ELA Argument essay:

Dear Ms. Berner,

Banning books is an extremely important topic and a situation that needs to be fought against. Numerous schools and libraries have banned books that I believe are important for teenagers and children to read. My peers and I have studied this topic in great depth. I have learned that some parents frown upon books that discuss death or grief and believe they should be banned. For example, The Fault in Our Stars is a book that deals with death and cancer, two very rough topics. Some parents don’t think that children should read about death or cancer at a young age. Therefore, parents put pressure on the school administration to make the decision to ban a book such as The Fault in Our Stars. Parents make a lot of great choices but this is not a choice I believe parents should make for all children at a middle school. The administration should not ban a book because two or three families might disapprove of its content because there might be other families who want their child to read it. I think banning books is wrong and children should have the right to read what they feel is appropriate for them.

I think children should be able to have some say in what books they choose to read. I’ve read The Hunger Games, The Fault in Our Stars, and Of Mice and Men and I loved reading all of these books because I learned something about the world today and about how people interacted in the past. But these books are all banned in different schools around the country. I believe that if a parent does not want his or her child to read a book, that family can make that decision on their own. This way, other students will have the freedom to chose whether they want to read a given book or not. Of Mice and Men is an example of a book that parents and administrations have banned. One reason that was given for the banning of this book is that profanity and crude words were used throughout. Further, some schools objected because of racial slurs such as “the N word”. But to me, the themes of racism and segregation in the story make the book essential to read. Crooks, an African-American who worked in the stables, didn’t have a lot of rights and was treated unfairly. He wasn’t allowed to stick up for himself without being threatened and shunned. Crooks was restricted from all of the activities and games played by the white farmhands while they weren’t working on the ranch. The use of language that was spoken at that time period helps the reader enter into that world and if Steinbeck didn’t include this type of language or the character of Crooks in the book, teenagers wouldn’t learn how intense and brutal it was for a person of color in the US at that time. If people do not read, learn, and understand how people of color were treated in the past, then history will repeat itself. Since this book is banned in some school districts, the children who live there will not be able to learn about our history through literature. Jeffery Miller, English professor states, “John Steinbeck’s writing is taken to offense by many people, causing this book to have a negative impression. I think Of Mice and Men should not be banned, but instead be taught in every school, with responsible and mature teachers.” Of Mice and Men gives children the opportunity to learn about the past and specifically about racism.

Reading is a necessary part of our education. Books teach us about life, about the world, about conflict, friendship, love, hate, power and loss.  I don’t believe any school administration should decide for me, whether a book has value or not. For example, you could pick up a book about a family going through deep hardships and it happens that the main teen character finds out that she is pregnant. Even though this might be frightening to some readers, I would still want to read this book to learn how families work through hardships so that I could understand my own life better.  The character who is deciding whether or not to keep the baby would be another way to underline larger themes of the book. Teen pregnancy is not a reason that a book should be banned and yet it is the reason given in certain areas of the country.  To me, banning books is a way of controlling children’s education and literature. Huffington Post states, “Seemingly any reference to sex, drugs, cursing or homosexuality qualifies a book for "bad" status”.   In life, what if there is a young boy or teenager who is secretly gay and doesn’t feel ready to come out of the closet yet.  Reading a book about other boys who are going through the same situation might help this person. Or maybe reading about characters like him could help him feel more comfortable with being himself. I think reading a book about your sexuality is much better than talking to an adult about it if you are afraid of coming out. The administration doesn’t have the right to ban books that could help children feel happier in their own bodies.

However, there is one good reason why parents might want to keep books from their children – to stop them from getting their hands on books that are not age-appropriate or at grade level.  But it’s my opinion that instead of banning books, teachers could put ‘labels’ on the books. Labels are a way that children and teens can know whether a book is age-appropriate. If the label has the word ‘sex, drugs, and cursing’ on it, then the teen can have a discussion with their parents about whether or not to read the book.  John F. Reed Library gives common reasons for banning books. “Although a book may have been banned or labeled a certain way, it is important that the reader makes his/her own judgments on the book.” I think labeling is good because this way children can choose for themselves and/or with their parents if a book is right for them.

In conclusion, I think banning books is controlling. I think children should be given the opportunity to choose what books they read or don’t read.   People who ban books limit my ability to learn about the world, and therefore are basically taking my education hostage. I think no school or library should ban books.  Instead they can use labels to help children, teenagers and their parents make decisions about what books are out there to read.

Thank you,

Rosetta McKay