Banned Books

            It’s a young adults right to choice. Parents and Teachers want to ban books because they are afraid that their children will be exposed to things they are not ready for. I just read the book Animal Farm by George Orwell, which is on the banned book list, but I don’t think this book should be banned.  I believe that parents don’t always know what  their children are ready for, and young adults have enough judgment to pick what books are appropriate for them. So that’s why, overall books should not be banned.  

            Parents and teachers ban books because they believe that their children are not ready to be exposed to certain issues. One example is in the book Animal Farm. Parents believe that this book should be banned because it is against the USSR and deals with communism. Parents believe that it was a rough time in our country and young adults don’t need to learn about it yet. Another example is in an article called Darkness too Visible by Meghan Cox Gurdon it says “And there was, she felt’ nothing, not a thing that I could imagine giving my daughter. It was all vampires and suicide and self-mutilation…” this was said by Amy Freeman a mother of a young adult. These two ideas show the reasons why parents and teachers want to ban certain books.

            Other people believe that young adults have a right to choose what they read and need to be exposed to worldwide issues. For example another side on the book Animal Farm is that it does expose young adults to what happened in the world, and it teaches young adults not to make the same mistakes again. Another example is form the article The Banned Books We Have Loved by Jen Doll, it says “From Go Ask Alice we learned that life can go off the rails all too quickly and that drugs should be considered with caution.” And also from the same article, “along with books like Blume’s Are You There God it’s Me, Margaret; it taught us some very crucial information about what was happening to our bodies and how to deal with those changes.” Young adults need to be exposed to these things, and in a book, they can learn the tough lessons without being harmed.

            Though both these argument have valid points, but it’s not the parents job to know what every kid is ready for, and can’t decide that for young adults. From the article, the Banned Books We Have Loved, it says “Instead of shoving the books under the proverbial rug, parents should have a honest conversation with their children.” Parents should ban books, if they feel like the book their children are reading is inappropriate, they can talk to their kid about it, not ban books for everyone.

            Parents are allowed to tell their own children that they are and aren’t allowed to read certain books, but the problem with banning it from schools and libraries is that no one gets to read it. Parents only know what their children are comfortable with, and sometimes not even that. I’m glad that my school hasn’t banned any books, because I know what I am ready for, and things I’m not ready for I didn’t read. For example I knew I was ready for Animal Farm, and it was an amazing book and I’m glad I read it. Parents shouldn’t be allowed to ban books because, they teach people thing and give children enjoyment and a safe place to learn.