Argumentative Essay: Should Books Be Banning Books?

Banning books is an ineffective way to get people to stop reading them. When a book is banned curiosity is piqued and people want to know about the text. “It's a natural and innate human trait to be inquisitive and one cannot ignore or run away from that curiosity.” (Lopez, 2016, p. 2). For many this means finding a copy or even buying one. In some cases this has been known to spike the sale of the book, increasing the popularity beyond what may have been achieved on its own. Trying to hide potentially explicit material only invokes curiosity. “Making a chapter, or an entire book, forbidden fruit is a much more effective way to get kids to read it than making it homework.” (Bancroft, 2016, p. 2). One particular example of student’s curiosity

For some the decision is against the book or books in question. “A parent who filed a complaint was quoted as saying, “The material is disgusting. It needs to be pulled. No other kids should be getting this book.” (Bancroft, 2016, p. 3). Of course this is a perfectly respectable choice, but the opinion should not be forced onto other parents. “Every parent has the right to guide his or her own child's reading. But no parent has the right to tell other parents what their child may or may not read.” (Bancroft, 2016, p. 3). The same goes for community groups that advocate for books to be banned. As previously mentioned, certain passages may be the entire reason a book is removed, groups and individuals use this to make their ban more likely to be accepted. If the proposal goes through the effects are far more wide reaching than one family, or one school. A ban brings the book into the public eye, increasing the potential of future bans and limits access for other individuals. Even though the book is still available online and elsewhere, some do not have these options. “It's one thing for a parent to decide he or she doesn't want a particular book in their home. It's another thing, a very bad thing, for that person to make that choice for every other citizen in the community.” (Cavna, 2015, p. 3). Students unable to access such texts in any other way become disadvantaged at this point. They are no longer able to experience the texts their classmates can which can truly be a defining factor in education. “By removing or banning books from schools, you are depriving the students from having these experiences and learning from them. You stop protecting them from the world and start damaging their growth and ability to live in it properly.” (McNeil, 2016, p. 2). Education,