To Kill a Mockingbird. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The Call of the Wild. The Great Gatsby. Fahrenheit 451. The Grapes of Wrath. The Catcher in the Rye. You’ve probably read at least one of these, right? You might have even been required to read them in school. That’s not a surprise. They are classics and true icons to American literature. However, all of these books have something else in common. They all have been banned at some point since their publication. Do you find that hard to believe? How could such such timeless novels with iconic plots and beloved characters be banned? I believe that book banning should not exist to the extent it does now. Book banning is unconstitutional, deprives people of learning about the world around …show more content…
There is more to the world than our small community. The world is a large and diverse place with many different views on just about everything. Books are a way to see and experience places you have never been to before. They can help you see both the beauty and the ugliness of our world. When a book is banned, it can take away an opportunity for someone to learn about something new.
Book banning deprives people of the opportunity to think, question, and explore. Books, especially ones that have been banned, have themes that make people think. Some of the most controversial topics have been presented as a theme in a book. Books try to help us understand the reality that is our everyday life and urge us to question the “normal” things in society. They encourage us to form our own, educated opinions.
I believe that the government, libraries, and schools should not control what the public can and cannot read. I realize, however, that not everything is appropriate for young children to be exposed to. Banning books for the protection of our children shouldn’t happen. We cannot try to prevent our children from knowing about the real world. Sheltering them doesn’t always benefit them. Parents should make the decision about what is or isn’t appropriate for their own children. They should talk to their children and offer perspective and advice on issues that their children will eventually
...in restrictions are needed. Pornography should not be available to children. I do not have a problem with parental advisory labels on music. However, putting a ban on all books is a very scary proposition. Bradbury's novel does not come close to describing how miserable this world would become. Everybody in this world depends on books whether or not they are literate. It can be said that we get most of our morals and values from books. These morals are found in books such as the Bible, Aesop's Fables, and sometimes even the trashy romance novels that women tend to love. Without books, the world could be explained in one word, educated. An uneducated world is a miserable world full of fighting and conflict. An uneducated world is a world at constant war. A world with out books is a dystopian world.
With the thought that someone can be hurt by reading a book, people will try to challenge and ban them. To ban a book is to have it restricted from a certain age or audience. Banning and challenging books is trying to keep a certain book away from an audience due to sexual content, going against religious beliefs, language and vulgarity, violence, drugs, self-harm, racism, occult/satanic views, promoting gangs, and going against community standards. An argument from someone who believes books should not be banned is that it is important for the age group to learn about certain content and material as they grow up. Due to controversial content, the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald should be banned.
"Book Banning." Current Issues: Macmillian Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 31 Jan. 2011.
Trelease, Jim. "Book Banning Violates Children and Young Adult Freedoms." Book Banning. Ed. Ronnie D. Lankford. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. At Issue. Rpt. from "Censorship and Children's Books." Trelease-on-Reading.com. 2006.Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Aliprandini, Michael Sprague, Carolyn. "Banning Books: An Overview." Points Of View: Banning Books (2013): 1. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
We live in an overprotective society, where people try to control other people’s lives from things that they find explicit. Many parents believe that by sheltering their kids from offensive things it will keep them safe. But, trying to live life as if there is always sunshine and no rain turns out to be a big disappointment. The banning of books has a negative effect on children and adults alike, as it can shelter children from real life situations, and revokes the rights of the people. Although people believe in banning books that contain vulgar language and profanity to help their children, it can actually hurt the child and can be considered unconstitutional.
What is a banned book? A banned book is a book that has been removed from the shelves; it could be from a library, classroom, or even the bookstore because of its content. A book could be banned for many reasons, but it could be banned because it contains sex, violence, inappropriate language, religious viewpoints, witch craft, and many more things because other people deem it inappropriate. When someone bans a book they ban it for everyone else too.
What does it mean to ban a book? A banned book is one that has been removed from the shelves of a library, bookstore, or classroom because of its controversial content. (About.com) Before banning, a book must be challenged. A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. (About Banned And Challenged Books) A book is challenged when a person or group dislikes some of its content, and wishes to have it removed. Often times, it is banned for obscenities and is considered unsuited for the set age group, or any age group.
Banning Books “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.
In Rebecca’s article there are many things that I do not agree with. The first argument that I have to disagree with is when Rebecca stated that the American Library Association recommends books for young readers, but these recommendations reflect their liberal values and the books recommended by the ALA contain cures words and graphic sexual information (Hagelin). I got in contact with the ALA and I asked them, “Do your librarians or any of your higher branches read any of the books on any of your book lists?” I got a response back from a lady named Angela Maycock who is the assistant director for the Office for Intellectual Freedom. Angela responded saying, “I assume when you ask about ALA’s boo...
Books that have shaped America are slowly starting to disappear. Many of the previous social norms have fallen out of fashion, and because of this reason numerous books are beginning to become banned. Blasphemy, racism, sex, and violence are all ethical reasons for books to be censored.
There are multiple reasons why a book can be banned or challenged. Book banning causes the removal of materials in schools and libraries due to “inappropriate” content. The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold, was banned due to sexual content and language.
Staff, Wire Reports. (2002 October 3). Book banning spans the globe. The Houston Chronicle, pp.C14. Retrieved December 2, 2002 from Lexis-Nexis/Academic database.
Censoring school books in libraries can often lead to censorship of our basic freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment. In some cases, a minority ends up dictating the majority in censorship
We saw a few examples of why a book may be banned, but there are many reasons for people who fancy books being banned. Personally, I don’t see any reason for any book to be banned; this excludes obvious examples, such as pornography both visual and written out. As long as there is some sort of educational value the writing piece should not be banned. The topic of book banning is so controversial because of the perspective people have on life. An author wrote this about A Wrinkle in Time, “It combined science and Christianity in an ingenious and entertaining way.