Daily Show’s Daniel Radosh Responds to School Censorship Over Fahrenheit 451

A Friendly Note about Insidious Censorship

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is a dark and dystopian tale that would be a living nightmare for any bibliophile. It’s a telling tale to anyone who is anti-censorship, a world where books are banned and burned, so when Twitter user and Daily Show head writer Daniel Radosh received a permission slip so his son could read Fahrenheit 451, he responded in a way that only a bibliophile could!

The note was written by Radosh Junior, explaining that Fahrenheit 451 is a frequently challenged book, mostly down to it’s mild swearing and depiction of Bible-burning. However, as Fahrenheit 451 is about censorship, Daniel Radosh didn’t miss the irony.

The slip was simply meant to be signed by parents and sent back to school, but Radosh attached a note, tweeted the whole thing, and it went viral!

Fahrenheit 451 US
Fahrenheit 451 UK

Review

Here’s what the note says in its entirety.

“I love this letter! What a wonderful way to introduce students to the theme of Fahrenheit 451 that books are so dangerous that the institutions of society — schools and parents — might be willing to team up against children to prevent them from reading one. It’s easy enough to read the book and say, ‘This is crazy. It could never really happen,’ but pretending to present students at the start with what seems like a totally reasonable ‘first step’ is a really immersive way to teach them how insidious censorship can be I’m sure that when the book club is over and the students realize the true intent of this letter they’ll be shocked at how many of them accepted it as an actual permission slip. In addition, Milo’s concern that allowing me to add this note will make him stand out as a troublemaker really brings home why most of the characters find it easier to accept the world they live in rather than challenge it. I assured him that his teacher would have his back.”

It looks like Radosh Junior’s class will be having some fun discussions about this fantastic book!