Perks Of Being A Wallflower Should Be Banned Essay

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Recommended: Gender and sexuality in literature

The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Unbanned The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky is banned due to the use of drugs, alcohol, and smoking. There are occurrences of homosexuality, homosexuals and offensive language. There are multiple occasions with sexually explicit content and has been deemed unsuited for minors. I believe this book should not be banned to any grade higher than elementary because it deals with real life situations and delivers a very powerful message that many people can relate to. Stephen Chbosky was born and raised in Pennsylvania. He is 45 years old and is an American novelist, screenwriter and film director. Stephen Chbosky is best known for writing The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This novel is the New Other than his teacher, he has two best friends named Patrick and his step sister Sam. Patrick is a happy and care free guy who happens to be homosexual and has a hard time dealing with that in school due to bullying, especially because his secret boyfriend named Brad who is the quarter back of the football team doesn’t want anyone to know about their relationship. Sam is Patrick’s step sister and a Senior in high school. She has a boyfriend named Craig who is also a senior and has to reject Charlie when he confesses his love for her because of him. Charlie was hurt when Sam rejected him so Patrick helped him find a new girl to crush on. They went to a couple parties and Charlie even scored his first kiss with a girl named Mary-Elizabeth. They ended up dating and things went well until Charlie went to another party. At this party he was dared to kiss the prettiest girl in the room. It just so happens that Sam was in the room too and he kissed her instead of his girlfriend Mary-Elizabeth… things went downhill from there and they both ended up mad at The first time in 2003 The Perks of Being a Wallflower was challenged was in Fairfax, Virginia school libraries by a group called Parents Against Bad Books in Schools for "profanity and descriptions of drug abuse, sexually explicit conduct and torture". In 2004 it was removed as a reading assignment at Massapequa High School in New York because of its “offensive content”. In 2005 the novel was challenged in Montgomery County Memorial Library System in Texas along with 15 other young adult books with homosexual themes by the Library of Patrons of Texas. The book was retained as an optional reading in the Arrowhead High School curriculum in Merton, Wyoming. In 2006 the novel was banned to all minors or any other students by Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction. In 2007 the book was retained on the Northwest Suburban HS District 214 reading list in Arlington Heights, Illinois along with eight other challenged titles. A newly elected school board member raised the controversy based on excerpts from the books she 'd found on the Internet. In 2008 it was challenged on the Commack High School summer reading list in New York because of its two-page rape scene. In 2009 it was removed from Portage High School classrooms in Indiana due to topics such as homosexuality, drug use and sexual behavior. In 2010 the book was removed from Portage High School classrooms

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