A Book on Censorship Being Censored...Ironic?

I read the afterword and coda at the end of the novel, which were both written by Ray Bradbury, the author of Fahrenheit 451. The afterword was interesting to read as it provided an additional scene that was not added into the novel. The scene was one where Beatty takes Guy to his own house, right before he is to take Guy to his apartment to burn it down. While at Beatty's place, Guy discovers Beatty's secret library which is filled with books. When asked about it, Beatty replies, "You can have as many books as you want, you just can't read them." Ok, seriously? Who would have a large library filled with books and not read them. The temptation to read them would be overwhelming, at least for me. That could just be because I love to read, but still. This just fuels my belief that there was more to Beatty than Ray Bradbury initially described.

Then in the coda, Ray Bradbury begins to laugh saying how here is a book written about censorship, and it is being censored in some schools. Even that made me laugh out loud. I was talking to my dad, and we still do not fully understand why Fahrenheit 451 is not allowed in some schools. The best idea we could come up with is because they are burning books, and that could be considered disrespectful. But when you actually think about it, (which this book made me do a lot of) Ray Bradbury was actually right. We are not necessarily burning books, but the idea of reading is slowly fading. People want everything to come easy to them instead of having to work for it. Because, what is the fun in hard work. My dad had a good analogy. He said, "you can take a walk around our block, and it's fine. You work a little bit. But, you go and take a hike in the Smoky Mountains, and it is much more rewarding. Sure it is hard work, but the end result is definitely worth it. And people in today's society are less inclined to work, they would rather have everything come easy to them." I totally agree on what he said, and not just because he is my dad. But because life needs variety, and the people in Fahrenheit 451 did not have that variety; their day was the same all day, every day.