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essay on literature and censorship
essay on literature and censorship
arguments against book censorship
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I believe in the fact that everyone has their own opinion and the right for freedom of speech and press. People might say that I have no opinion or that I dont know what I am talkin about because I am under 18, but I still stand behind my opinion. The recent controversy over the censorship and banning of Toni Morrisons "The Bluest Eye" is simply a group of people trying to give thier opinion. They got their right and where able to challenged the book, but are now taking this too far. I believe this should be eliminated and they should not be able to get their way by threatening their point. The mother who has challenged this book has every right to censor what her child reads. As for other parents they might want their children to read this book. I dont see how this women really sees herself as Bakersfields "parental figure" and takes it among herself to say what other peoples children may read. Personally I feel as if she thinks me and my peers too stupid to understand the meaning of the book, and not mature enough to seperate the reality of those 11 "pornographic" lines. Sex, incest, and rape are all things that are real and happen in our world. Many children are exposed to these unpleasant realities. I believe that this women is out of touch with her daughter if she thinks that her daughter does nott know what these things are. I am very insulted at the fact that she thinks it her job to take on the responsibility to choose what I can not read. I have two parents already that make fine descisions for me, I don't really need another one. Those 11 lines are said to be pornographic and probably are when taking out of text. Those 11 lines are merely particles of the total piece of literature. I have not yet read "The Bluest Eye," but plan to. This book is said to be very eduactional and a great piece of literature. Should students really be banned from reading this book because of 11 lines? If any parent does not want to have their child read a book they have every right to not let them, but this women should have no say over any one elses child except her own. Also I think it very ridiculous of her to carry this on any further than it has already gone.
This controversial book has been challenged in countless states for many years. In 1997 the Elgin, Illinois school district banned the book from middle school libraries. Catherine explained that the book was banned because “talk of masturbation, birth control, and disobedience to parents occurred”
...ain groups consider books to be immoral does not mean they need to be pulled from the shelves. Censoring is acceptable for the youth, but there is an age when we all grow up and are able to handle books with explicit content.
The American Library Association, ALA, is an organization that, among other things, compiles a list every year of the most frequently challenged books. “The American Library Association actively defends the right of library users to read, seek information, and speak freely as guaranteed by the First Amendment.” (ALA) Many times, the books on this list are challenged by parents with the want to protect their children from things they don’t believe to be appropriate. “Only parents have the right and responsibility to restrict the access of their children” (ALA) Even with these good intentions, by challenging a book, they are trying to challenge the authors’ thoughts and words, their First Amendment rights. These books usually contain complicated ideas, issues, and information that cause parents to not want them where their kids can read them. The novel My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult is a challenged book because of its homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexism, sexually explicit scenes, violence, and being unsuited to its age group; by all means this novel should not be challenged because, it’s use of offensive language is only used to intensify certain situations, and through all of the controversial issues it employs, it puts in perspective just how far someone would go for his/her family.
The things Hopkins have been through throughout her life have made her see all risks of the bad things her daughter went through, and she wants to try and help people through these novels. The first time she heard about getting censored she wrote a poem called Manifesto and sent it out to her publisher. Although many parents and schools disagree with her writing style and theme, she still continues to write inspiring books and doesn’t let the news about her censorship ruin her confidence in writing.
In these cases, parents protesting against the book have called it "dangerous" because of vulgarity, occultism, violence and sexual content. A quick look at the book shows the emptiness of these charges. It does however give insight into why a certain type of parent would object to this book.
well as claiming that it was "explicitly pornographic" and "immoral." After months of controversy, the board ruled that the novel could be read
Writing is an art form, and one that should not be restricted to fit the whims of a few delusional parents and adults. Censorship of books in the United States dates back to Puritan New England in 1650, when William Pynchon’s The Meritorious Price of Redemption was banned from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The novel discussed a viewpoint that was against what Puritan ministers usually taught, which naturally made this book labeled as heretical. He then moved back to England because he thought New England had little religious freedom. Clearly, Pynchon understood that a piece of writing should not be banned for a town solely because it challenged some social norms in his highly-religious society. The Catcher in the Rye currently ranks at nineteen on the American Library Association’s list of the 100 most banned books in the United States. Although this is the case, The Catcher in the Rye should not be banned from schools. This is not just because the censorship of novels is morally wrong, but because the students reading it can relate to the main character’s, Holden’s, “inappropriate” scenes, can learn to form the relationships that Holden desperately lacks, and can learn that they are not alone in their feelings.
Censorship is a great temptation, particularly when we see something that offends or frightens us. At such times, our best defense is to remember what J. M. Coetzee writes in Giving Offense: Essays on Censorship. "By their very nature, censors wound their own vision when they restrict what others can see. The one who pronounces the ban ... becomes, in effect, the blind one, the one at the center of the ring in the game of blind man's bluff."
Books are banned for many reasons but more times than not it is because of the sensitive information found within the novel that agitates the reader. As long as people have been able to develop their own opinions, others have sought to prevent them from sharing. At some point in time, every idea has ultimately become objectionable to someone. The most frequently challenged and most visible targets of such objection are the very books found in classrooms and public libraries. These controversial novels teach lessons that sometimes can be very sensitive to some but there is much more to challenged books than a controversial topic. What lies within these pages is a wealth of knowledge, such as new perspectives for readers, twisting plots, and expressions that are found nowhere else. For example, To Kill A Mockingbird, contains references to rape, racial content, and profanity that have caused many to challenge the novel in the first place. The book was banned from countless
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 certain books as inappropriate while others argue that banning them hinders student learning. Against the censorship of books in schools, Fenice Boyd and Nancy Bailey, authors of Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, believe that banning books creates a barrier between students and intellectual development (Boyd and Bailey, 655). Banning books from schools and removing them from the curriculum prevents students from exploring different ideas and developing creativity and critical thinking skills.
When a book is banned, reasoning should be backed up with many facts and teachers should be able to agree or disagree. Teachers are the ones who have graduated from colleges and have earned this right. Though the opinions of parents matter, their opinion does not necessarily take into account all that the book has to give. Parents may not see the potential of the book as a whole. They may just see the racist language or cruel behavior in a book. What their opinions are mostly based on is the information that will keep everyone the most comfortable instead of the importance behind the basics for students to learn (Hills). Some books may include opposing ideas like this, but that does not mean that they do not have something to teach us. Many teachers take it on themselves to determine what is appropriate. They take on a certain level of self-imposed censorship to make sure that they are teaching appropriate material. Along with this, books being bought with school funds have to go through a process of approval (Zimmerman). This should eliminate any problem areas that parents may have. Besides just having the school board approving the books, many teachers have the same basic outline of what a book should include and be like. They ag...
People should be allowed to read whatever they want to read, even if it is a touchy subject to someone else. Although some people mainly believe in the banning of books due to explicit content, it actually causes a negative effect on people and children. Not only does it take away the people’s first amendment rights, but it also shelters children from real life situations that might affect their future. Banning books is unconstitutional and shelters children.
“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.
In the article censorship: a personal view by Judy bulme she discusses and touches on censorship in literature in children and young adolescence books. Now in article there are a lot of possible exigencies listed threw out the article one of the main exigencies is that Judy bulme has personal experience with censorship as a little girl, with that personal account she has familiarity that compels and gives her credibility to write this article. With exigencie their also comes a purpose bulme’s purpose in the article is trying to convince parents that you should not coddle a young teen or an adolescent from literature that may not be suitable for them, but let their mind wonder and explain it after they read it. Also she communicates that censorship on books are not right because it’s unconstitutional violating the first amendment freedom of press. The audience she speaks to in article is the group of parents that are like middle age and older that have one track minds, and have to young teens and adolescent ages between 12-9 years old that are hesitant to let their children to read edgy books, teens who were her age and, have or experience the same thing she went thought as a kid, teachers and facility that believe in her cause that have lost their job over edgy books that were not age appropriate to their students. The context that you have to consider in the time of Judy bulme article is there is are a lot of issues going on the America culture that censorship of government felt need be. For inesxctie like the cold war was going on and nobody knew if another war was going to break out at any time. So any material that seemed edgy or conserverial it was going to be censored or restricted by the censors to the minors. Then th...
One can read books to gain knowledge and increase their level of reading but not to come across offensive language and words. Especially in school, children are censored from these books that are controversial in the classroom. Parents are the ones who have a hard time letting their children read these books because they use curse words or have morals that differ from personal values. As a parent it is their right to fight the banning of books that use language such as the “n-word” or characters depicted negatively. Presently in the classroom, “race matters in these books. It’s a matter of how you express that in the 21st century” (Schultz). When children read these novels they may think that it is acceptable for them to a...