What are your thoughts on the censorship of books?
We had a fantastic discussion the other day in 6th period. Please, 6th period students reiterate what you said in class so that other classes can hear your voices.
And other classes, share your opinion. Is there any value to the censoring of books? Do you think books such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Slaughterhouse-five, and/or The Things They Carried should be banned? Explain your reasoning.
The first 15 students to leave insightful comments will receive bonus points.
About Me
- Miss Sullivan
- I am a poet and teacher who lives in Akron, Ohio. I teach English at Barberton High School where I also advise the student newspaper and the writers' club. Recently, I took over the Department Head of English position. I consider myself just as much a writer as I am a teacher. I graduated from the NEOMFA program in the spring of 2008. Work of mine is published or forthcoming in American Poetry Journal, Barn Owl Review, Diagram, Harpur Palate, JAAM, The Laurel Review, New York Quarterly, and Nimrod, among others. Recently, I was a semi-finalist for the Black Lawrence Press Chapbook Competition. In 2007, I was a semi-finalist for The Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry. In 2005 I won first place in poetry for the Best Of Ohio Writer's competition. I have spent many summers backpacking through Europe. I usually get stuck in County Clare, Ireland, my favorite place in this world. I have two pugs, Telemachus and Edith; they are my heroes.
I don't see any use in banning books, they're nothing more than the collective thoughts of one person. That person is only trying to share his or her thoughts with others. Granted, some books can have questionable content, but very rarely does it happen without relating to the book or context of the book. Most of the time books are given a negative connotation, not written with one in mind. Someone then decides that it offends EVERYONE (even though in many cases it only offends a very very minute group of people) and begins to skew the books meaning. It reminds me of the saying "guns don't kill people, people kill people." but applied to books. In my opinion the banning of a book speaks more about the person or people trying to ban the book than the book itself. Everyone should be free to read what they choose, in order with the very things America was founded upon.
ReplyDeleteI think the banning of books is wrong in every way just like how movies shouldn't be censored. Schools are allowed to show the movie "Schindler List" in-witch the movie openly shows the shootings and mass murders caused by the Nazi army. Why should a simple book be banned or censored if the porpoise is to educate.
ReplyDeleteWhat is this censorship you speak of?
ReplyDeleteI ask about the censorship in general. Many books such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Things They Carried, and Of Mice and Men, are banned in select high schools.
ReplyDeleteIs that a good thing or bad thing?
I think you are on to something Taylor. In a history course we are exposed to the atrocities of war and hate. Why should a literary book be censored for depicting war or the language that accompanies war?
David, I like the analogy you made to the statement about guns. I also like that you brought up the danger in one person deeming a book inappropriate rather than a mass of people. It is frightening.
In all cases that I have encountered that pertain to censorship, the book in question has only been excerpted. Taken out of context, many things could be labeled as inappropriate.
In speaking about censorship the other day a student brought up Hitler and how one of the first things he did (in office) was burn a bunch of books. I find that bone-chilling scary.
THE FOLLOWING COMMENT IS WRITTEN BY HEIDI BOLLINGER.
ReplyDeletePeople are over reacting to the content of Slaughter House-five. The language and images in the book are things we are exposed to every day. We hear it in songs, on the radio, and we see it in movies, tv shows and talk about it with our friends. So what if an author writes it down? It just reflects the type of world we live in. Each day the world becomes less censored and eventually we’ll have to learn how to live in such a world. I agree with David, the decision that a book offends everyone is ridiculous. Personally, even though I haven’t read the book, I am not offended by any images or ideas presented about this book.
I finished reading the giver tonight, and upon searching for the author on the internet, I came to find that the book is actually on the banned books list in some schools. This is completely undeserved for this book! It mentions nothing harmful, and Jonas even justifies both sides of his world and the old world as having good ideas within the pages. I'll admit, I did believe that sex would come up at some point in the book but even the slight mention it did have was very censored and disguised. It absolutely shocks me that there is someone out there that finds this book offensive.
ReplyDeleteI agree with David and Heidi entirely. Honestly, I think reading should be freedom of expression. No one should be allowed to tell you what you can or can not read. Even though I sometimes find offensive language or content in books, it never stops me from reading the book. I have not yet found a book, or even heard of a book, that someone found so offensive that they could not finish reading. And unless a book is part of a required reading curriculum, it is always the reader's choice of whether or not to read it. Therefore, no book should be banned because the author wrote obviously wrote a book for a reason, and we have the right to try to figure out why.
ReplyDelete