Censorship Critique Essay

The Catcher in the Rye. The Scarlet Letter. Huckleberry Finn. Harry Potter. The Diary of Anne Frank. Animal Farm. To Kill a Mockingbird. The Da Vinci Code. The Grapes of Wrath. These literary classics have been vital to the education of many, especially children and adolescents (Banned Books). These great novels both teach important values and educate children about world affairs and classic themes. Unfortunately, each of these novels has been banned at one point in time. In a country where freedom is so adamantly advocated, it is a wonder that an issue like censorship would even come up, that such a controversy would sink its claws into the minds of states’ boards of education across the nation.

In “Censorship: A Personal View”, the author, Judy Blume, argues that the censorship is the biggest restrictions that turn young people away from books that they are interested in. Blume first indicates that the censorship already existed while she was a kid. She provides her personal experience as a kid toward the curiosity about adult world that she wanted to read from books, but her parents and school were very careful and selective about what books she could read. Blume then expresses her own views on censorship while she likes to write the controversial topics as a writer. She provides her own experience while many of her books were banned because the topics in her book were dangerous to young people, and the censorship proposed the alternative

Each year, someone is guilty of challenging a book while others are guilty of banning novels from the classroom. The question remains, is censorship necessarily a negative thing? Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a novel that has caused havoc and controversy within the education system. While some critics argue Speak should be “hidden” from students, many believe otherwise. At a glance, this novel contains scenes involving issues of drugs, parents that are disengaged in their child 's life, sexuality, and rape. It may seem understandable that it has been challenged throughout the past, however, while reading this novel, these specific scenes introduce a student to much more than just “inappropriate content.” By censoring this novel from

“A word to the unwise. Torch every book. Char every page. Burn every word to ash. Ideas are incombustible. And therein lies your real fear.” Ellen Hopkins. The government in this society is burning all of the knowledge. The books may be burnt but ideas and your imagination are unretrievable, that can be passed down through generations. The government has the real fear. Censorship is bad and takes away from your imagination and creativity.

There has recently been a renewed interest and passion in the issue of censorship. In the realm of the censorship of books in schools alone, several hundred cases have surfaced each year for nearly the past decade. Controversies over which books to include in the high school English curriculum present a clash of values between teachers, school systems, and parents over what is appropriate for and meaningful to students. It is important to strike a balance between English that is meaningful to students by relating to their lives and representing diversity and satisfying worries about the appropriateness of what is read. This burden often falls on teachers. The purpose of this research paper is to discuss

First, the author argues, “When engaging in critical literacy, readers question reality and entertain multiple perspectives about particular topics, attitudes, and behaviors” (Graff). Challenged and banned books are beneficial to readers. These banned books help students evaluate more difficult pieces of literature, which could be used in the future. Jennifer Graff states, “...Book censorship helps us think critically about the power of the written word as well as the relationships between individuals, texts, and contexts, to paraphrase Lawrence Sipe (1999)” (Graff). Banned and challenged books allow readers to see the truth--from the past, future, or present--written by the author. Readers can apply these ideas to real-life situations successfully. In the article, On Reading and Sharing Banned Books, the topic of “...heightened sensitivity about what and how we say things,” and needing, “ongoing conversations about how literature can be part of our lives without undue stress and controversy” is exposed (Graff). Books are written for many reasons, to inform persuade, entertain, and relax; however, with books censorship, finding relaxing or entertaining books is extremely difficult. Without censorship, readers could easily discuss these now controversial topics without worry. The purpose of the book, good moral, and potentially

Banning or challenging books is an occurrence that has been taking place for years in America’s school systems, but often parents and teachers are not in agreement concerning censorship. The National Council of Teachers of English position statement is “We can safely make two statements about censorship: first, any work is potentially open to attack by someone, somewhere, sometime, for some reason; second, censorship is often arbitrary and irrational.” One such challenged book is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, which was “banned from an eighth-grade classroom in Arizona due to profanity, sexual content, and rape theme” (Lesesne and Chance 48). Even though it presents difficult topics, Speak could be a benefit to students in a

For years now, censoring has been limiting the public’s freedom in literature, films, media, and plenty of other categories. A big section being censored today, that troubles a lot of people, is children’s literature. Books are the most common thing to be censored, especially children’s. They continue to ban books across the world, meant to be enjoyed, for reasons they call valid. A popular excuse for banning books is the diversity displayed in them. According to “How Banning Books Marginalizes Children”, 52% of the books banned in the last 10 years were called “diverse context”

Ray Bradbury 's use of censorship in Fahrenheit 451 sends a strong message about freedom that applies to not only the subjects in the non-fiction novel, but also relates to various cultures and societies throughout all of history. It is incredibly ironic how much this relates to today’s society, despite being published in 1950. In 2017, self-censorship has become incredibly prevalent in many aspects. With the rapid expansion and advancement in technology, society as a whole is practicing self-censorship more and more in all aspects of society. Whether it be via the news, on the internet through social media, or simply out in public, it is impossible to not come across some type of censorship and with examples of perspectives that replicate those of the characters in Fahrenheit 451.

The Language Police, by Diane Ravitch, is a well-developed account of modern censorship that is written in a straight forward manner, and easy to understand. In learning how the government and publishers started altering the history of America was not only scary, but appalling. This is an outstanding read for every parent concerned about their children’s education. It is not only important, but a warning to those who are wondering why children do not enjoy the luxury of reading. In today’s writing, publishers are taking out the dream factor and leaving us uninterested and bored. Books are intended to be a comforting source where readers can escape their own world to imagine a situation much greater. Here is a quote that accurately represents

To Ban Or Not To Ban Famous American author Judy Blume states, “Something will be offensive to someone in every book, so you have got to fight it.” This statement could not be more true for society. An abundant amount of books have been banned or challenged throughout schools, internationally, because of their content. Books were banned for their profanity, sexually explicit content, or to the fact that it was not suited for the age groups, taught at the schools; however, a lot of books are also banned because the public is unaware of the satirical effect, that authors tend to write in. The American Library Association writes, “A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group.

Censorship has spun out of control in the past few years. Nowadays any book dubbed as too political, sexual, socially offensive, or irreligious is automatically put on the chopping block and deemed as unfit for young readers (Towner). How can this level of censorship be advantageous? How can this level of censorship ultimately advance the education of our students? Contrary to much belief, censorship does not need to be completely exonerated; however, it does need to be less severe, and critics need to be more thoughtful and selective in the books that they ban. Clearly, some literature is not suitable for high school students; however, they may be set aside to be taught at a higher level

“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.

Public education has been and continues to be a magnet for various forms of censorship. In his article “The Role of Censorship in School” published in the Journal of Instructional Psychology, Sept. 2005. Dr. Ken Petress provides examples of these, discusses the results, and argues the reasons do not justify censorship. Going further he addresses what is lost when this happens.

Censorship is a complex and controversial topic that has had a significant influence on historical events and continues to impact the everyday functionality of both individuals and governments today. By definition, the practice of 'officially' examining books, movies, documents and other ideas and suppressing 'unacceptable' features, is a very powerful device wth the potential for abuse and selective bias. As a method for controlling the availability of information, censorship provides a tool for powerful agents to impose their agenda-driven objectives on school curriculum, human rights activities and the position of scientific discovery in