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Against censorship arguments
The bad side of censorship
Negative effects of censorship on society
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Recommended: Against censorship arguments
Censorship is a topic argued on why or why not certain books books should be taken off the shelves. They can have consequences on anyone,mostly children, who read them. Because of that, a few hundred books were banned last year. With younger people, specifically children that haven’t reached middle school, it’s protecting them from inappropriate material in those certain books. Censorship is necessary because of the negative effects it could have on a person’s mind.
To start, the banning of books, that people find inappropriate & offensive , should be encouraged for a few major reasons. A book that has swear words or any other inappropriate word can get to a child’s head. Thus, they can repeat that word to someone else & get themselves into
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In fact, books that contain some type of violence is not appropriate for readers, especially young readers who may not have an understanding of the world yet. For example, the author could write about a character killing another character. The person reading it could do some type of violent act to another person “because it’s okay”.
Thirdly, a haunting story can really get to someone’s head in a bad way. A disturbing event going on in a book,like the example in paragraph 2, will haunt somebody for a long time or for the rest of their life. Stories like that are being allowed on the shelves & have permission to scar someone as long as they read it. Not just with scary events, but with sad events also. A character may lose a loved one. The person reading now feels sympathy & depression because they feel that character’s pain.
Anti-censorship supporters may disagree with the use of censorship because they feel that everyone has the freedom to read whatever they want . At the same time, the supporters use that as an excuse to get away with things like swearing or saying something that can offend another person. They can read any book they desire, but readers need to know that there can be minor or major consequences to that. As mentioned above, readers can run into some messed up stuff & it could damage them if they’re not
Censorship, as defined in the dictionary, is, in the case of a book, to take out things thought to be objectionable. Censorship is far more than that. This mere word prohibits us from all things
...l problem with censoring is that it limits a person’s freedom of speech and thought. By not providing them with all of the different ideas or stories available, what they can think of themselves is limited. While the parents who protested Lord of the Flies may have had their children’s best interests in mind, in the end it would only hurt them. Only by allowing them to learn all that is possible will they be able to accomplish all they can and society can truly progress.
Ray Bradbury, one of America’s most renowned 20th century writers once said, “You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture, just get people to stop reading them” (Bradbury). In today’s society books are not burned, but some are being censored thus preventing people from enjoying the books they want to read. So what is censorship? Censorship is when an individual or an organization wants to restrict or limit access of a book to readers to avoid offending a group of people. Censorship has affected classrooms and public libraries across the nation due to people like parents, teachers and sometimes students themselves protesting against certain types of books. There is hardly a week that goes by that a book is challenged to be censored. The most common reason why a book is censored is for “violence, sex, race, Encouragement of "Damaging" Lifestyles, witchcraft, and political bias” (Butler University).
The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) defines censorship as: “The removal, suppression, or restricted circulation of literary, artistic, or educational materials… of images, ideas, and information…on the grounds that these are morally or otherwise objectionable in light of standards applied by the censor” (Miner 1998). In schools there are three types of censorship, one type is a “parent who doesn’t want their child to read a particular book. Another is a parent, teacher, administrator, or school board member who argues that no one in the class, or school should read the book in dispute. Lastly, there is censorship that involves someone who is part of an organized campaign, whether of a local or national group, and who goes in ready for a fight and wants to make a broader political point” (Miner 1998). Although there are many others ways that a piece of literature could get censored, most censored works are asked to be removed from classrooms and school libraries.
Censorship is a concept with several different meanings. To each individual censorship has its own meaning. Is it a violation of our rights or is it a protection for our well being? Censorship in the generic sense refers to the suppression of information, ideas, or opinions. It occurs in all forms of communication from technological media to print media. Each society, culture, or individual's belief is violated by the codes of censorship that our society instills.
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
...in high school and are normally subjected to crude language and sexual content throughout the day, so this would also give them a better understanding of the book. Banning of certain books help protect children from the evil ways of the world that they should not see until an older, more mature age. The cruel language and violence within this book may influence children to act out and may possibly alter their future.
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.
Some people may argue that students should have a right to read what they prefer because we are denying them of their first amendment freedoms of the press and freedom of speech. No book should be banned due to improper themes in them. Books are a gift in which authors can express their opinion and beliefs and we can read about them. Kids should be able to be open minded to all books, banning books won’t affect you but it’ll affect children, which is what many
It is challenging to choose what types of books are appropriate for children to read. Now in days the choice is even more challenging then it was a couple of centuries ago. There are books that feature violence, sexual content, offensive language or all. These subjects question concern parents because it can teach young children about several subjects that are usually avoided. Times have changed and so have books and what they contain, which makes banned books an important subject. Books can be a great source to learn from whether it history or just a folk tale, but parents and teachers must take into consideration the ages of the audience. Maturity is not achieved until a later time and some children may have difficulty reaching that point.
The subject of censorship is a very controversial one, especially the banning of books. Many people believe they must protect themselves and others from the "evils" of many classic books and works of art because they can be deemed "indecent" in one way or another. Many believe that this is absurd and censorship in its current form is a violation of our First Amendment right to free speech. Personally, I align myself with the latter, however I do feel there are occasions where censorship is justifiable.
Censorship is detrimental to society. People can’t learn from their mistakes if we hide them. People can’t decide the best option if we say there are no options. People can’t understand each other if they don’t know what anyone is thinking. People can’t mature when they are “protected” from mean words.
Censorship is to conceal certain things from people, whether or not it is to learn and educate, including news, films, and books. Some will say that it is to prevent children from reading things inappropriate for their age, and if they are the guardians of the children, the parents or guardians should have a say in what their children are taught and what they read in school. People want their children to be raised with specific values, and the school has no right to change them or say they are incorrect. Some materials in schools and libraries go against religious beliefs and cultures. It should be maintained in and outside their homes, so they can do that by banning books.
Although one may argue that certain content in the books at a school library can be harmful for students, it is also possible that it could prevent trauma by removing those books. However, the truth of the matter is that having books in school libraries with potentially “graphic and/or sensitive content” can be beneficial for students that may have a bias towards a topic that is “graphic” or “sensitive” because it can give those students a different perspective on the topic. Having such books available to those students can also educate them so that they can fully understand those books. One can also say that books with “sensitive content” should not be removed from school libraries because it can make students who can relate to those books
Hence, censorship is essential in society to eliminate discrimination on basis of race and gender, protect children, maintain stability and restore what censor sees as lost moral values. Censorship occurs when expressive materials like books, magazines, movies, videos, music or works of art are restricted to particular audiences based on their age or other characteristics. http://www.ala.org/oif/intellectualfreedeomandcensorship.html) Censorship is not a recent development. It wasn’t imposed properly or there weren’t strict regulations before.