Books Are Tools for Learning Not Enemies

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Books Are Tools for Learning, Not Enemies

Literature is and always has been a way of expressing ideas and opinions, inspiring others and telling great stories. And yet, in today’s society, many pieces of literature have been banned, for reasons ranging from of racial slurs to explicit sexual content. Book banning is by far the most utilized way of doing this, either by literary boards, public libraries or governments. But if one were to take examine these ‘banned books’, they would find that a large portion of these are classics. However inappropriate or controversial these texts may be, the fact still remains that many English classes have required youths to read these books, simply because of the beauty and craftsmanship of the writing. It would be morally wrong for such texts to be banned from the public and to deprive people of the opportunity to read and understand such great works. It is my opinion that people shouldn’t be denied access to tools that may boost learning, books included. Education should be open to anyone, and as such people should be in control of what they read and their opinions on the literature, provided that these opinions are not imposed on others (as is the case today). As Oscar Wile said, “the books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world it’s own shame”.

“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain was one of the greatest literary classics written, but also one of the most controversial. It was banned on account of the fact that the word ‘nigger’ was frequently used and that the book was ‘racially insensitive’ and ‘perpetuated racism’. But what if the book was not written in order to promote racism but to inform and educate others of one of the most daunting global is...

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... live a life where they do not have the freedom to choose what they want to read; a life where they are denied the chance to read and experience some of the greatest literary works of all time (i.e. Moby Dick, Huckleberry Finn); then what will our future look like? Certainly, I respect the fact that certain people will be uncomfortable with books such as Fahrenheit 451 and Huckleberry Finn and do not want their children reading it. But this doesn’t mean that everyone has to be subjected to the same fate. People should have the freedom and right to read what they want, without having censorship imposed on them, and formulate their own opinions on those texts. Banning books should be a private matter and organizations such as the government should not be involved. Although we don’t live in an ideal society, it is certainly possible to stop the censorship of books.

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