No to Banning Books | Teen Ink

No to Banning Books

December 15, 2014
By MartinShortLover BRONZE, Appleton, Wisconsin
MartinShortLover BRONZE, Appleton, Wisconsin
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

¨Come right up close to me and I will show you something wonderful¨. This line was spoken by the ladybug in the book James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. I feel this quote is very personal to me because it makes you feel that something wonderful is waiting. This book is banned because of the magic such as a talking ladybug. Books should not be banned because it is taking other people’s liberties away, even if books have some questionable content.
Dahl, Roald. James and the Giant Peach.
  New York; knopf, 1961. Print.

They feel that some content may be bad for other readers. Books are banned because of encouragement of ¨damaging¨ lifestyles, sexual situations or dialog, presence of witchcraft.


Reasons why we should ban books are homosexuality, drugs, suicide, and smoking.
Reasons why we shouldn’t ban books is ¨they do explore tough subject matter-addiction, abuse, thoughts of suicide, teen prostitution. But they bring young adult readers a middle-aged author’s broader perspective. They show outcomes to choices, offer understanding. And each is infused with hope¨.


Another reason people should ban books are sex, drugs, alcohol, eating disorder, and nudity.
¨Rather than banning the book for its sexual content, a better solution would be for parents to put such subjects into perspective for the children who may want to read the book. However, even if parents feel that their children are simply too young for such information, than the establishment of a system where students must obtain a guardian’s permission would be a far better solution that the outright ban of a book¨. I feel that Jake Rich, writer of the article ¨Can Book Censorship Save our Children and Their Innocence?¨ is right on how we can have better solutions than to ban books because of their content. Parents just have to think on a solution that would work for them, their children, and everyone else. Parents overreact and go ban books so that other children and other young adults and adults can’t read them. Just think about the actions that you do and how they will affect other people.


Rich, Jake. "Can Book Censorship Save Our Children and Their Innocence?." University Wire. 07 Oct. 2014: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.

Hopkins, Ellen. ¨Censorship Cannot Be Allowed in America.¨ Book Banning. Ed.
    Thomas Riggs. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from ¨Banned
     Books Week 2010: An Anti-Censorship Manifesto.¨ Huffington Post. 2010.
     Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.



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