banned book essay

Oscar Mendoza 802 banned book essay

How many times have you been told that   too young to know about something or that you will understand when you're older? I have been told that at least a couple hundred times and  I really despise it. Many people ban books because they think that students ages 12-16 can’t  handle YA books because they contain too much inappropriate content when in reality most students see and hear worse than what they are actually reading. Adults who think that kids shouldn't read these books are too protective and try to hide students from the reality of the world, when one day they will have to face the world on their own. I think that adults should not ban books.

One reason books should not be banned is because they teach students many things about the world and prevent them from being naive. For example according to the article “Should teen books be banned?” by: Freya Carr it states “ banning books altogether is definitely not the answer as if you remove a book for one then you remove this for all, restricting reading for those readers who are mature enough to make their own choices.” I strongly agree with this statement because most students this age are mature enough to read these banned books. Ya books are meant for teenagers and at this age we see the world a little differently and see that the world is not a fairy tale, but it is the opposite of a fairy tale. Students see worst things on the news on the streets or may even hear their own parents or other adults talk about subjects that are found in YA books. The article “top 10 reasons YA books should not be banned” by: Justine Larbalestier states that “Banning books, you know,doesn’t encourage literacy. Last time I looked literacy was a good thing that goes hand in hand with increased life expectancy, education, living standards. Little stuff like that.” Students especially young adults learn a lot from reading YA books. They may not be able to find the information that YA they need to know because if they are not the reality of the world they will probably not be able to handle the reality of the world when it is all thrown at them. By banning books these adults who ban books are preventing students from knowledge that is needed.

The second reason I think books should not be banned is because no adult or association that does not know you should not have a say in what you should or should not be reading. According to the article “ Banning books is bad and let me tell you why” by:Kelly Konrad states that “Kids should already have a censor in place—it's called a parent. While I do feel bad for the kid who is told he or she can't read Harry Potter books and like to envision him or her tucked away in the corner of the library going all deviant on their parents' asses, I respect the role of a parent to know when their child is ready, or not, for certain forms of literature. But just theirs. No one tells my kids what they can't read except for me.”  An adult that does not know you at all could ban a book and now you can read it just because the adult sees it as too inappropriate when in reality an adult that does know you well enough should decide if this book should be off limits to read or if you can read it. Another example is found on the article “ Should libraries be allowed to have a list of banned books” and it states “If people knew the rating of each and every book then it would be easier to keep books that have inappropriate text out of the hands of young kids. Or they can warn kids about the content of the book.” These libraries do not know the maturity of these students who are reading these books. The library should give a warning to whoever is reading the book before they read it or get a paper sign by a person who knows the student well to say if the student should or should not read it. No one who does not know us should have power over us especially when it comes to reading.

Although some people may say that YA books should be banned because they contain too much inappropriate content this case is not true because students see much worse in their everyday lives. For example, in The Wall Street journal its states” contemporary literature has too much violence and sex. Our kids need to be protected from its depravity” I strongly disagree with this statement because who are reading banned books know about sex and violence and other “dark” things in the world. Students see people who are kidnapped raped murdered on the new all the time so they are seeing worse which is a lot worse that just reading about it. The article “ Top 10 reasons books should be banned” states that “Content of book encourages lifestyle choices that are not of the norm or could be considered dangerous or damaging. This could include drug use, cohabitation without marriage, or homosexuality.” I find this statement very unintelligent because kids who are reading banned books are reading them because they are intelligent. They know what is to come in these books and how these books ultimately teach them a very important life lesson about what not to do and if you do these things what could be the possible consequences. They are just reading more on the subject because they are curious or want more knowledge. Ultimately people who ban books are averting books needed by students.

In Conclusion, books should not be banned because they are a way to inform the person reading the book and help us in our lives later on. There is no reason to ban books for students when students could be ready to read the books. Someone who does not know you has power or what you read is ridiculous if you just want to be informed or plainly just want read the book because it seems interesting Students should be free to read whatever they want whenever they want as long as they are able to handle the book.