John Green Books Should Be Banned

Throughout the century there has existed banned books which have been the objects of censorship or censorship attempts. The most common reasons for books to be banned is because of inappropriate language, sexual dialogue, containing violence and anti-theism. The book "Of mice and men" written by John Steinbeck has been banned in many different schools and libraries in the United States.

“Book Banning” may seem like an issue of the past, but, in fact, it is still a very pertinent issue in the U.S. today. These classic books have been banned at one time or another: Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Color Purple, Huckleberry Finn, The Grapes of Wrath, The Harry Potter series. You’re probably wondering how these, extremely famous, books can be so censored in America today. There are many reasons that are given in regards to book censorship. For instance, language or profanity, violence, sexual explicitness, or “uncomfortable” topics, such as rape and race relations. Christian groups have requested that a countless number of books, with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Queer (LGBTQ+) themes, be taken out of schools and libraries The banning and censorship of books can happen in many places and ways; taking them off school reading lists, or even out of libraries and bookstores.

Books are made for people to enjoy and learn from. Then why are people deciding that a book can’t be available to certain people based on certain parts of their content? This is happening all around the world and this is called book banning or censorship. Many books have been challenged and said to be too gruesome or too dark for readers and one very controversial section of censorship is the young adult section. People are saying that young adults should not be exposed to some topics and so they take the ‘dangerous’ books away. For example, a novel called Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, has been banned in libraries all across America. However, the novel Of Mice and Men should not be censored from teens because it gives information about history, it challenges readers to think in many different ways, and includes complex themes that can teach a lot to young adults.

Books are a part of our society that entertain us through literature by showing us new experiences and characters that we may relate to or easily might despise due to how they are written, these are usually found in teen novels, comic books, manga, and many more. Books have also usually taught us through traditional means by teaching us about history and other things about society and overall morals we learn at a young age. However, some people have actually taken offense to certain books due to the content inside the book being “too offensive to them and have asked that these books be banned while other people want these books to stay. It’s a consistent debate of whether certain books should be banned or not and there are different viewpoints

Over 11,300 books have been banned and/or challenged in the United States alone (Dankowski). Diverse groups of people choose to choose books for different reasons. The Outsiders displays some of these reasons, such as adult content, vulgar language, and encounters with the police. Nonetheless, different groups of people have chosen to petition against book banning, like The American Library Association. There are also reasons given for why books should not be banned; for example, good moral, future reference, and relaxing stories. Parents, educators, and others choose to ban books from libraries due to the controversial topics and material; however, others would like to argue that these same books have a good moral to follow, as well as beneficial

Since 1982, there have been 11,300 books challenged in the United States. As the number of challenged books continues to rise, society’s exposure to diversity in literature decreases. According to the American Library Association, 51% of the top ten challenged books between 2005 and 2014 featured “diverse content.” Diverse content is defined as works featuring either non-white, LGBT+, or disabled primary characters, or discussions of issues in relation to race, religion, LGBT+ matters, mental illness and/or disabilities, among many other defining characteristics. Censoring such books has the potential to fundamentally stunt the personal growth of society, though many may feel certain information and topics must be censored for the safety of

Let’s begin with censorship. Many books are challenged and banned in the United States. Fortunately, censorship has not gotten to the point of banning all books, as in Fahrenheit 451. In Fahrenheit 451, the burning of books started because they offended too many people-- “‘Colored people don’t like Little Black Sambo. Burn it. White people don’t

All it takes to challenge a book is for a parent or other citizens to file a complain against a teacher, library, school, or bookseller, for that reason many teachers and librarians choose to remove the books from the curriculum or shelves before an issue is brought up (Pitner). The fear of a lawsuit keeps many people from expressing their belief that banning books is unnecessary (Kennedy, Banned Children’s Books).

All around the world, certain books are being banned or challenged in school districts often because the material is considered sexually explicit, unsuited for the age group, or includes offensive language or actions.

An author’s job is to express ideas and stir conversations through words. If their content is considered to be unfit to hear, then their content is censored, and that just limits them from doing their rightful job. Books of any sort should not be censored, “So now do you see why books are hated and feared? They show the pores in the face of life” (Faber 79). This is what makes books great. They show the pores in the face of life. Faber had to quit being an author because society did not believe in the meaning of books, which was wrong. Books provide opinion and meaning,“... books are sacred to free men for very good reasons, and that wars have been fought against nations which hate books and burn them.” (Vonnegut). Kurt Vonnegut faced having his book banned from school libraries because of his “mature” content. In Vonnegut’s case, he was able to speak out and defend himself. He regained his right to speak freely. Every human must have the right to express themselves without having to be censored because it is inhumane and unconstitutional.

Many books have been questioned and challenged. Even as far as to banning them. But what exactly is a banned book and why are they banned? A banned book is a book that has been censored by an authority, a government body, a library, or a even school system. A book that has been banned is actually removed from a library or school system. The actual contextual reasons as to banning them is use of explicit violence, gore, sexuality, explicit language, religion, or dark times in history. On the non-contextual side of the reason why they are banned books are usually because with the best intentions to protect people, frequently children, from difficult philosophies and information. Teachers, or even more common adults, often censor books from

Books have been challenged and banned ever since books have begun to be published. There are many reasons why books are challenged and/or banned. Books get banned for everything from profanity to sex. Many books have been challenged and banned throughout history. One series has had every single book within the series banned in some locations; there are thirteen books in the series. Gossip Girl, written by Cecily von Ziegesar, is one of the most challenged and/ or banned books in recent years. Gossip Girl has been challenged and/ or banned for multiple reasons including: sex, drugs, and scandals.

In life, there are many different types of books from each genre, and each person has a choice on which one they like or don’t like, which one is the most helpful, or the least helpful. But sometimes, no matter how much you like books, or how helpful they are, some societies believes, or have been lead to believe by propaganda that books shouldn’t exist, all books are bad and should just be burned. They’re society believes that books just bring unnecessary emotions in life that books just brings people down, or that what people have been lead to believe. But in that society there are people who are trying to fight back by saying how books are actually useful in life, and brings excitement, or useful information into people’s life. But sometimes,

One of the biggest points of the book is the outlawing of books. This is because books almost all have opinions and they were written in a time where people voiced their opinions and weren’t

It is my belief that since by the time the child is required to read such literature in school, they are at an age where they can distinguish between things that should and should not be said and it is the job of the parents to educate the child that just because they say it in a book does not mean he or she should.Another subject common to banned and censored books is sexuality.