"Don't join the book burners... Don't be afraid to go in your library and read every book." said Dwight D. Eisenhower. This quote means that you should not ban a book just because it contains some inappropriate language or graphical content. In the article “Book Bannings on the Rise in US schools, says anti-censorship group”, by David Barnett, the non-fiction article talked about an anti-censorship group banning and burning books just because parents were concerned about the graphical content. In the personal letter, “Dear Mr.McCarthy”, by Kurt Vonnegut, it talks about Kurt Vonnegut, who wrote a letter to the Drake Public School Board, and was agitated about it, so he replied that the Drake Public School Board was uncivilized because they banned …show more content…
“Sherman Alexie said sensors are ‘punishing the imagination’.”(Barnett 2). In addition, another quote that supports the reason is,“If you are an American, you must allow all ideas to circulate freely in your community, not merely your own.”(Vonnegut 2) Other censors don’t understand the quintessences that Alexie and Vonnegut show. Sherman Alexie’s books were descriptive and described the purest examples, but censors are deriding other authors’ ways of thinking about that book instead of extolling them. Also, Vonnegut responded to the board that if you are truly an American, you need to let the other readers think about his book and let idealism spread around the town. In a nutshell, readers don’t actually understand the language and the meaning of the book provided by the …show more content…
“It’s obvious that without them, the people who do not want their children, or other people’s, exposed to ideas, would be much more successful at making books vanish from the shelves.”(Barnett 2) Another quote that supports the reason is, “Perhaps you will learn from this that books are sacred to free men for good reasons and that wars have been fought against nations which hate books and burn them.” (Vonnegut 2) Other people don’t understand why they would burn the holiest books and as a result, the authors wanted to teach them a lesson. The KRRP(Kids Right to Read Project) helps those children who are suffering in difficult times when their parents punish them for reading the books that were banned from the school board. Moreover, Vonnegut replies that his books are important to the children and he wanted to rage at the board for banning his books. All in all, several authors are certainly angry about their books being banned and
When authors write books, the books are meant to be read not banned. Authors write books to be read, so when schools and other facilities are banning books it’s taking away the author’s right. In the letter, I am Very Real written by author Kurt Vonnegut, he states “If you were to bother to read my books, to behave as educated persons would, you would learn that they are not sexy, and do not argue in favor of wildness of any kind. They beg that people be kinder and more responsible than they often are.” This excerpt from the text states that the author doesn’t write books to teach cruel things. Vonnegut writes books in a kind manner with the idea that people become more
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
They beg that people be kinder and more responsible than they often are.” (Vonnegut, Jr.). Vonnegut, Jr. argues that his books were not written to lead young people astray, like the school board believes. He wrote his books to ask people to kinder and more responsible. The school board accuses him of not being the very two things his books ask others to be. Vonnegut, Jr. also writes, “Perhaps you will learn from this that books are sacred to free men for very good reasons, and that wars have been fought against nations, which hate books and burn them. If you are an American, you must allow all ideas to circulate freely in your community, not merely your own.” (Vonnegut, Jr.). He writes that it is every American’s duty to allow all ideas to be spoken freely in the community, not just the ideas that benefit certain people. He argues that books are sacred because they hold ideals and ideas that are very important to free men, who know their importance. Vonnegut, Jr. argues,
Countries worldwide actively call for the banning of books that are found to be politically inconvenient, religiously awkward, or embarrassing in one form or another. But for writers like Russia's Vasily Grossman, a book's ban means far more than just a dip in sales. In 1961, he pleaded with the Soviet censors, "I am physically free, but the book to which I have dedicated my life is in jail." (Merkelson). A book represents an idea, thus limiting access to a book is banning the representation of an idea. The banning of books in American schools should not be allowed, because banning books will prevent students from learning the reason for the controversy and alternate viewpoints they can come to on their own.
...etter than ignorance. Book censorship should not limit the amount of knowledge a child can receive, instead, books should be used to benefit children in their education and future career.
People ban or challenge books because they don't want other to read them because of their content, even thought we see most of it in our everyday life. To stop book banning and to keep books on the shelves; if a book has inappropriate content and someone wants to buy it or get it from the library or store they have to get the parents consent. This will also keep parents informed on what their child is reading.
“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.
Despite being a worldwide best seller, J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye has been on the banned books list since 1961 ( (Baldassarro). The Catcher in the Rye tells the short journey, of anti-hero Holden Caulfield, between the end of the fall semester and Christmas break (Salinger). The story begins when Holden is expelled from his school, Pency Prep, for failing a majority of his classes (Salinger). Holden knows he must return home, so he attempts to prolong the scolding he will receive from his parents, for being expelled, by venturing around Manhattan until it becomes necessary to return to his home (Salinger). Holden tells his story in the most vulgar way possible. Holden accounts being offered a prostitute by an elevator operator when he asks, “Innarested a little tail t’night?” (Salinger 91). Offensive language is also used throughout the book, for example, “You’re a dirty stupid sonuvabitch of a moron” (Salinger 44). Underage drinking is also one of Holden’s favorite passtimes as evident in the quote, “I ordered a scotch and soda, and told him not to mix it- I said it fast as hell, because if you hem and haw, they think you’re under twenty-one and won’t sell you any intoxicating liquor” (Salinger 69). These three quotes express the precise justifications for banning books: sexually explicit content, offensive language, and underage drug use (Association). Although, many consider The Catcher in the Rye to be morally wrong, it should not ...
So many good things in this world have either been banned, challenged, or censored in some way. John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men, has been banned because of offensive words or actions depicted in this book. This book argures if murder can be justifiable. In this case one of the main characters, George kills his best friend Lennie because Lennie kills a woman in the story. George’s action was in order to keep Lennie from brutally murdered. This book would be banned because much of its content could be seen as offensive, rude, violent and wrong. But, at the same time all of these situations depicted in Of Mice and Men were events that actually happened and are valid historical events that John Steinbeck wanted to convey to his audience,
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.
This burden often falls on teachers. The purpose of this research paper is to discuss censorship in schools and to argue that the censorship of books in the high school English curriculum is limiting and takes away literature that is meaningful to students. How a Book is Censored Brinkley describes a few actions that can lead to the censoring of a book in a school or school system: An expression of concern is simply a question about the material with overtones of disapproval; an oral complaint is an oral challenge to the contents of a work; a written complaint is a formal written challenge to the school about the contents of a work; and a public attack is a public statement challenging the contents of a work that is made outside of the school, usually to the media to gain support for further action (1999). Brinkley also points out an important difference between selection and censorship: Selection is the act of carefully choosing works for an English course that will be age-appropriate, meaningful, and fulfill objectives, while censorship is the act of excluding works that some con... ...
Something else that must be mentioned in order to understand the evils of school censorship are facts censors ignore; the first being literary quality. When they chose to censor a book they do not take into account the educational value of the book. How can one say a book does not belong in schools if they do not know what lessons it teaches? The second key element ignored is the manner in which teachers lead students to interact with texts. They g...
Books should not be banned from school, schools need to teach kids how it was in the past; not avoid it. There are very little reason books absolutely need to be banned. Books serve the greater good. Books inspire, advocate, unite, entertain, inform. This quote is very important because it’s facts.
Books like The Chocolate War, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and Of Mice and Men have been placed on the controversial bookshelf of many school libraries.
Books should not be banned because the reader should have the option to choose if they want to read a certain book, books are banned for unnecessary reasons, and libraries need more books. One reason books should not be banned is because