Banning Books Should Be Banned

Books like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, To Kill a Mockingbird, and even the Harry Potter Series have been banned or challenged in towns across America. This may come as a surprise since these books are favorites amongst many as the texts range from educational to simply an enjoyable read. Censorship of books goes back to 360 B.C., but has become more of a problem in recent years. Over 11,300 books have been challenged for their content since 1982 and many people can’t seem to find reason behind it (About). Banning books should be prohibited because banning books creates a curiosity to read questionable literature, violates people’s right to read what they want, and limits exposure to varied messages which allows the reader to understand
The idea of temptation makes books that have been banned seem much more interesting, full of beliefs and conflicts that others don’t want anyone to read. "Seldom is a book successfully banned but sales and circulation always increase as a result of the attempt. Book bannings make as much sense as a parent telling her children in December, "Don't look in the back of the hall closet." You've just advertised the fact that something is there you don't want them to see. This is true for both children and adults"(Trelease). Once a book has been banned by a library or school, students are more likely to read it. When something is frowned upon and banned it gives a student more of an urge to read it because they want to see why people are against it, what beliefs or morals it goes against, this is simply curiosity and a test done by Nancy Weatherman proves so. "‘Just pile them on tables under a sign 'Do Not Touch!' They'll be gone in days." They were”(Trelease). This test proves that when books are seemingly off limits they’re more appealing to the people. In short, people can’t control what others read, books can be found in so many places, which makes banning books from a town entirely close to impossible. Finding the book that has been banned shouldn’t be disapproved of either, if a person feels like the book is going to be educational or
Because there are so many reasons people challenge a book’s content, many more books are getting banned from schools. "Most frequently, books are challenged because they contain profanity or violence, sex or sex education, homosexuality, witchcraft and the occult, "secular humanism" or "new age" philosophies, portrayals of rebellious children, or "politically incorrect," racist or sexist language"(Mullaly). During this time in life, most of these topics are dealt with on a daily basis. Tons of people using drugs or trying to recover from drug use, different forms of sexuality and how the world can be both accepting and not accepting of it. People are around others with different beliefs, religious or otherwise, all the time. "But what's truly obscene is that I know a real girl in the real world who has gone through this. What's obscene is that so do you, even if you're not aware of the specifics. What's obscene is that you know kids who have gone through, and are going through, worse" (Crutcher). People see others facing difficult situations that are often similar to situations that happen in books, especially ones being banned. Sometimes a book is the most comforting thing to a person, if they find a book that perfectly represents the situation they are facing they can feel like they aren’t alone. Banning books doesn’t help a town as much as the