Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Banned Books

Photo Cred: The Daily Dot
All right so today is the day in which I tackle, or attempt to anyway, Banned Books. I have to tell you this list is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read! For those of you that are unfamiliar with this topic the Banned Book List is a compiling of different literary materials that include all genres of literature; from to fiction to non-fiction, biographies and fairytales, and everything in between! Some of the more notable additions to this list include, but not limited to, The Bible, The Diary of Anne Frank, Of Mice and Men, The Communist Manifesto, Catcher in the Rye, and many others.

In truth there isn't even one Banned Books list, there are in fact several and they all have variations to them. But there are several novels on each list that are considered classics that always seem to make the cut. Now I attended a private Catholic high school and grade school and guess what every English /Lit teacher I ever had always seemed to be teaching us books from this list. I read Catcher in the Rye sophomore year of high school, Of Mice and Men we did my freshman year, not to mention the Canterbury Tales!

These classics that are considered offensive or including inappropriate materials or topics are some of the better written books. They're classics for a reason and cover topics that should be discussed and studied freely. I truly enjoyed Of Mice and Men when I was a freshman, it was a well-written piece of literature that I'm glad I was given the opportunity to study in a classroom setting. Because literature affects each person in their own individual way and studying/discussing books as a group gives you the chance to open up your mind to different perspectives and ideas.

The Banned Books list has always been a source of amusement and annoyance in my world. As an avid reader and writer I constantly struggle with my stance on banned books or restricted reading materials. While I do think that age ratings, much like a movie rating, are a good thing I never understood the point of trying to ban something simply because one small group was in some way offended.

But really, have we gotten to the point in society where even a free giveaway must be policed because, again, one small sect disapproves of the materials being given away. In a generation where texting, emailing, Netflix, TV, computers it's become a rarity that anyone just sits down and reads anymore. Why read the book when the movie is just around the corner? So when someone finds something they want to read, want to lose themselves in I think that's something that should be celebrated!

So yes a school can limit what they want to expose their students to, maybe it's not appropriate for the age group or goes against their beliefs and principles. But how can parents try to limit a business from giving items away? No one is forcing your kids to take the free item, no one forces anyone to take the item. It's a giveaway and it is solely the individual person's choice to take it or walk right on by, that choice is something no one else has the right to take away.

***Read more at: The Daily Dot***

No comments:

Post a Comment