Books are a part of our society that entertain us through literature by showing us new experiences and characters that we may relate to or easily might despise due to how they are written, these are usually found in teen novels, comic books, manga, and many more. Books have also usually taught us through traditional means by teaching us about history and other things about society and overall morals we learn at a young age. However, some people have actually taken offense to certain books due to the content inside the book being “too offensive to them and have asked that these books be banned while other people want these books to stay. It’s a consistent debate of whether certain books should be banned or not and there are different viewpoints …show more content…
And some books are so huge that perhaps one person could ruin it for everyone by having it be banned. For example, when How to Kill A Mocking Bird was being seen for ban, Philadelphia Inquirer reported on the issue saying that “Instead of admitting prejudice exists and confronting it, we find excuses to change the subject. Harper Lee's banned book doesn't let us do that, which is why more people should read it.” Jackson, H. (2017, 22 Oct.) And the point that’s being brought up is that a lot of books show problems and issues with our society but rather than accepting it and facing it, we want to avoid it and pretend they don’t exist. This will only damage us later in the future since we are trying to set a standard of no bad things existing. But sometimes it might be good to ban a book, as seen with a report done by the Wall Street Journal when they interviewed author Simon Griffin about some of his ‘questionable’ book titles that have offended people and he stated, ‘“Obviously I do feel bad about that," said Mr. Griffin, the author. "The intention of the book was never to upset."’ Cronin, B. (2017, 02 Feb). Even though it’s not the best option, sometimes it might be good to ban a book like this because of the title, even though the easier option is just changing the title or censoring it, maybe it should be …show more content…
An example of China’s actions of this are when the Boston Globe reported that, “Yasin is one of more than three dozen writers held in prison by the Chinese authorities…In addition, poets, playwrights, and novelists are imprisoned in Turkey, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Algeria, Cuba, Myanmar, and Iran for the crime of writing about how the world appears to them. In a world in which our destinies are intertwined, in which we need more desperately than ever to know one another, such censorship hurts us all.” Hoffman, R. (2009, 14 Oct.) China is essentially trying to hide things from the public and not allowing people to speak how they feel about the country by banning their books and imprisoning them. Therefore, banned books in China are hunted for so often. And truly, there is no positive side to this view point except maybe with the case of the author of the book “The Satanic Verses”, when the Straits Times reported that, “…the then spiritual leader of Iran called "blasphemous". The late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini offered a bounty for the writer's death and Rushdie had to spend 10 years of his life in hiding. The fatwa or edict calling for his murder has yet to be cancelled.” Nanda, A. (2012, 09 Oct). This might be one of the only positives of having to ban a book because the book was
Supporters of banning say profanity can negatively influence the actions and thoughts of readers, especially younger readers that may not have heard or read many corrupt words. Huckleberry Finn, a book commonly inveighed for its use of contentious racial language, is commonly challenged for that reason. For USA Today, Martha Moore wrote, “When the younger reader is staring at that word five times on a given page and the instructor is saying, 'Mark Twain didn't mean this and you have to read it with an appreciation of irony,' you're asking a lot of a younger reader”. Granted, foul vocabulary is a challenge that academies need to address, but not through barring novels. Besides, if the reader is sufficiently mature for the book, they can still learn from it. For instance, some racial characterizations do not intentionally persecute people, but show the contrasting tensions between them, conforming to the time period. Again, the article “Huck Finn Navigating Choppy Waters Again” revealed, “The word is there for a reason… The word is terrible, it's hurtful, but it's there for a reason” (Moore). The racial epithets used in that book convey the attitude of Missouri in the 1840s when friction between African Americans and white people was rising. Additionally, banning a book due to concerns about the language is not beneficial to pupils because it prevents them from learning from other components of the book. “Often the organizations or schools that ban these books fail to see the book as a whole; they often center on the one page, the one scene or even the one word containing the offensive language or meaning and judge the whole book based on that one aspect,” according to an article by Adriana Lopez. She makes a sound point. A book contains a whole plot with themes that
I absolutely disagree with banning books. Banning books is not good policy for any educational setting but especally in schools. Books help the students better understand the cultural changes and the different point of view in their beliefs.
“Book Banning” may seem like an issue of the past, but, in fact, it is still a very pertinent issue in the U.S. today. These classic books have been banned at one time or another: Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Color Purple, Huckleberry Finn, The Grapes of Wrath, The Harry Potter series. You’re probably wondering how these, extremely famous, books can be so censored in America today. There are many reasons that are given in regards to book censorship. For instance, language or profanity, violence, sexual explicitness, or “uncomfortable” topics, such as rape and race relations. Christian groups have requested that a countless number of books, with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Queer (LGBTQ+) themes, be taken out of schools and libraries The banning and censorship of books can happen in many places and ways; taking them off school reading lists, or even out of libraries and bookstores.
The idea to ban certain books from schools and libraries is preposterous due to the manner in which the people trying to enforce these bans try to do so in. Banning books doesn’t help with the already present problem that our youth’s intelligence levels are already declining, and neither does allowing the freedom to all books. Banning certain books due to their constant use of inappropriate language, sexually explicit nature, and all around mature content has a respectfully reasonable reason to be inaccessible to younger audiences such as minors and teens; not young adults. The banning of books in libraries is outright inexcusable, unless the material is directly racist, subjective religious content, and all around hatred for a certain race or ethnicity; not if it’s used for fictional writing, in a softer manner mid you, to express the conflict in a story and/or to show real world problems, same go for non-fictional writing that expresses ideals in a manner of which isn’t disrespectful to other ideals and that do so in a manner of which isn’t so subjectively and deliberately showing hate for a certain race or ethnicity, especially
There is a book out there that talks about a topic that you do not agree with. While you may find the book offensive, others may find it inspiring or a reflection of their life. These varying points of view are what often lead to people calling for a ban of a certain book in a school or public library. This brings to light a topic that impacts all of us in one way or another, censorship in the form of book bans. This leads to a topic that can be the center of debate for many, whether or not we should allow the censorship of books, or other forms of media, in our libraries. And by censoring books, we are referring to taking them off of the shelves. Of course, many people have strong opinions on this. Coincidentally, I also have an opinion. My opinion is that we should not censor books, while making you understand why the idea of censorship in our school and public libraries goes against the fundamental values and freedoms that we hold dearly as citizens of the United States.
Book censorship today in America isn’t quite as drastic as that, but still is reflecting the same concepts. I remember in junior high school when we would have banned book week. This was where the school celebrated having the right to read censored and banned books. Written word is one of the most important aspects of free speech. In no circumstance whatsoever, should any piece of writing be censored. Writing thoughts and ideas and whatever else comes into someone’s mind has been a practice of humans ever since historians know that man existed. Telling people what they can and cannot read is an invasion of not only the reader’s rights, but the author’s as well. If someone doesn’t like what an author of a piece of literature has to say then that person has a right not to read it, or better yet form their own opinion and write about that. Book banning is and ungodly practice and the people of this world should learn from the mistakes of the past and not allow the censorship of written material. The only opposition that I can find to the censorship of books would be taking the same mindset on the topic as the Nazis did when they burned all of the Jew’s books. Trying to wipe out an entire race or group of people’s ideas and beliefs should never be done anywhere for any reason.
Isn't banning books disobeying the freedom of speech, and infringing on the freedom of the press? First Amendment, states that "citizens must be free to seek out any media, regardless of content, that they deem appropriate for entertainment, information, or education. With said, banning books stunts the extension of education. In addition, Books containing “Racial Issues, Blasphemous Dialogue, and Sexual Situations” parents' supervision is indicated. So, if read by children; banning books will not be an antidote for bad parenting. But, Most opponents of book banning understand parental preferences regarding their own child’s reading material, but they refuse to grant them the right to make a decision on behalf of all parents about what is or isn’t appropriate. The disadvantages, books can teach you a negative habits and that’s why some books should be banned. Literature will fully-develop children for the real-world.
that’s offended them, including the person who wrote this and the people hearing this today. Just because something could be misconstrued as offensive doesn’t mean that it should be eschewed, this is the same case with books. Books shouldn’t be banned solely because they are perceived as offensive.
Public schools are becoming more laid back about what they teach in each subject to make it less uncomfortable for individuals to talk about; for example, sex education is taught in schools more in depth and at an earlier age today than in the past to make it easier for people to talk about sex in a more mature manner. Banning books that contain sexual content, vulgarity, and violence give children and young adults a reason to snicker about these topics when discussed in class because we are taught that these topics are not appropriate to talk about publicly. There are many factors that play a major role in how an individual perceives certain topics in books. If taught at an earlier age that these topics are suitable for mature
Throughout time, countless great children’s books have been published and then loved by many. To name a few, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. What do these three books have in common? They were all published as children’s books, then kept out of their hands for numerous reasons. Parents and teachers claimed these books were unfit for children’s reading. They either introduced topics that were not open to them yet or went against their lifestyle. All around the world, great books are being kept from children for doltish reasons. They are being censored, then banned from their eyes. Taking this literature from them is ruining their childhood; it is preventing children from learning about the world and being ready for it. Censoring in children’s books needs to become less harsh or else they are going to grow up in a sealed world.
Many books have been questioned and challenged. Even as far as to banning them. But what exactly is a banned book and why are they banned? A banned book is a book that has been censored by an authority, a government body, a library, or a even school system. A book that has been banned is actually removed from a library or school system. The actual contextual reasons as to banning them is use of explicit violence, gore, sexuality, explicit language, religion, or dark times in history. On the non-contextual side of the reason why they are banned books are usually because with the best intentions to protect people, frequently children, from difficult philosophies and information. Teachers, or even more common adults, often censor books from
The practice of the censorship of books in schools has been prevalent due to the explicit content of them. Parents have been complaining to schools about books that count as required reading because they disapprove with the points made in the book. If a book consists of offensive or sexually explicit material, then parents would challenge the schools about them in order to prevent their children from reading them. Censorship in general has been an intensely debated issue because it is considered an infringement to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution while others argue it is used to conceal inappropriate things (Aliprandini and Sprague). The banning of books in school curriculum has also been debated since parents see
Every year, hundreds of books are challenged, banned, and/or removed. According to American Library Association, more than 11, 300 books have been challenged, banned, or removed in schools and libraries across the country since 1982. The reasons why books are banned were discussed during an interview between Time For Kids and the director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, James LaRue. "Books are banned because they fall under one of these categories of controversy: Religion, Sexual Content, Profanity, or Race." (LaRue, 2016). Many books that have been banned, at one point in time, fall under one these categories. Some more well-known books included: The Holy Bible, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill
It is my belief that since by the time the child is required to read such literature in school, they are at an age where they can distinguish between things that should and should not be said and it is the job of the parents to educate the child that just because they say it in a book does not mean he or she should.Another subject common to banned and censored books is sexuality.
“It’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written, the books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers” (Blume 1999). Judy Blume can not explain the problem of book censorship any clearer. The children are the real losers because they are the ones that are not able to read the classic works of literature which are the backbone of classroom discussions all across the United States.