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The Importance Of Censorship In Literature

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According to author Mette Newth, forms of censorship can be traced back to as early as 399 BC when officials “sentenced” Socrates “to drink poison” as a punishment “for his corruption of youth and his acknowledgement of unorthodox divinities.” From this point, Newth goes on to note that uncensored free speech “was a challenge” for early religious figures. As the leaders watched seemingly dangerous ideas pour into their once pure world through literature and verbal stories, “censorship became more rigid, and punishment more severe.” However, regardless of the efforts put forth, these leaders could not hold back the changes to come, and the world progressed. Attempts to censor the words put into the world eventually spread from primarily religious leaders, the government, and even to citizens with no authority whatsoever. Over time, censorship has increased to some degree in terms of literature, but the people should not have to tolerate any form of censorship. Regardless of any reason for it, censorship, specifically book banning, proves itself unnecessary and the decision of what art or information anybody intakes should remain up to the consumer themselves. When censorship began, literature suffered all of the initial impact. As printing technology advanced and leaders lost complete control over what information people omitted into the world, Newth states that “the printed book [b]ecame a religious battleground.” However, the censorship of book quickly went far past

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