Introduction
A topic that is not talked about enough is banned books. Many probably don’t realize what it means to “ban a book,” or why they get banned in the first place. In this article I will explore what it means to ban books, some commonly banned books, and why it is important to read them.
What does it mean to “ban” a book?
“Banning” a book means to remove it from a library because of content some consider to be inappropriate in them. This could be a number of things, including: racial, sexual, and violent content. Most often books are banned within school districts, because of backlash from parents. Despite this, there is no book banned nationwide and most book-bans are left up to the school or school district that controls the library.
What are some commonly banned books?
Here is a list of some familiar books that you probably don’t know have been banned:
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
– These classic books have been challenged before because they contain coarse language and racial stereotypes.
2. Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl
-This book, commonly read when learning about the Holocaust has been banned for mentions of puberty and teenage sexuality.
3. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
-This classic dystopian novel has been banned for containing obscene language, references to smoking and drinking, violence, and certain religious themes. Some also argue this book promotes terrorism.
4. The Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling
– Despite being the best-selling book series ever, these books have been banned for claims of being unsuited to age group, themes of witchcraft, religious viewpoint, anti-family, darkness/scariness/violence, and for setting bad examples to the children reading.
5. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
-The Outsiders has been banned for numerous reasons including: gang violence, the portrayal of underage drinking, violent themes (including murder), and strong language.
This is just five books out of the hundreds, if not thousands of books that have been banned across the country. Among these are books you should be familiar with and might have even read in school. Hopefully this shows you the magnitude of this issue. So what can you do?
Why is it important to read banned books?
Reading banned books is important because of 4 key reasons. The first reason is that it helps stand up against banning them in the first place by showing libraries how important they are. The next reason is that it opens readers up to new and diverse perspectives that they might not be able to access otherwise. Another thing that reading these books does is encourage challenging ideas and let them navigate real-world issues and in some cases get both sides of the story. The last and arguably most important reason to read banned books, is that it fosters empathy by teaching readers about diverse cultures and ways of life, that they probably have never been exposed to before.
