement it's stated that "There is no place in our society for efforts to coerce the taste of others, to confine adults to the reading matter deemed suitable for adolescents, or to inhibit the efforts of writers to achieve artistic expression," (American Library Association Council).  This means that it is not acceptable to have a book removed from a library or school because it doesn't abide by a single person's rules.  The Freedom to Read statement also says that "It is not in public interest to force a reader to accept the prejudgment of the label characterizing any expression or its author as subversive or dangerous," (ALA Council).  Similar to the previous statement, it says that forcing your opinions of a book onto another is not acceptable.  A way of doing so would be banning a book, making the banning of Fahrenheit 451 unacceptable.

Another reason it shouldn't be banned is because it is an award-winning piece of literature.  It won the Prometheus Hall of Fame award in 1984, a prestigious award made to honor classic libertarian fiction (LFS).  Another award it has won is the Retro Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1954 (Geeky Library).  It is awarded for science fiction or fantasy stories of 40000 words or more.  It is considered the best-known literary award for science fiction writing.  If the book wasn't worthy of being in simple libraries, it wouldn't have won these awards.   It has too much positive recognition to be taken away from the public. It teaches the importance of literature & knowledge and how our world would be more monstrous that it already is without them.  Taking it away from libraries and schools will be taking away citizens' chances to read something that could completely change their perspective on books.  Since the book is about the importance of books, seeing how the world could become without them may change a person’s appreciation for them completely.  Many people do not understand the importance of books, so reading this novel would be a great way for them to understand it.

Although the book does have accounts of immoral doings such as violence, cursing, and using God's name in vain, it is not enough reason to ban it.  The First Amendment states that we have freedom of religion (Steve Mount).  Taking it away because it goes against a single person's religion is not an adequate reason.  Since it says that we have freedom of religion, Ray Bradbury did not have to abide by the rules of a single religion when writing the book.  This means that banning it for going against one religion is unconstitutional.  Many of the other reasons that citizens wanted this book taken out was for the mention of immoral topics or immoral doings.  The “What Is Censorship?”  article states that there is no proof that after hearing, watching, or reading about immoral acts that a person will act immorally.  Most scientists agree that statistical correlations between two phenomena do not mean that one causes the other (ACLU).  Most reasons people come up with to ban books are based on personal preference or thoughts, which doesn't quite work when it comes to books.  Books have a wide range of topics and formats that everyone might not be a fan of, However, this doesn’t mean that it’s right for a book, like Fahrenheit 451, to be taken away from everyone because a person doesn’t approve of it.  One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

Fahrenheit 451 does not deserve to be taken off of the shelves from everyone.  It is loved by millions across the world and we should have the freedom to choose to read it.  Taking it away because of someone's personal preferences would be useless, like taking a box of cookies away from homeless kids because one child doesn't like the type of cookie.  It is not beneficial, considering the brilliant lesson the book teaches, and it is rude to the author who worked very hard on the book.  The First Amendment states that we have freedom to express ourselves, which Ray Bradbury did.  Taking away his work of art would simply be unconstitutional.  It is important for us, as citizens, to understand that life without books is not a good life.  The book teaches this perfectly, which is why it should stay on the shelves; to be a prime example of what the world should never come to.