The Truth About Banned Books
A banned book is a literary work that was challenged and then deemed appropriate to ban, banning books is a form of censorship from legal, religious, and moral motives. In 1982 the first book was banned, Thomas Morton’s New English Canaan which was published in 1637. New English Canaan was banned for having a great show of religion but no humanity. Some banned books are To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Lord Of The Flies by William Golding, James and The Giant Peach by Roald Dahl, and even Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White.
Charlotte’s Web was banned in Kansas in 2006 due to having unnatural talking animals and how the spider dying was inappropriate for a children’s book.
“I think that decision was made by dense-minded people, Paw Patrol has talking dogs and no one is complaining about that,” stated freshman Grace Grinder.
“The idea of banned books is not a new one historically, but it’s and oppressive one. While I understand there could be arguments of mature themes for younger audiences. There are still lessons to be learned within every story and those stories deserve to be shared,” said Junior Ashley Jackson. Jackson also commented on the fact that some of her favorite books are The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, all of which are banned. Another she named was the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling which is the most challenged book due to having witchcraft.
“If schools just focused on actually teaching good morals instead of restricting forms of self expression, there shouldn’t be any reason to ban books like these,” Jackson states.
Overall it seems the main consensus on the topic of banned books is that many don’t deserve to be banned and are just forms of self expression.
Faith Harvey is a freshman at Ripon High and this is her first year apart of the Smoke Signal. She wishes to better her writing and improve her photography...