The Lovely Bones Should Be Banned Essay

Several school districts have established that The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

shall not be taught in their schools. I oppose their decision to ban the novel. The novel exhibits lessons and teachings that are essential for one to learn in his lifetime. The novel displays concepts such as, young love, limitations of the law, and how an individual death affects a community. Additionally, themes in the novel expose messages including grief is both necessary and debilitating a painful reality, loss is inevitable, and justice is worth striving for even if one thinks he will never achieve it. This novel will help one to understand why people become deviants and murderers as well as acknowledging the importance of paying attention to the living
and the dead. The Lovely Bones should be taught in school districts because naivety can result

in danger.
To lead up to her death, Susie Salmon was lured into an underground fort by George Harvey. Susie was naive, she did not suspect what Mr. Harvey had planned. She was too preoccupied by what Mr. Harvey had stated the underground fort could be. He stated that the fort could be a club house where the kids from school could come and hang out, no adults allowed, or so he declared. The situation is a teaching to the student reading the book. Another reason I think that the novel shall be taught in school is because loss is

inevitable. In the novel, at first, the Salmon family and the community found it difficult to deal with the death of Susie. Time passed, most had expressed their goodbyes or had forgotten about the death. Susieʼs mother, Abigail Salmon, was a flight risk, but Jack Salmon, Susieʼs father could not accept that the demise of his daughter was inevitable. Jack Salmonʼs life was consumed with the thoughts, “What if his daughter is still alive?”

The words “what” and “if” are two benign words, but in collaboration, they have the potential to burden one forever. To students, the theme loss is inevitable instills the acceptance of passing on or away. Young love is a powerful theme in the novel. The novel shall be should be
taught

because young love resonates with most high school students. In the novel, Susie and Ray exhibit young love. While Susie was on earth, she and Ray had not known each other exceptionally well; a few conversations and a sweet kiss. That was all it took for them to remember each other forevermore, even after her death. Students reading the novel may not have lost one dear to them, but many can empathize with the young love that Susie and Ray share. The novel The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold should be taught in school.

Students will learn from and associate with the nonfictional situations the novel exploits. A handful of scenarios in the novel require a high level of maturity to comprehend and appreciate, but nothing a high school student could not manage. Not only can students learn from the situations in the novel, they can correlate with them as well. Additionally, the novel is a page-turner and will keep the reader interested throughout the story of the lovely bones.