Banning Books Essay Example

Teenagers are reading more books than ever now, and some people say that we have Harry Potter to thank. But surrounding teen books is the 'myth' of book banning. Some may think that only old books were banned, and that they are now back on the shelves of schools and libraries around the country. This is not so. Not only have old classics such as The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger been banned, but newer books are being challenged as well. The controversy of book banning stems from the pursuit of knowledge. Though Hitler did many bad things in his lifetime schools still teach about the Holocaust, and yet now parents are requesting that their children do not learn what certain books have to offer in the way of knowledge. But some parents do not stop there. Books are being taken off school shelves, depriving all students instead of just one. Can one person influence a whole school or town? Is this even fair to everyone involved? The answer is no. Book banning should be illegal because reading a book is an individual choice, some books are banned without much thought, and sometimes books are banned without all parties involved reading it.

People recommend books to each other all the time, but reading books is another matter. Sure, a friend may say that a book is good but that doesn't mean that you will read it. But by banning books schools and libraries are taking away the choice to read the book whether it was recommended or not. While some people think that foul language in books is a perfectly logical reason to take them off the shelves not everyone shares this idea. But if libraries and schools only hear one group's side of the story they are more likely to ban the book. The process of banning a book seems at first to be simple. A parent (probably the most common case) goes to their child's school and gets a form with several boxes to check off: "Do not assign this book to my child. Withdraw it from all students as well as my child. Send it back to the