Banned books, sometimes called challenged books, are topics I have heard about in schools and in the media (everyone has at least one vivid memory of Banned Books Week in elementary school) but I had never really given much thought to. I have always been an avid reader and I am very lucky that my family have always encouraged that to the highest extent. I have been reading books that are “above my age level” for a lot of my life, and I would guess that a lot of the students in this class have done the same. But, for some students in the country, their access to various books and texts is restricted; schools won’t carry the titles in their libraries, teachers are not allowed to teach the books, and families will keep certain texts away from their children. Arguably, banning books is censorship.
Some of these titles include incredibly culturally relevant and important novels, including To Kill a Mockingbird, The Catcher in the Rye, The Color Purple, and Beloved. Texts with themes or
A stack of books that have all been banned or restricted in various states.
topics surrounding the LGBTQ+ community, racial tensions, violence, sexually explicit themes, religious viewpoints, drug and alcohol use, and a slew of other reasons, according to the Banned Books Week organization, are the most frequently challenged pieces. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, the novel we just finished, was banned for its sexual themes and discussion of abortion, according to the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. Even the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling has been banned in some states for promoting witchcraft, and the use of witchcraft by characters for “nefarious” means.
Many arguments surrounding banned books say that they cover topics that are too “mature” or “controversial” for younger readers. To an extent, I understand. There are topics that need to be treated with a sense of respect and responsibility that some younger children cannot handle. It makes sense that some parents would want to limit their children’s access to books with sexually explicit material or profanity. But, they do this at the expense of creating empathy, sometimes because those making the decisions simply do not “agree” with the topics discussed in the texts. The education that comes through these texts about marginalized communities or societal challenges cannot be replicated elsewhere. For many, these novels could be the start of their understanding of the deeper struggles of different members of our society.
Let’s take a second to analyze the world around us. It’s entirely mature and controversial. No matter how young a child is, they are currently throw into the world of hyper-partisan politics, extreme racial tension, discussions on pressing political issues, and a growing publicity and knowledge of LGBTQ+ community. A lot of younger children can, understandably, be kept away from these things to preserve blissful childhood innocence, but banned books extend to high schools, book stores, and libraries in some cases. This is no longer a question of limiting children’s access to sensitive material, it’s an issue of censorship.
Instead of outright restricting access to certain texts, a monitored consumption of them should be used.
Banned Books Week is an organization dedicated to educating kids on topics of censorship.
When I was in seventh grade, my teacher had a three-tiered orange cart in her room full of young adults and even some adult novels that had more mature themes, but that she thought were particularly enjoyable or impactful. To read these books, you had to get a permission slip signed by a parent or guardian. My parents, who have never limited what I wanted to read, were fine signing the slip. Most notably from that cart, I was introduced on a deeper level to discussions on LGBTQ+ rights and the Stonewall riots, coming right around the time that gay marriage was legalized in the United States. It was through these mature texts that I was learning about the world around me, learning how to be a more compassionate and understanding person. This same experience can be replicated for tons of children by potentially limiting, but not banning their access to certain texts.
It is through the media we consume that we truly begin to understand the world around us. Banning and restricting access to books is limiting viable information from reaching the people as they try to navigate an ever changing political and social landscape. Human beings are naturally clued in to learning from stories; tales of Santa Claus encourage us to be good kids throughout the holiday season, the boogeyman keeps us from venturing out at night. Why, then, is it reasonable to restrict access stories that illustrate the real issues in the world? Books are tools for understanding, and they should be accessible for anyone who wants that access.