Sabrina Carlisle 1 Sabrina Carlisle Ms. Causey Advanced English 11 May 2013 Dont Read That!

Simply put, no book should be banned: Fahrenheit-451, Huckleberry Finn, Macbeth, The Catcher in The Rye, The Great Gatsby. These are just a few of the many books that have been banned from schools and libraries. Is this a fair solution? Banning books, it denies people the intellectual freedom that all people have the right to, but people use it as a safety net protecting their students from a threat that isnt at all present, but possibly the introduction of new ideas into society has become a threat, when a societies biggest threat is new ideas that are being introduced, then couldnt the society itself truly need some form of change? Book banning by schools and libraries is illogical on the basis it doesnt allow intellectual freedom, it denies authors the ability to freely express themselves, and it takes away from children to form their own opinions and ideas. When books become a threat, simply because they may cause change in society it does become an issue. Which this is an issue that can be focused towards Fahrenheit-451, you can see these ideas present in that book. Its where the government actually bans books, therefore suppressing peoples intellectual freedom and the right they have to that. Also, when books are banned because they have a gay or transgender couple as the head of a household, or a multiracial family, then it becomes a form of discrimination. These become issues because the idea of banning books is to keep offensive topics away, such as race and religion, but the banning of those books itself becomes offensive to those who support that religion or are of that race. The

Sabrina Carlisle 2 banning becomes truly unnecessary, because it becomes offensive in place of the attempt to remove offense in the process of banning. While people can choose to look at those who believe the banning of books is okay, they often times have invalid arguments. Such as the book has suggestive content, such as sex, drugs, and violence, but children are often still exposed to these things even if theyre not reading the books that have the suggestive content. Sex, profanity, and racism remain the primary categories of objections, and most occur in schools and school libraries. (Doyle) Even the books that have gay and transgender couples are often banned. But, children are exposed to this almost daily through television and other media such as the internet. One parent, in Texas, actually attempted to have a book banned from her childs school but havent even read the book therefore when the time to discuss with administration the reasons why she wanted the book banned, she couldnt even fully argue her point as to why she wanted the book banned. If parents have become so protective of their child to this point then shouldnt the parent be monitoring what their child watches, who theyre with, and what they do as well? Instead of denying them the opportunity to form ideas for themselves and opinions for themselves which may be due to the influence of a book. Though banning isnt just a school matter its also happens in libraries which the executive director of the library in Chicago Illinois is fully against the idea of banning books Robert P. Doyle has become an advocate in the whole issue of banning books, he believes its unfair and unjust and takes away peoples right to intellectual freedom. When people begin to see that some of the most famous, enjoyed books are banned what are people to think, Of the list of the Top 100 Novels of the 20th century compiled by the American Library Association, 42 have been challenged or banned since the 1980s (Alhadef). This has become an issue,

Sabrina Carlisle 3 because not only are they taking away classic literature, theyre taking away new literature, new literature that has different viewpoints. It also takes away from artistic freedom, almost denying people their right to artistic freedom when it comes to writing; this is something that also hurts the author of the book, because when a book is denied in a school or in a public library the book isnt exactly being publicized as well as it could be which could take a financial toll on the author, because theres no publicity of their book, or if there is then its typically only negative therefore their book isnt being bought. Also when books are banned in public libraries the entire community is at a disadvantage and its unfair for everyone, say the person is of legal age and wants to read the book but doesnt have the means to buy it, but its not in the library, it causes them a disadvantage, or if they have to research a topic that isnt so pleasant then they are also at a hindrance and will have to find different sources and other ways of getting the information they need. A large amount of the process of having a book banned is sometimes due to English classes in school that teach literature of course said by McMenomy, Some consider that assigning a text for a class is synonymous with endorsing it in total. That is wrong, of course. (McMenomy) This is from the viewpoint of a person who teaches a class. Finding that if indeed a child really does find the text and literature theyre reading, and then discuss it with the teacher, because it is not meant in any way, shape, or form meant to cause harm or offense to anyone, it is only to stimulate education and learning and an interest in literature. Usually books assigned by a teacher are done so to evoke deep thought of the moral/ethical dilemmas addressed, where the reader can then form their own opinions. Of course, teachers have options in these cases, allow the student another assignment, reassign the whole class, or to avoid having to go through this get permission slips. Which is what a large majority of schools do, one school

Sabrina Carlisle 4 in Texas even had seniors get their parents to sign permission slips before they were able to read Shakespeares, Macbeth, sure the whole idea of having seniors getting permission slips signed seems a tad bit ridiculous, but if it prevents confrontation or disagreement on a book assignment its honestly better to do it. Book banning is not the answer to everythingit wont prevent children from getting exposed to certain issues, and it wont stop an idea from being introduced into an area, because ideas spread. Therefore book banning does in fact not help, its only hindering the author and at times can also be offensive to those who its meant to protect. Not allowing children to read books that are controversial and allowing them to form ideas from reading, then is that fair to the child? The child wont be able to formulate their own opinions when theyre older if theyre not exposed to making them now, being able to make them by themselves. If every book that was found to be offensive, then there would be no books in the libraries, there would be nothing to reference, and we simply wouldnt have books. Books cause a perspicuous viewpoint, and if books can cause a quagmire doesnt that state something about society?

Sabrina Carlisle 5 Bibliography

ACLU. "Why Books Are Banned." ACLU of Texas. ACLU, 2013. Web. 05 May 2013. <http://www.bannedbookstx.org/the-problem/why-books-are-banned>.

Alhadef, Tammy. Banned books spark defense of literature. The Pueblo Chieftain. ERIC Document Reproduction Service "Banned Books Online." Banned Books Online. UPENN, n.d. Web. 05 May 2013. <http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/banned-books.html>. Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 2010. Print. McMenomy, Bruce. Teaching Offensive Literature. College Board AP Central Scales, Pat. "What Makes a Good Banned Book?" 85.5 (2009): 533. Print Scales, Pat R. Teaching Banned Books: 12 Guides for Young Readers. Chicago : American Library Association, 2001..