The Pros And Cons Of Perks Of Being A Wallflower

Book banning has been around ever since there have been books to ban. It happens all throughout history whenever a brave writer or philosopher has enough courage to share what they think is right, or too explicit the truth. Where would the world be without mind changing literary classics such as Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Huckleberry Finn, or The Catcher in the Rye? If everyone were to read only what was allowed and censored then everyone would only think what was allowed and censored, and the world would never be challenged or improved. If you never let someone see differently then how are they ever expected to think anything new? An easy access to different learning material is vital. Books should not be taken out of libraries and stores because some people do not agree with their controversial material.

Imagine this, it is 450 B.C. and Anaxagoras’ writings were just banned in Rome for being too questionable and going against the church’s teachings (Curd 1). Now, fast forward and it is 2012, and Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky has just been banned from an Ohio High school for its contentious content such as drugs, alcohol, homosexuality, sexual abuse, and teenage pregnancy (Doyle 5). Both of these instances have one thing in common; the stifling of learning and opportunity of new knowledge. In the two examples new boundaries are tested by the writer, things never before questioned or written about. Anaxagoras taught, in short, that “All things have existed from the beginning.” and was well-known for his ‘everything-in-everything’ theory (Curd 11). While Chbosky told the heartbreaking coming-of-age story of a boy named Charlie.

Banning has always happened, especially when it comes to the church not agreeing with its con...

... middle of paper ...

...uarantee of the right and the freedom of speech and press books are still commonly challenged, and this act can easily takes books out of the hands of eager minds and make it harder for a young mind to read anything other then what has been allowed. When a book is challenged it can be done for numerous reasons, such as offensive language, unsuitable for age group, sexual explicitness, violence, homosexuality, or religious/political grounds (Fliess 2).

In 1876 the nonprofit organization the American Library Association, or the ALA, was founded. The ALA encourages library education throughout the world. This group is still running today and encourages the freedom of books (Nix 4). Every year they dedicate the last week of September to celebrating the freedom to read. They use this ‘Banned Books Week’ to spread the awareness of the harms of censorship and challenging.