Censorship - The Negative Consequences of Book Banning

The Negative Consequences of Book Banning

If you were to ask a teacher what they thought the most important source of knowledge was they would probably answer: reading. When I think back to every classroom I sat in at school, I remember at least one poster on the wall promoting reading. Throughout my school years, teachers have pounded into my head how important it is to read. In high school I had a list of books that I was required to read over my summer break so that I would continuously be educated. What I don’t understand is that if reading is so important to the learning process, then why ban a book? Doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose of reading? If you ask me, all censorship does is prevent a child from learning, it does not protect them from learning about sex, drugs, or violence.

In a book titled Banned in the U.S.A. by Herbert N. Foerstel, is a list of the top 50 most banned books in the 1990s. Among these books are The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Catcher in the Rye, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and The Grapes of Wrath. If I am not mistaken these are all books known to be American classics, books that everyone should read. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was on my list of books I was required to read, and I would recommend the book to anyone who hasn’t read it. One of the main issues surrounding this book is that many parents feel it promotes racism. Well, the book was written during the period of slavery, but that hardly means it is telling kids to be racist. How is reading this book any different than sitting in history class learning about the slave trade? Not to mention in the novel, Huck befriends a black slave and they go on their adventure together. How is that se...

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...parents. Most people don’t know how bad book-banning has become; I for one thought book-banning was a thing of the past. But even as our society changes and people become more open to ideas, it is still a big problem. Unfortunately, those very people (teachers and librarians) who should be fighting against book-banning passively let it happen for fear that they will get in trouble and lose their job. As Judy Blume also said, “The real danger is not in the books, but in laughing off those who would ban them.” Unless someone fights against book-banning, eventually kids won’t have anything to read.

Works Cited

Blume, Judy. “Is Harry Potter Evil?” New York Times. 22 October 1999.

Bradbury, Ray. Farenheit 451. Ballantine Books, October 1953.

“Banned Books and Censorship.” The Censorship Pages.

http://www.booksatoz.com/censorship.banned.htm