Banned Books Essay

Addie Lovell

808

Dear Ms. Berner,

I am aware that one of the biggest controversies between schools and parents is the fight over whether or not books should be banned for mature or disturbing content that could be harmful for a child to see.  I know that some people, mostly parents, believe that kids should not be exposed to some of the things in books and therefore want the school board to remove them from school libraries. However, many others believe these books teach kids important messages about the world, and that they can be good for kids to relate to. I believe that students should have access to all books, no matter how controversial or disturbing they may be.

The first reason that all books should be able to be read by students is because the books with the dark issues are the ones that teach young people about serious issues in the world. For example, a book that was banned in many schools was Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, because it featured rape. I think that banning this book does not help shelter kids from the issues, but rather avoid the issues completely. Students need to be educated about the topics that books show, because in their life their life, they may someday face them, or see them in the world. In "Nerd Alert: banning books is stupid... And still happening in the US" it says "banning books will not make the problems go away". The dark issues books still exist, and sheltering kids from them is just pretending they don’t happen. All it does is give kids the false idea that there are no problems like violence, abuse, and mental illness in the world. Also, in "Has young adult fiction become too dark?" by Mary Elizabeth Williams, it quotes "Darkness isn't the enemy of the truth, but ignorance always is." Ignoring dark issues and pretending they don't exist is much more problematic than teaching kids about serious topics. If kids are not taught about the dark issues in the world, all it will do is keep them in the dark about worldwide problems that affect many people, and that need to be solved.

Another reason books shouldn't be banned is because they are easy for teens to relate to and they make them understand that they are not alone. Many banned books deal with issues like abuse, self harm, bullying and other issues that teenagers have to face. If they can see that other people have gone through these things they will feel better about themselves and their situation. In books, teenagers can see that whatever hard things they are facing are widespread issues, and other people have had to deal with the same problems, which will help them out a lot. In “Yes, Teen fiction can be dark, but it shows teenagers they are not alone”, by Maureen Johnson, she quotes “If subjects like these are in YA books, it’s to show they are real, they have happened to others, and they can be survived. For teenagers, there is sometimes no more critical message then: You are not alone.” Teenagers who have had to deal with hard experiences often need validation that it is normal to feel the way they do, and they can find that in books. Books show teens that things that they have had to go through (like self harm, depression, or traumatic experiences like rape or abuse), are things other people have experienced, and things that they will be able to recover from.

Some people believe that books should be banned because the issues that the they teach about are too heavy for students to understand. However, the issues are real and cannot be ignored just because they may upset some people. In "The Bane of Banned Books" Bill Moyers quotes "Censorship is the enemy of the truth," which means for pretending issues don't exist destroy the truth that they are real, and hard for people to deal with. Also, you could put "trigger warnings” on books to make sure they aren't read by students who can’t handle the content. Certain kids may have a hard time handling the issues books, but they can choose not to read them for themselves in that is the case. Some people worry that if kids read about dark issues, they will get involved with them. Mary Elizabeth Williams said "You can read books without the coming what you read about." They aren’t going to start to get involved with issues in books just because they read about them, and most book teach kids not to get into the problems that the book focuses on. Kids who read about drugs won't get addicted, but it introduces them to the seriousness of the issue. Books should not be banned because they have dark issues.

In conclusion, books should never be censored or banned from schools. They teach kids about issues that are important in the world, and help them feel like they're not alone if they are going through a hard time. Parents may think that they should “protect” their children from heavy issues, but books are able to introduce those issues to kids and help them learn about and understand them. Issues in books can be hard to read about or handle, but eventually they will become very beneficial to learning about issues in the world, and will teach young people important lessons.