To Kill A Mockingbird: Banned Books

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.

To be honest, books should not get banned just because other people don’t agree with them. If a person does not agree with something in a book, that person should just simply stop reading and ignore the book. What one person finds offensive may not seem offensive to another. In the United States, people have the freedom of press, which means people have the right to circulate opinions in print without censorship by the government. When a book gets banned it is usually by a school district and not by the government, but in my opinion, the right of freedom of press is still getting violated in some way.Today, Invisible Man is banned in Randolph County in North Carolina. The book was banned after a mother wrote a 12-page complaint on why it should be banned. “This novel is not so innocent; instead, this book is filthier, too much for teenagers,” said the woman in her complaint. Before getting banned, Invisible Man had not only been in the school libraries, but it had also been included in the summer reading list for the

The act of book banning could prove beneficial to the society because it could keep the students and youth of our culture away from books with a bad influence or things that would not help them in any way, shape, or form. “If a book is deemed offensive, some may argued, that it is promoting ideas which can have a detrimental influence on individuals (often children) and on society as a whole” (Aliprandini, Sprague 2016). This quote proves that those who believe that book banning is a good idea have valid reasons to believe so. Although books should not be banned, there is solid evidence that proves otherwise.

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.

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

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

Remember when one was taught that one shouldn't be afraid to speak up? Or speak about what one believes in? Well, censorship breaks apart all of that freedom we fought for, and learned throughout the years. Here is why censorship should not be implemented in the United States. Throughout the years, many innovative authors have created masterpieces and best sellers, such as Cujo, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and many other classic books from Stephen king, mark twain, and other great authors. Unfortunately, many books have been challenged and banned due to the violence, gruesome, and sexual content. In 1960 “To KIll a Mockingbird” was released and immediately became successful. However, it’s one of the most controversial and challenged book due to the fact that many schools, parents, teachers claim that the book provides content that is racially, and sexually inappropriate for young readers. Still to this day, Harper Lee's “To Kill a Mockingbird,” remains among one of the top banned books. This is why Books shouldn't be censored because mature readers won't get the opportunity to read the books that they can handle.

“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.

Oftentimes, Americans cannot freely express themselves through literature. The world of literature is a big and scary place. To some, it's a break from the world, and for others, it's an immoral and explicit hobby. Americans are told that these books are too inappropriate and contain graphic content, which could arguably violate the freedom of speech. Hundreds of books in the United States have been banned over the years for different reasons, often over topics considered controversial or sensitive. Banned books may have been censored for political or historical inaccuracies in public school libraries by either parents or teachers because they do not want their children to absorb wrong or incorrect information that could

Books provide so much more knowledge for students and people of all ages in our society. Some books, however, can be considered harmful to readers, or too graphic for certain individuals. Many parents do not want their children reading a lot of the content in more mature books, especially in school where a lot of the reading is done out loud. Books should be banned to the extent of specific age groups and locations. Books should be banned from locations, such as schools, if they feature very graphic or ideologically sensitive material that some parents may not be comfortable with their children reading or learning about.

As Brad Meltzer explains, books are very powerful. “They’re recipes made up of hopes and dreams and fears.” He shows that stories change us in ways we had never thought was possible. He tells us also that these great books get banned because of this. They get banned because people think they change people too much. Authors are able t

The subject of censorship is a very controversial one, especially the banning of books. Many people believe they must protect themselves and others from the "evils" of many classic books and works of art because they can be deemed "indecent" in one way or another. Many believe that this is absurd and censorship in its current form is a violation of our First Amendment right to free speech. Personally, I align myself with the latter, however I do feel there are occasions where censorship is justifiable.

Books are banned for multiple reasons. To ban something is to forbid or prohibit it (Ban). Some of these reasons are not very clear.

Growing up, many students were raised with the idea that the best way to spark our imagination or to learn about our society in the past was through the power of reading. But, as themes get darker and words get harsher, different communities believe that certain books, for example Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, should be banned. But, how can children continue to learn if they are constantly banning books that can not only spark their imagination, but gives them an idea about why certain situations has taken place and how to handle those situations? In our modern-day society, students should be allowed to read banned books, even though some books contain a massive amount of violence, profanity, and bias opinions. The reasons why students should be allowed the right to read banned books is because it gives them the right to develop their creativity and to help them understand the real world.