Around 259–210 B.C., Chinese emperor Shih Huang Ti burned all the books in his kingdom because he believed by burning the books, history could be said to begin with him. In 1931, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll was banned by the governor of Hunan province in China because ‘animals should not use human language and it was disastrous to put animals and humans on the same level’. In the 1980s, Beatrix Potter’s children’s classic The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny was banned in all London schools because it only portrayed ‘middle-class rabbits’. And recently, in 2023, The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman was challenged for being “non-educational” and containing indirect “hate messages.” Since the beginning of history, books all over …show more content…
from the ninth-grade curriculum at the request of staff members. Their objections included arguments that the novel marginalized characters of color, celebrated ‘white saviorhood’ and used racial slurs dozens of times without addressing their derogatory nature.” (The New York Times). The ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ holds valuable lessons about life, if taught correctly. However, knowing that the book is banned will cause students to feel as if the topics in the book are prohibited and not meant to be acknowledged. So, students would just dismiss these issues and make fun of them, causing people who are struggling with these issues to feel bad and hurt. Additionally, a network of educational activists known as Ed Post writes, “Banning books only encourages students to seek out the banned material on their own, potentially leading to a lack of understanding and misinterpretation of the material” (The Northern Star). If students go out to seek the material that is banned, they will learn about the books in the wrong way. They will miss the important lessons in the book and instead, try to find the banned information and focus on …show more content…
But the truth is, book banning is always unjustified since the parents and politicians who ban these books are restricting other children from getting the knowledge they need to learn about life. To explain, the National Coalition Against Censorship writes, “Even books or materials that many find ‘objectionable’ may have educational value, and the decision about what to use in the classroom should be based on professional judgments and standards, not individual preferences” (ProCon). It is admirable that parents would like to protect other children, but the decision on whether a book should be removed from other students should be based on professional opinions, not just a parent’s perspective on the book. Even then, these professionals could judge the books in the wrong way, causing the book to be banned and not serve its purpose. Therefore, since children are our future, books shouldn’t be banned, so children can be educated on important issues and lead the world out of hate and pain. When looking at whether book banning is justified, the answer is
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is a heartbreaking, timeless novel that examines stereotyping and its consequences. The novel shadows Atticus Finch, a small-town lawyer, as he defends a black man, Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping a white woman in racist Maycomb, Alabama. Frequently, To Kill a Mockingbird has been banned for use in many schools because of the racial content in it. In the novel, racial tension and slurs are used frequently. Although the novel does contain these things, To Kill a Mockingbird should definitely be taught in schools because it represents accurately what it was like before blacks received their civil right, it teaches valuable life lessons, and it shows how novels like To Kill a Mockingbird helped the civil rights movement.
To kill a mockingbird is a very memorable book people who read the book years ago still remember it today. Some people think the book shouldn't be taught in school, however, the evidence shows the book should be taught in schools. Howbeit harper lee’s to kill a mockingbird should be taught in schools because it teaches racism from a kids perspective and how kids deal with the world's problems.
...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.
In my opinion, I agree that To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee should be taught in schools. It should be taught for a variety of reasons, some in which the article we read covered and some it did not. I think it should be taught in schools because it tells us real life examples of what our history used to be like and the book could also teach all of us a lesson in life. Some points in the article we read that I will be talking about is what the book is about, how it is important for American history, and finally why I disagree with the statement of only adults should be able to read this.
I personally believe that the story, To Kill a Mockingbird should not be banned in schools, and the story should be allowed in students’ curriculum. The first reason to why I believe this to be true would be the fact that it allows students the opportunity to learn about human mistakes and how to be better people in the future. A second reason would be that students are able to learn important parts of our history within the book. It also teaches students important morals that may be hard to teach without the context of a book such as this one.
Kids love freedom. They thrive on it. It’s a part of growing up. The older and more responsible you are the more freedoms you will get. Parents at a variety of schools are restricting the one freedom of children that they should always have. The freedom to chose a book. A number of schools have banned the classic, award winning book “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. This book is about a little girl who’s father is defending an African American man in court in the south during the 1930’s. Sounds harmless? Many don’t think so! “To Kill A Mockingbird” should not be be banned because it tells an important fictional story about America's past.
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 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
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has been banned from numerous schools because it “psychological damage to the positive integration process" and "represents institutionalized racism under the guise of good literature." To Kill a Mockingbird discusses the mistreatment of a black man wrongfully accused of a crime, reflecting real events that have happened in American history.... ... middle of paper ... ... Teachers should use discretion as to what novels are appropriate for their classes, and how they will counter any problems that arise from reading the novel.
We live in an overprotective society, where people try to control other people’s lives from things that they find explicit. Many parents believe that by sheltering their kids from offensive things it will keep them safe. But, trying to live life as if there is always sunshine and no rain turns out to be a big disappointment. The banning of books has a negative effect on children and adults alike, as it can shelter children from real life situations, and revokes the rights of the people. Although people believe in banning books that contain vulgar language and profanity to help their children, it can actually hurt the child and can be considered unconstitutional.
Why are books challenged and further on banned? To challenge a book is an attempt to remove the material from schools and/or libraries, and to ban a book is to successfully remove the material from these places. Books are usually challenged to protect children from the censors of these books. This book was banned for all the wrong reasons. This paper will focus on racism, sexism, homosexuality, and violence since these were reasons the book got banned which on the contrary should have given it much more motive to let high school students read and learn from it.
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.
To truly comprehend the themes in "Young Goodman Brown" you must first understand the influences on Nathaniel Hawthorne's writing. According to the website Hawthorneinsalem.org, Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, son of also a Nathaniel Hawthorne, was actually a descendant of John Hathorne, one of the judges who oversaw the Salem Witch Trials. Because of Hawthorne's Puritan upbringing, much of writings are moral allegories set in colonial New England. Hawthorne returns again to Salem in "Young Goodman Brown" and deals with the theme of the loss of innocence. This theme works to argue the benefits and consequences of Goodman Brown's beliefs before and after his encounter with the devil as well as the beliefs of the Puritans as a whole.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has been challenged/banned countless times since it’s original publication in 1960. The reasoning people could have behind banning it is that they feel that the racism, language and subject matter in the book is offensive, inappropriate, immoral and that it encourages and condones such things. To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in Maycomb, a small town in Alabama, during the depression from 1935-1937, and is told from the perspective of a little girl named Scout. In the book Scout’s father Atticus teaches her and her brother Jem many valuable lessons. The things Atticus teaches Scout and Jem are things we all need to know. To Kill a Mockingbird is an inspirational book that teaches valuable moral values, and should not be banned.
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.