Argument Essay. Draft 2
All over the country, books have
sparked arguments. The main question is should controversial books be banned
from schools and libraries? Some parents say yes, while teens argue that they
are educated and responsible enough to make their own decisions. Parents want
to ban books because of content, however, this will prevent children from
learning valuable lessons and may actually attract children to read this
content. I believe that no book deserves to be banned, and that teens should be
able to decide what they want to read.
Many parents believe that some books are too dark to be in children's libraries or at school. One prominent example of this opinion is described in the article "Darkness Too Visible" when the mother enters the bookstore. The parent says "nothing, not a thing, that that I could imagine giving my daughter. It was all vampires and suicide and self-mutilation, this dark, dark stuff" (Darkness Too Visible 1). This represents many parents' opinions. In fact, many parents have taken steps to prevent teens from reading these books. New books like The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, loved books like Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, and more classical books like The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, are ending up on the list of "most frequently banned" books from the past 20 years (The Banned Books We Have Loved 2) . Some are taking actions so severe that these books are actually permanently banned in certain schools and states. I can see how some of these books may not belong in the school library. Fifty Shades of Gray by E.L. James, from what I have heard about it, seems to be a pornographic novel. I certainly don't want to read a book like that and wouldn't want my kids in the future to read that kind of literature either. Other books like Ender's Game don't have such vivid graphical details but many parents protest against the violence in the book. There is violence in that book, no one could deny that, after all, the book does have many scenes where children beat each other up in cruel, inhumane, ways. However, violence is the norm now for nearly all literature aimed at teenagers. Take The Hunger Games, which is a war trilogy. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer has some pretty violent description in vampires ripping off each others' heads as well as more details on topics concerning sex, reckless behavior, and suicide. Divergent by Veronica Roth, another popular book, includes the same topics and the violence in the book equals that of in The Hunger Games. Many teen books contain dark themes, and some may be inappropriate to keep in school libraries.
Banning controversial books such as Ender's Game may actually bring them unwanted attention. R.L. Stine, author of Goosebumps says "It is a badge of honor to have people try to ban your books from schools and school libraries, only because it means your books have become popular and are being noticed" (The Banned Books We Have Loved 3). And Suzanne Collins notes that she has "never noticed any kind of sales decrease because of these censorship campaigns. Usually they prove to be good publicity" (The Banned Books We Have Loved 3). Ms. Stoddard, who works at a bookstore, "admits that creating a separate section [in libraries] may inadvertently lure the attention of younger children keen to seem older than they are" (Darkness Too Visible 5). Some books don't gain that much publicity from being banned. Movies are also a kind of media. The movie Ender's Game, for example, did not gain any publicity from the critics' negative feedback. The responses on the movie did not affect sales of the book in a positive or negative way. This shows that some books may gain publicity from banning, censoring, or isolation while some books may not be affected at all.
What parents do not understand, is that these controversial books teach valuable lessons. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, for example, however grim it is in its use of violence and descriptions, teaches about the terrifying results of violent acts. After Ender fights with an older boy, the book depicts Ender crying "I didn't mean to hurt him!" (Card 212) There are many examples of this throughout the book, and all of them show how mentally scarred Ender is after each of these experience. Ender's Game shows teens that the effects of violence are never good and may even hurt you, if not physically, then mentally. If Ender's Game was banned from school libraries, teens would have no way of learning about violence because their parents are sheltering them from it and schools would be unable to provide it. It is better to educate our youth about controversial issues than hiding those issues away from their sight. It is better to be armed with knowledge about the outside world than go naively skipping around problems that we do not know how to respond or find a solution to. The lessons in some controversial books are crucial for teens to comprehend and are applicable to the world.
In conclusion, I believe that these books should not be censored from teens because they teach important life lessons. Teens should know what they are ready to read and what they would rather avoid. They are responsible enough to make these choices and do not need to be sheltered from books.
Many parents believe that some books are too dark to be in children's libraries or at school. One prominent example of this opinion is described in the article "Darkness Too Visible" when the mother enters the bookstore. The parent says "nothing, not a thing, that that I could imagine giving my daughter. It was all vampires and suicide and self-mutilation, this dark, dark stuff" (Darkness Too Visible 1). This represents many parents' opinions. In fact, many parents have taken steps to prevent teens from reading these books. New books like The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, loved books like Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, and more classical books like The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, are ending up on the list of "most frequently banned" books from the past 20 years (The Banned Books We Have Loved 2) . Some are taking actions so severe that these books are actually permanently banned in certain schools and states. I can see how some of these books may not belong in the school library. Fifty Shades of Gray by E.L. James, from what I have heard about it, seems to be a pornographic novel. I certainly don't want to read a book like that and wouldn't want my kids in the future to read that kind of literature either. Other books like Ender's Game don't have such vivid graphical details but many parents protest against the violence in the book. There is violence in that book, no one could deny that, after all, the book does have many scenes where children beat each other up in cruel, inhumane, ways. However, violence is the norm now for nearly all literature aimed at teenagers. Take The Hunger Games, which is a war trilogy. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer has some pretty violent description in vampires ripping off each others' heads as well as more details on topics concerning sex, reckless behavior, and suicide. Divergent by Veronica Roth, another popular book, includes the same topics and the violence in the book equals that of in The Hunger Games. Many teen books contain dark themes, and some may be inappropriate to keep in school libraries.
Banning controversial books such as Ender's Game may actually bring them unwanted attention. R.L. Stine, author of Goosebumps says "It is a badge of honor to have people try to ban your books from schools and school libraries, only because it means your books have become popular and are being noticed" (The Banned Books We Have Loved 3). And Suzanne Collins notes that she has "never noticed any kind of sales decrease because of these censorship campaigns. Usually they prove to be good publicity" (The Banned Books We Have Loved 3). Ms. Stoddard, who works at a bookstore, "admits that creating a separate section [in libraries] may inadvertently lure the attention of younger children keen to seem older than they are" (Darkness Too Visible 5). Some books don't gain that much publicity from being banned. Movies are also a kind of media. The movie Ender's Game, for example, did not gain any publicity from the critics' negative feedback. The responses on the movie did not affect sales of the book in a positive or negative way. This shows that some books may gain publicity from banning, censoring, or isolation while some books may not be affected at all.
What parents do not understand, is that these controversial books teach valuable lessons. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, for example, however grim it is in its use of violence and descriptions, teaches about the terrifying results of violent acts. After Ender fights with an older boy, the book depicts Ender crying "I didn't mean to hurt him!" (Card 212) There are many examples of this throughout the book, and all of them show how mentally scarred Ender is after each of these experience. Ender's Game shows teens that the effects of violence are never good and may even hurt you, if not physically, then mentally. If Ender's Game was banned from school libraries, teens would have no way of learning about violence because their parents are sheltering them from it and schools would be unable to provide it. It is better to educate our youth about controversial issues than hiding those issues away from their sight. It is better to be armed with knowledge about the outside world than go naively skipping around problems that we do not know how to respond or find a solution to. The lessons in some controversial books are crucial for teens to comprehend and are applicable to the world.
In conclusion, I believe that these books should not be censored from teens because they teach important life lessons. Teens should know what they are ready to read and what they would rather avoid. They are responsible enough to make these choices and do not need to be sheltered from books.
Works Cited:
Card, Orson
Scott. Ender's Game. New York: Tor, 1991. Print.
Doll, Jen.
"The Banned Books We Have Loved." The Atlantic Wire. N.p., 12
Apr. 2012. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
Gurdon, Meghan
Cox. "Darkness Too Visible." The Wall Street Journal. N.p., 4
June 2011. Web.
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