5 Zerwin
SLCC
16 November 2010
Censorship: A Pressing yet Interesting Issue
Imagine a school library. Although it is filled with your average literature, some of the classic titles seem to be missing. Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Catcher in the Rye are nowhere to be found. Even recent titles such as the Harry Potter series are off the shelves. What do these books have in common? They have all been labeled controversial or obscene. All across America, books labeled controversial have been challenged in recent years. Sometimes the people behind this, mostly concerned parents, have even had books censored or banned from libraries and schools. These books are unjustly banned and should be brought back because of the unique ideas they present that can enhance a child's education. Censorship is a violation of the first amendment and affects children's education in a negative way.
The idea of banning books and censorship has been around for quite a while. Censorship is defined as “suppressing information that is classified as morally, politically and ethically objectionable” (Healy, DiLascio). The first documented cases of censorship occurred shortly after the birth of the Roman Catholic church (Sprauge, Aliprandini). Ever since, censorship has been a tool for oppressive and totalitarian governments to control ideas and beliefs . Today, censorship is widely used by countries such as China and North Korea to keep their people in the dark about world events and new ways of thinking. To a lesser extent, censorship is also used in the United States (Lang). Schools and libraries nationwide have been documenting the removal and censoring of books since the early 1970s. Concerned parents, teachers, and even librarians have had books challenged because of political, social, or moral issues. In retaliation, organizations such as the American Literature Association have formed to fight censorship.
Parents, school officials, concerned individuals, and librarians are waging a war on controversial literature across the nation. Any slightly questionable book is fair game for a challenge, which can result in it being pulled from circulation in a library. In the books, political, moral, or social issues that have been labeled obscene are evaluated. Many of the same classic titles appear on the challenged list each year, with recurring similar reasons. The Catcher in the Rye has been challenged almost every year at various schools across America since 1960, most recently in 2009. A school board official in Corono Norco, CA suggested challenging the novel on account it was “centered around negative activity” (American Literature Association). Yet another board official from Summerville, SC had the book banned from school libraries for reasons including “[its] a dirty, filthy book” (American Literature Association). As is the case with most instances of book censorship, the people who challenged it had no substantial evidence that it should be banned except for their own personal opinion. However, personal opinion does not warrant the claim that a book be censored or removed from a library; doing so is clearly a violation of the first amendment.
Banning books is a form of censorship; censorship is a violation of the first amendment. The first amendment can be broken up into three basic segments. The right to confidentiality of sources, the right to publish, and most importantly, the right of citizens to access information or literature that has been published (Healy, DiLascio). According to these principles, every single piece of published information or literature should be available as long as it doesn't infringe on others rights and safety. But censorship does the exact opposite of what the amendment states. When a book is banned, it is no longer available for use by the American people. Its contents, theme, and ideas are compromised. For example, The Skull of Truth by Bruce Coville was removed off shelves in an Illinois high school because of the “depiction of a gay character”. (ABFFE) This book did not infringe on other citizens’ rights and safety, and was therefore unjustly banned. However, as is common in many cases of banned books, the people behind the censorship argued that the ideas presented were obscene. This is where the amendment was violated. It is not the parents, teachers, or librarians decision to make when they determine which books are fit for libraries; on the contrary every student has the freedom of choice to select any book they want too read.
When someone suggests a challenge to a book, they think that they are doing their children, school, and community a favor. They conclude that, now that the book is no longer available, their children won’t be affected by its so called negative influence. Nearly all cases of challenged books occur because the book was deemed to inappropriate for children to read. In Coventry, RI, Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonneget was removed from the curriculum because of “vulgar language, violent imagery, and sexual content”(American Literature Association). The parent behind this had determined that the book would negatively affect her children and consequently took action to remove it from the high school. However, her actions were in the end, not beneficial to her child. Most literature that is challenged contains important ideas and themes that are essential for children to read.
Censorship and banned books can only effect children in a negative way. Although most books that are challenged and censored on a regular basis usually contain profanity or racism, the value of reading them far surpasses the alternative. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, has been consistently challenged throughout mostly southern states on account of “adult themes of rape, sexual intercourse, and incest” (American Literature Association). However, when a book is challenged, the benefits are never weighed in. To Kill a Mockingbird has been called a “cultural touchstone, must read for high school courses” by The New York Times, and teaches many life lessons key to a child's developing sense of persona (American Literature Association). Furthermore, children want to read these controversial novels. Many teenagers find a lot in common with Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. Perhaps Pink Floyd best represents the concept with the lyrics from their song Another Brick in the Wall, “no dark sarcasm in the classroom, we don’t need no thought control” (Waters). When parents and school officials start deciding what is right for children to read, a large part of their ability to think freely and independently is compromised. When these abilities are lost a key part of the child's education are lost as well.
In summary, book censorship is clearly an illegal violation of the first amendment that removes key ideas and themes from the curriculum or library. The people behind the book challenges are trying to protect their children's developing identity, but in reality are solely sheltering and eliminating the ideas the books hold. And last but certainly not least, the victims of censorship are missing out on some really great literature.
Work Cited
Aliprandini, Michael, and Sprauge, Carolyn. "Banning Books: An Overview." Points of View: Banning Books (2009): 1. Points of View Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 4 Nov. 2010. "Banned Books Week: The Stories Behind the Bannings and Challenges." American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. Web. 30 Nov. 2010.
Doyle, Robert. "Banned And/or Challenged Books from the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century." ALA | Home - American Library Association. American Literature Association, Dec. 2010. Web. 02 Dec. 2010.
Healey, Christina, and Tracey M. DiLascio. "Counterpoint: Book Censorship can be Justified in Some Cases." Points of View: Banning Books (2009): 3. Points of View Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 3 Nov. 2010.
Lang, Susan, and Lang, Paul. Censorship. New York: Franklin Watts, 1993. Print.
Pink Floyd. “Another Brick in the Wall (pt. 2)”. The Wall. 1977.
