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Summary of banning books
Books being banned essay
Books being banned essay
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Have you ever read a book and wondered “How is this book allowed in public libraries?” Most students do not pay attention to content; however, many parents disagree with the content their children are reading, whether the book is being taught in class or the child picked it up in the school library. Surprisingly, some school librarians and teachers disagree with certain books permitted in schools. The book Forever by Judy Blume is an example of a challenged and controversial book. Judy Blume is a children’s book author, which most people would not think that her books have been challenged. This controversial book has been challenged in countless states for many years. In 1997 the Elgin, Illinois school district banned the book from middle school libraries. Catherine explained that the book was banned because “talk of masturbation, birth control, and disobedience to parents occurred” …show more content…
(Shafer).
The school board took about an hour to finalize their choice. Catherine states the decision was made in June of 1994 (Shafer). Four years later, Forever was returned to the middle school district libraries in Illinois. In Texas, the Pasadena School District banned the book. Superintendent Dr. Rick Schneider decided to take the book off the shelves of the school in 2005. This was brought to their attention when a parent complained. Kirk Lewis, a district spokesperson, said, “though the theme is not unsuitable [some] certain passages are and decided to remove the book” (“Forever - Banned”). One campus review committee was to study the book, and therefore more committees, as well as the superintendent, began to read the novel. The book was then eliminated from the library systems in
the district. Also in 1995 in Gainesville, Florida, a science teacher objected to the sexual content and reference to marijuana. (Forever… By Judy Blume). According to the report Attacks on The Freedom To Learn, a review committee decided to remove the book from all reading class libraries. Everyone was for this decision, therefore no person was wronged (“Attacks on the Freedom To Learn 1994-1995 Report”). According to NCAC, this novel was removed from the eighth-grade optional reading list (Books in Trouble 1). These challenges were thought through and ended up having very reasonable outcomes. The challenges that were brought to the attention were for good and understanding reasonings. The middle school in Illinois should not have brought the book back to the library again. One main reason is because those of a young age should not read this book which involves sexual activity and the use of drugs. Texas and Florida made a right decision for banning this book and keeping it out of schools, primarily because this will help keep the book out of the hands of young students. This story should not be on a required list, mainly because Katherine makes many poor decisions and does not promote good behavior. Forever by Judy Blume should not be available to young children. The book should be open to young teens and anyone older. If younger children read this book, they will understand that it is okay to be sexually active, use drugs, consider suicide, show disobedience to parents, and/or use profanity at a young age. Teenagers who do not have someone to talk to about sexual intercourse can read this book and understand the information being read. Forever should be available to teenagers at a certain age and not banned from the entire school. Authors write books to tell a story. They do not intend to offend those who are reading their book. Blume has many wonderful books that have been published, but Forever encourages bad behavior. If young students read this novel, they could be encouraged to perform bad actions. Knowing this, Forever needs to be banned in school libraries and optional reading lists in junior high and under. It should not be available to pre-teens. Certain readers could be offended by the content of this book according to religious aspects or affiliations. Most high school students are mature enough to understand repeating the same bad actions in the novel are not okay. Children will read books containing more explicit content, and the schools can help forbid certain books in the elementary libraries. Therefore, Forever should not be permitted to young children who do not have the right mindset to understand what is right and wrong.
In 1975 the “interesting” books for students of the Island Tree School District were nearly thrown under the bed forever. The Island Tree School District was presented with a complaint from the group Parents of New York United that posed a concern regarding the content of library materials. This community was concerned that public school libraries in the district were exceedingly “permissive” with the books they provided for students. The list of books that the Parents of New York United were wary of were: “Slaughter-House Five,” by Kurt Vonnegut; “The Fixer,” by Bernard Malamud; “The Naked Ape,” by Desmond Morris; “Down These Mean Streets,” by Piri Thomas; “Best Short Stories of Negro Writers,” edited by Langston Hughes; “A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich,” by Alice Childress; “Soul on Ice,” by Eldridge Cleaver; “A Reader for Writers,” edited by Jerome Archer, and “Go Ask Alice,” by an anonymous author(New York Times, 1982). The Island Tree School Board complied with the Parents of New York United's concern and took these books off school shelves in early 1976.
While researching the book you discover that in South Carolina, the Berkley County school district, was one of the first to pull the book from schools and libraries. This occurred after a mom protested the book when her 8th grade daughter had to read little experts from the book to her classmates. The student's mother did not want her to be reading a book with so much profanity and references to sex. One of the most controversial lines that comes from the book is when Alice writes in her journal “Another day, another blow-job”. She does these blow jobs in exchange for drugs.
In the article How Banning Books Marginalizes Children, the author, Paul Ringel, states that approximately fifty-two percent of the books banned in the last ten years illustrate “diverse content”, such as race, religion, gender identity, etc. Ringel believes that attitudes about which books are “appropriate” for kids to read have too often suppressed stories about different cultures and life experiences. He basis his argument around the pretext that when libraries stop the banning it will allow kids to learn how to navigate imaginary worlds filled with differences and apply those lessons to their own lives.
In the article censorship: a personal view by Judy bulme she discusses and touches on censorship in literature in children and young adolescence books. Now in article there are a lot of possible exigencies listed threw out the article one of the main exigencies is that Judy bulme has personal experience with censorship as a little girl, with that personal account she has familiarity that compels and gives her credibility to write this article. With exigencie their also comes a purpose bulme’s purpose in the article is trying to convince parents that you should not coddle a young teen or an adolescent from literature that may not be suitable for them, but let their mind wonder and explain it after they read it. Also she communicates that censorship
Did you ever think that books that have sex, obscene language, and immoral subjects can make a good book? The Catcher in the Rye has been on the banned reading list for exactly those reasons. The book was mainly put on disapproval from between 1966 and 1975 in almost every school district in the United States. The book was said to be so bad that in 1960 a teacher in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was fired for assigning the book to an eleventh-grade English class. Despite some opposition to the novel, however, J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye should be on a reading list for the freshman students because it gives a crystal clear image on how the world is in violence, sex, and obscenity and the book also teaches the motifs of lying and deception.
It has come to my attention that the book I read, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, has appeared on a number of banned book lists in schools and libraries across the country. Many have also tried to challenge this book, for a number of varying reasons. In this essay, I will talk about what the novel represents, where and why this American classic has been shot down in many schools across the country, and why I believe we should change that.
The American Library Association, ALA, is an organization that, among other things, compiles a list every year of the most frequently challenged books. “The American Library Association actively defends the right of library users to read, seek information, and speak freely as guaranteed by the First Amendment.” (ALA) Many times, the books on this list are challenged by parents with the want to protect their children from things they don’t believe to be appropriate. “Only parents have the right and responsibility to restrict the access of their children” (ALA) Even with these good intentions, by challenging a book, they are trying to challenge the authors’ thoughts and words, their First Amendment rights. These books usually contain complicated ideas, issues, and information that cause parents to not want them where their kids can read them. The novel My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult is a challenged book because of its homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexism, sexually explicit scenes, violence, and being unsuited to its age group; by all means this novel should not be challenged because, it’s use of offensive language is only used to intensify certain situations, and through all of the controversial issues it employs, it puts in perspective just how far someone would go for his/her family.
Many might think that all teenage or young adult books would be filled with happy thoughts and positive things, but you don't learn lessons from everything being perfect. That’s where banned or challenged books come along. A challenged book is a book that has been requested by many to be moved off a library's shelf. A banned book is a challenged book the has been removed from the shelves. The Outsiders was one of the best-selling books of its time and has won 5 awards since. It was banned and challenged for many reasons by many school districts. By examining its usage of expose on family dysfunction, strong language and portrayal of gang violence, it is clear why some would have it banned.
"Book Banning." Current Issues: Macmillian Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 31 Jan. 2011.
There is a difference between banned books and challenged books. According to the American Library Association (ALA), “A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group (About banned, para. 2). A banned book is when a book or other reading material is removed from certain locations and not available. For example, one of the most challenged books in the 21st century is The Giver by Lois Lowry (100 Most). The novel, The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian by Sheman Alexie was banned in high school in Oregon because a parent complained that the book was offensive (Doyle, 3).
“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.
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
Blubber is banned in schools and libraries mainly because the bullies prevail in the end of the book. Maynard shows his opinion by stating, “Blubber, where the kids’ horrible cruelty to the fat girl s never punished, Judy Blume raises questions without solving them.” (Maynard 8). Based on his opinion Judy Blume talks about problems in her books and never answers them properly. The reader will go on through the whole book and read about bullying and how it is bad but in the end find that it’s okay and not punishable. An example from the book that shows a bully prevailing is shown when the teacher asks, “Whose apple is this? It’s mine Linda answered even t...
Censorship in School Libraries The most debatable and controversial form of censorship today is the banning of books in school libraries. Banning books that educate students is wrong and selfish. Censorship of books in school libraries is neither uncommon nor an issue of the past. Books with artistic and cultural worth are still challenged constantly by those who want to control what others read. The roots of bigotry and illiteracy that fuel efforts to censor books and free expression are unacceptable and unconditional.
Retrieved December 2, 2002 from Lexis-Nexis/Academic database. This article addresses some of the reasons that censors attempt to remove books from the curriculum: Many censors feel that works are not age appropriate for students. Staff, Wire Reports. (2002 October 3). Book banning spans the globe.