Challenged Books: Helpful or Harmful?

As society evolves and changes, so do the topics we write about. This has caused a lot of controversy over the type of topics people can read and write about. Banning books is not a new thing, however, lately, there has been an increase in culture wars that are causing people to attack books that talk about racism, sexuality, gender identity, drugs, suicide, and much more. As of June 2022, about 2,532 books have gotten banned and about 2500 books are getting banned every year. But the prohibition of these kinds of books in libraries, schools, etc, is not beneficial to society because most books that are getting banned are books that are just portraying what children have already been or will be exposed and banning books from libraries or other bookstores doesn’t stop people from reading those types of books or prevent authors from writing about those topics. Real life exposes the “inappropriate” information that books have and most likely (with books being banned), children will learn that information in real life rather than in books. Having these “inappropriate” books” helps children learn about realistic and important topics. In the article “What Students Are Saying About Banning Books From School Libraries”, it states that “Challenging these books is like trying to protect someone from the world. Then instead shoving them in front of something that makes them think, ‘These things will never happen to me.’ It makes them think the world has no struggle or insanely big problems. When in reality it definitely does and they will be directly affected by these problems.” As the author mentioned, banning books with real-life topics makes children think that those topics will never happen to them and that there is no struggle or hardships in life. This leads children to get overwhelmed and directly affected by those problems when they are older because they weren’t taught how to deal with them when they were a child.

Furthermore, in the article “Why we shouldn’t ban books in schools”, it states “Censoring a student’s reading isn’t protecting them, it is just a way to avoid teaching them important lessons. You may be able to censor their reading, but you’ll never be able to censor the reality they’ll face.” This supports my argument that sheltering children and banning books with “inappropriate” topics should not be allowed as those inappropriate books reflect real life. Banned books like “All American Boys”, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, and “The Misfits” all talk about topics such as sexuality, drugs, alcoholism, and suicide. These topics are the reality and sheltering children from this is like putting a blindfold on them and telling them to walk around the fire. They’ll end up walking into it at some point in their lives. Banning books from libraries or other bookstores doesn’t necessarily stop people from reading those types of books or prevent authors from writing about those topics on social media/online. According to the article “You can ban a book, but can you stop teens from finding it online?” in the Washington Post, it states “A book about sexuality or racism might not be allowed in your school, your local library or even your own home. The concepts in that book, deemed too dangerous to young minds by some legislators or parents, are freely available on educational websites and Wikipedia, recapped on social media, and documented in mainstream articles.” This furthers my claim that authors will continue to push their books with “inappropriate” topics towards the public, regardless of the ban on those type of books, as the topics are something everyone should be educated on. People of this society can’t be expected to deal with the real world when they were never taught how to do so.

In addition, according to the website “The Atlantic”, it states “Books have been the targets of bans in America for more than a century. Maus (one of the banned books) is not the first, or the last, casualty of an ideology that, in the name of protecting children, leaves them ignorant of the world as it often is. Maus’s approach has made them some of the most frequently challenged, or outright banned, books in America’s schools; it also makes them perfect examples of what literature is supposed to do.” This proves my point by stating that it doesn’t matter whether they decide to ban books with real life topics, because authors will still continue to write about those topics in order to teach children and students about real life.

The book Maus, which was mentioned in the quote, is a great example of that. Maus: A Survivor’s Tale, is based on a true story about a man named Vladek Spiegelman's experiences during World War 2. He describes the horrors Vladek goes through as a Jewish man living in World War 2 and as a concentration camp survivor. The book got banned because it depicted people hanging, killing kids, and genocide. Although some may say this is too much for children in the 8th grade, which is the age level of the book, that is not true. Not educating children on events that happened in the past, whether good or bad, is leading to something like World War 2 happening again. Letting people read books like Maus make them think about the past and their responsibilities now from a different perspective. All the topics that Maus talks about are the reality of the real world. Keeping books like Maus banned isn’t doing anything for the students other than letting them be uneducated. How does the world expect society to evolve and grow if future generations aren’t able to learn about these topics? Some people may disagree and state that banned books keep children from learning about inappropriate topics and that children should not be exposed to sex, drugs, violence, and other vulgar topics. According to the website ala.org, “The following were the top three reasons cited for challenging materials as reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom: the material was considered to be "sexually explicit" the material contained "offensive language" the materials was "unsuited to any age group". This illustrates that banning books can help protect children from learning about topics they may be “too young” to be exposed too. Families or parents may also be offended by the fact that their children are learning about these topics at a young age. On the contrary, what children don’t learn through books, they will end up being exposed to in real life anyways.

Additionally, the website trojanmessenger.com states that “Banned books usually focus on topics that are realistic, timeless, and important to learn. If students aren't exposed to these topics in schools, they may not be able to gain an awareness of these topics. Students need to have exposure to these tough topics so they don't grow up lacking awareness of the real world”. The evidence here supports my argument that “protecting” children from inappropriate topics only prevent them from learning about real-world situations, which children will be unprepared for because they were sheltered from it their whole lives. Banning books isn’t doing anything but “sheltering” children from what they will have to face at some point in their lives. The topics that are getting books banned just reflect the reality of the world. We don’t live in a nirvana where issues like suicide, drugs, sex, etc. don’t exist. If you want your children our future children to succeed in this world, then consider what I am stating with your whole heart. You might be able to ban books, but you’ll never be able to ban the things children will face in the world.