The Subject Of Banning Books

Censorship is a concept with several different meanings. To each individual censorship has its own meaning. Is it a violation of our rights or is it a protection for our well being? Censorship in the generic sense refers to the suppression of information, ideas, or opinions. It occurs in all forms of communication from technological media to print media. Each society, culture, or individual's belief is violated by the codes of censorship that our society instills.

“Censorship is the child of fear and the father of ignorance”. – Laurie Henderson. By banning books, it can deprive children the information or the mental nourishment they will need for life.

The American Library Association defines censorship as the removal, suppression, or restricted circulation of literary or educational materials. Censorship can be subtle, almost unseen, as well as blatant and overt, but nonetheless, harmful. The abilities to read, speak, and express ourselves freely are core values. Throughout history many different governments and people have tried to ban books for many different reasons. People attempt to ban books because the material conflicts with their own beliefs. Some people believe that a child’s parent should be the only one able to censor what a child reads. Librarians and governing bodies should maintain that parents and only parents have the right and responsibility to restrict things from their children. According to the challenges by initiator, institution, type, and year, parents challenge books more often than any other group. The subject is very controversial causing many disagreements. Some people may believe that a book is wonderful, while others believe that it’s corrupting the youth. Books are banned to protect people, mainly children, from difficult ideas and information. Nudity, drugs, religious viewpoint,

I am familiar with the works of both Dav Pilkey and Lauren Myracle and never thought their books contained anything worth being challenged or banned. I was shock by the way parents would openly attack Lauren Myracle and make assumptions about her personal life because they were angry that their children were brave enough to ask questions something they read in a book. I honestly think banning books for having strong language or being sexually explicit because children watch television. Nowadays, television shows sex scenes and people using strong language all the time.

The article “Banned Books- Top 3 Pros and Cons” states, “Books in the young adult genre often contain adult themes that young people aren’t ready to experience … Of the top ten most challenged books in 2016, six were suxually explicit”. Students and young adults go to the public library often, and many times chose a book they have never heard of. The number of books with mentions of wrong or improper content is quite large, which means so are the chances of choosing a books with wrong material in it. Reading this kind of content could persuade a young pupil to do something that is not right and could lead their life into ruin.

Censorship, according to Google, is “the practice of officially examining books, movies, etc., and suppressing unacceptable parts”. Censorship happens when someone,be it a parent, a teacher, feels uncomfortable with their child(ren) reading something, and decide it’s unfit for all children, including high-schoolers.

There are many lists of censored books that come out every year; one of those lists is the 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990-2000. On this list the Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger ranks at number 13. Forever by Judy Blume ranks at number eight and the Harry Potter series by R.K. Rowling ranks at number seven. Catcher in the Rye is censored because of the incidents of depression, nervous breakdown, impulsive spending, sexual exploration, vulgarity, and other erratic behavior. Mainly these are problems that go against traditional American values. Judy Blume’s, Forever is censored because of its sexual content involving two high school seniors and their decision to have sex for the first time. Lastly, Christian activists are vocal about the Harry Potter

Censoring books limit the available books to everyone. The reason this is bad is because not everyone has the same rules for what and what not to read. As said in, Banned Books: A School Librarian's Perspective, “In most cases, the complainants begin to look at the book in light of the whole process and realize that although they may not want their child to read a book such as "Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson because it has several profanities, it is actually a very fine book that other parents might want their own children to read.” (Coatney) This shows how a book that

This article aimed to express the concerns and disappointments of those who are not pleased with the banning of very popular books they loved as a children. These people do not agree with book banning because in their times, when they were children, they were allowed to read whatever appealed to them. Amongst these now banned books are; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Black Beauty, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, The Catcher in the Rye, as well as many other classic books. But this book banning is not something fairly new. Book banning started in the early 1990s where by 1994, the demand for removal of books had increased by more than 50%.

“Once a government is committed to the principal of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear,” said by Harry Truman. Censorship is the act of trying to silence the voices of many, each being deserves to have a voice in society. Literary censorship should not be applied because each individual has the right to information and limitations should not be placed on freedom of speech.

Censoring books has been a part of our society since the beginning of civilization, the government’s’ suggest that it's a way for them to filter out any noxious content which could make their citizen vulnerable, but some consider it only a way for the administration to veil the reality so that their powers don't get questioned and the nation remains blinded. Mark Twain, author of Roughing It, said that “ censorship is telling a man he can’t eat steak because a baby can’t chew it”. Censoring a book can happen on a national level or on just on a local level where a catholic school can cloak out books from Stephen Hawking, so that their students don’t have any conflicting views on the creation of the universe.

The book “This One Summer” was banned because it included L.G.B.T.Q., drugs, and profanity.(Hauser) It is about two girls spending the summer together. As a result, banning a book like this can keep the bad thoughts about other people from some kids. Therefore it is important to keep these things from hurting other people. The article “Sex, Politics, and the Banned Books of 2016.”The most common threads were gender, religious diversity, and L.G.B.T. issues, arising in an election year in which political agendas, such as the debate over bathroom bills, immigration, and race, likely had an impact, Mr. LaRue said.

Hi, my name is Monica Paz Solis, I am a student at Summit High School. As a student, I am writing to you concerning censorship. As a High School student, I believe that in most cases censorship is used excessively, mostly concerning books. All around the world books have been one of the most banned elements of being too uncomfortable. Censorship leaves the minds of young adults susceptible by not allowing us to create our own opinion on the issues happening in our society. Kids sooner or later will have to be exposed to certain things in their life whether parents like it or not. Being a part of growing it's unavoidable. When books are challenged the more people want to read it. Making it an attention grabber for students. When teaching a

Throughout history many books have been published. The material discussed within the text various and sometimes crosses the boundaries of which many see as offensive. The banning and censorship of literature has been prevalent over the course of time.

Censorship is that if … “Any attempt to suppress the expression of thought, to alter or restrict information …” ("Censorship", article-9273576). Some parents do not want their children reading certain books, due to use of profanity, too depressing, negative influences, sexual references and racial content. There were many court cases to discuss the subject of banning books or whether the school’s actions with this matter were fair. The federal court couldn't even agree upon decisions because everyone has there own ideas about age appropriate books. But, does anyone really know what age is considered mature enough to read books that are labeled “too mature or violent”? 12, 16, 18, 21? However, no matter what age level, we all should be responsible for what we read but, only read what you know, you can handle. As of today, there are fewer and fewer books being banned, yet there are people who still want several books banned. Many people want these books off the shelves in school libraries. There are many books that have been banned/ challenged for various reasons, but that doesn't mean anyone can tell you what you can or can’t read. Despite, the actions to prevent certain books to be on school book shelves, students and other book lovers liked sharing their thoughts with the world. They have been challenging books until