February Non-Fiction Blog Post
This
week, I read “Censorship and Book Banning in America” by Melissa Kelly. The
main idea of the text was why some books were banned, and whether book banning
was a good or bad thing. In the article is says, “More recent books that were
challenged according to the American Library Association include the Twilight saga due to its ‘religious
viewpoint and violence’ and ‘The Hunger Games’ because it was unsuited to the
age group, sexually explicit and too violent.” There’s also a group, just for
America, that reads the “questionable books” and decides on whether it’s
educational enough to overshadow the reasons for its ban. An elementary school
in Hillsborough County, Florida, isn’t buying two books from the Harry Potter
series since the topic of “witchcraft” is relevant. The principle was convinced
they would receive complaints about the books, so they simply did not purchase
it. These details show how books are banned, as well as the individual reasons
why.
The
author wants readers to think that book banning has been taken to a whole new
level, and that if this continues, in the future we might completely ban all
old books because of the smallest details. They also want us to feel frightened
that all the books that this generation and generations before it have grown up
with may all be banned for the smallest, and most irrelevant details. The
author says, “The question that faces us in the future is 'when do we
stop?' Do we remove mythology and Arthurian legends because of its references
to magic? Do we strip the shelves of medieval literature because it presupposes
the existence of saints? Do we remove Macbeth because of the murders and
witches? I think that most would say there is a point where we must stop. But
who gets to pick the point?” This technique of ‘flash forwards’ and giving us a
glimpse of what we might be in for in the future worked really well for me as a
reader, because it helped me side with the author’s opinion. The author wasn’t
very bias, but by including a possible negative future, they sway you towards
their visions and opinions without you even knowing.
From this article, I will
take away the “fear” of losing all the books I love because of them being
banned. I now know how books are banned, and some of the reasons why certain
books are banned. I still think book banning is good and bad. I definitely think certain books should not be read to a
young audience, unless the children have been given permission by their parents
to read the books. But after a certain age, I’d say middle school and high
school, depending on the maturity of the students; books shouldn’t be banned
for them. Teachers can thoroughly explain the use of “questionable” words or
themes, and they can benefit the students’ understanding of the time period and
perspective from which the book was written. I’d like to know if there have
been any book bans on a specific grade, and if any students have protested against book bans.
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