Ahin

1/25/19
B Block

Should Books Be Banned? What is the answer?

Once, Stephen Chbosky said, “Banning books gives us silence when we need

speech. It closes our ears when we need to listen. It makes us blind when we need sight.”

Stephen Chbosky is the author of a popular young adult novel: “The Perks of Being a

Wallflower,” which happens to be pretty high up on the list of 100 most banned books

from the early 2000s. Like many other writers, he has been tormented for writing books

that go against what many say is morally correct. But who are we to know what is right

from wrong? The belief that banning and challenging books will help shelter children

from being exposed to inappropriate content and making bad decisions later on goes right

back to censorship, a concept that has an innocent cover, but a murky inside. The idea of

protection is powerful, and in some cases, necessary. But when we take away books,

especially ones that bring up meaningful ideas, are we really protecting anyone? When

someone is so secluded from the world around them, how will they survive when facing

those struggles? Books can give us an inside look into the world without directly being

thrown into it. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green should not be banned from middle

school libraries because it introduces influential role models, informs of problems in the

real world, and because everyone has the right to read and write anything they wish.

Some may argue that The Fault In Our Stars is inappropriate for middle school

readers, seeing that it has explicit language and suicidal ideas. As an example, Augustus

comments, “What an a**clown,”(205) when he and Hazel recall a fight that they had

with an author that was - according to Hazel - being a “doucheface”(195). It is a valid

argument that children -- or middle schoolers - should not be exposed to such explicit
language at their age, but by that time, most kids know these swears. Removing books

because of profanity is not going to help anyone. Neither is taking away books that

introduce difficult topics such as suicide. When Augustus’s cancer seizes him again, it is

not as generous as the first time. It quickly progresses into a critical situation, leaving

Augustus fighting for his life. One day, Hazel finds him in his car reduced to a small,

pitiful creature, with vomit all over him and unable to move. He is deeply humiliated and

furious at himself for showing weakness and mutters, “I hate myself I hate myself I hate

this I hate this I disgust myself I hate it I hate it I hate it just let me f**cking die”(245). It

is true that these topics are sometimes disturbing and depressing, but it is better to learn

these topics from books than in real life. What is better, getting raped because of a small

mistake or reading about someone who gets raped and taking precautions so the same

thing will not happen? Taking away books will end up hurting the children that everyone

is trying to protect.

Also, The Fault In Our Stars contains important role models who will help the

reader develop the skills to overcome life’s obstacles. Hazel, the main protagonist of the

story, is constantly treated with kid gloves due to the weakness in her lungs. Incapable of

participating in the broad world around her, she chooses to isolate herself. In the

beginning, she “...rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same

book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time

thinking about death”(3). It isn’t until she meets Augustus Waters, the love of her life,

that she realizes the importance of making her life worth living by experiencing it with

others. Hazel is easily the role model for escaping isolation. Augustus Waters, on the

other hand, is a cheery and optimistic person, but he still has his own demons. His lost leg
is a scar from his cancer, osteosarcoma. Towards the end of the book, he represents

someone unlucky enough to get a sudden recurrence of their cancer. But still, he struggles

to remain independent while flailing against his mortality, yelling, “BECAUSE IT IS MY

LIFE, MOM. IT BELONGS TO ME”(139) when his mom tries to stop him from going to

Amsterdam with Hazel to meet her favorite author. He shows readers that they are the

ones who choose their own path, that their life is rightfully theirs to live. Finally, Isaac,

who is a close friend of theirs, also is a cancer survivor. His scar is more conspicuous

than Augustus’s prosthetic leg. Because of cancer, both his eyes were cut out. Unable to

handle the emotional distress, his girlfriend(or ex-girlfriend), Monica, cuts him out of her

life. Normally, when that happens, people’s view of themselves, if not at that instant,

gradually changes to think that they aren’t good enough, but Isaac does not let it get to his

head(the fact that he cannot see himself probably helps). Rather than moping around, he

goes ahead and eggs Monica’s car. Isaac represents someone who doesn’t let life bring

him down and instead becomes stronger. Each of these characters symbolize not only

very different experiences, but dramatically different ways to face those experiences,

which will help the reader be more resilient towards the challenges inevitably faced in

life.

While the book contains role models, it also raises awareness of modern world

problems. The world isn’t really a peaceful, dandy place to live. For every beauty and

wonder, there is always a horror, and The Fault In Our Stars gives us a brief view of the

true nature of the world. After reading An Imperial Affliction, a book that Hazel

recommended to Augustus, he says, “That’s part of what I like about the book in some

ways. You die in the middle of your life, in the middle of a sentence”(67). Like An
Imperial Affliction, The Fault In Our Stars shows an honest portrayal on death. Unlike

other novels, there are not any sugar-coated events meant to diffuse any offence that it

might have caused, and instead it shows the raw essence of what death really

is. Furthermore, The Fault In Our Stars also reveals what people diagnosed with cancer

suffer with vivid descriptions and recaps from the characters’ memories. For example,

Augustus’s ex-girlfriend Caroline had a brain tumor. It wasn’t just any brain tumor, it

was one of the kind that twisted amiable, ordinary people into monsters. According to

him, as it got worse every day, “she’d just repeat the same stories and laugh at her own

comments even if she’d already said the same thing a hundred times a day. Like, she

made the same joke over and over again for weeks: ‘Gus has great legs. I mean leg’ And

then she would just laugh like a maniac”(175-176). Eventually, the tumor engulfed her

and broke her mind, making her lose her sanity. While not all brain tumors are this

disturbing, it is frightening to know that some can be. Even if they do not suffer from

such a disease, readers acquire a strong appreciation for what they have, and view the

obstacles they face as less complex to overcome. The Fault In Our Stars humanizes a

seemingly impossible experience that is usually beyond their understanding, enabling

them to see those around them who suffer as more than just victims. It presents harsh

realities, but readers will come away with a safe glimpse of the world’s misery.

Most importantly, citizens of America should be able to read and write whatever

they want. George Orwell, the author of Animal Farm, states, “If liberty means anything

at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear”. As a matter of fact,

it is only the public that prevents authors from sharing their ideas and opinions with the

world. Any form of literature is a representation, a claim of freedom. By taking away

books, the authors’ freedom of speech is taken away as well. While it is important to

distinguish between the kind of censorship that people voluntarily impose upon

themselves and the censorships that can sometimes be forced upon by pressure groups,

the results of those restrictions are exactly the same. The question here can be answered

in different ways depending on the way it is asked. For example, if an intellectual is

asked: ‘Does every opinion, however foolish, however hated, even, deserve a hearing?’,

they will most likely say yes. But if asked: ‘How about an attack on John Green? Does

that deserve to be heard?’, the answer will most likely be no. In that case, the current

belief is challenged, and so the freedom of speech lapses. But then again, there will never

be true freedom, whether it is the freedom of speech, freedom of action, or any other

freedom that affects human rights. Instead of tightening the limits of ideas, people should

strive to make them as wide as possible, to accumulate as much knowledge as they can,

so they can reach up to their full potential and be a better person. All in all, they should

be able to express their free speech rights and have access to anything they desire.

In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the protagonist, Guy Montag, says: “There

must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning

house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing”. Montag lives in a

society where books are burned because the content might tarnish the systematic society

in which the people lived. But Guy Montag did more than just live in it. He is one of the

firefighters that actually burn the books. Then, one day, Montag goes into a house where

a woman will not leave her books. She will not leave, even though her whole house is

about to be burned down. The question he asks himself is, why would a woman risk her

life for a bunch of books? Why are books so important? To us, what are books? The
answer is that books symbolize the power of imagination and the freedom to think and

discuss ideas, both positive and negative. They signify so much more than just shelf

adornment or a prop to appear smart. They are potential instruments of liberation from

customary prejudice. But above all, books are a door to another world. They are a portal

to another experience, another view of life. There are infinite possibilities in the realm of

books. Throwing all of that away just because of a little violence, profanity, and sexual

content would be a huge waste, seeing that all those things will eventually be learned

later in life. In the end, your efforts to protect your child might end up being what kills

them.

Stop banning books. It will harm more lives than it saves.

 Date: 1/16/19

NEVER BAN BOOKS

Books are a major part of our history. The idea of banning or challenging

books due to profane language, sexual behavior, religious issues, or challenging

is not right and it is very unjust. Parents have been going on and on about what

books they want to ban just so their own kids won’t have access to them.

Although many parents have the same view, banning books for all readers

causes students to miss out on mature topics that they might need to learn about

as they get older. Reading about these topics is great for students because these

challenges could come their way. These ignorant parents need to learn ways of

stopping their own kids from reading books that might be too challenging for

them. It is the parents’ responsibility to figure out what books their kids should

and should not read. I believe that no books should ever be banned including

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green even though they might have lots of

mature content for many readers.

First, books should not be banned due to the sexual content. The Fault In

Our Stars by John Green has many scenes that many parents would not find

appropriate for their children to read, such as, “His hand reached for her boob

over her shirt and pawed at it, his palm still while his fingers moved around. I

wondered if that felt good”(19). Many young readers going through the same

situation might wonder how to deal with these situations. Some people do not

have full support from their peers and they might need to rely on books in order
to deal with hard situations. Moreover, many readers might believe that they are

the only people in the world going through a certain situation. After reading the

book, readers feel much more calm knowing that others are going through the

same situation as them and they are not alone. This type of sexual content can

really help young readers connect to the characters and get empathy from them.

Furthermore, The Fault In Our Stars should not be banned because it has

many emotional and scary parts that lots of readers can connect to. An important

part in the book that shows what people with cancer go through was,

“Depression is a side effect of dying”(3). Many readers might find this scary but

being scared can be useful since readers will learn from the protagonist’s

mistakes and how depression can influence people in lots of negative ways. In

addition, after reading this book, many readers might think twice about being

depressed since they know it could lead to dying or self-harm. This book shows

the life of a person with cancer and how that eats them from the inside and

outside. Although this is gonna be very emotional for readers, it’s good because

they can be more thankful for being healthy and having all that they have. These

readers can be more thankful for their own life and know that others go through

lots of troubles in life. Overall, after reading emotional stories about other

people’s lives, teens could learn how to deal with their own issues.

Most importantly, I strongly believe that The Fault In Our Stars should not

be banned because it teaches readers many valuable life lessons, such as being

thankful for what you have and being thankful for the health you are given. Every

reader will be very thankful for their life once they read, “Augustus Waters died
eight days after his prefuneral, at Memorial, in the ICU, when the cancer, which

was made of him, finally stopped his heart, which was also made of him” (261).

To emphasize, this part of the book teaches readers that smoking while you have

cancer can trigger it even more which results in your death. A good amount of

cancer in teens is caused by smoking and lots teens have died from it. Teens are

getting addicted to smoking and they die at a very young age. They don’t get to

live their life and reach their goals. This is heartbreaking for the readers and they

learn that drugs and smoking are very harmful for everyone. Therefore, you

should live your life to the fullest because you never know what day can be your

last.

Some people believe that this book should be banned due to sexual and

strong content. A very sexual part in the book is, “There were a lot of condomy

problems that I did not get particularly good look at. No headboards were broken.

No screaming”(207-208). This could make kids want to have sex because it

shows that sex is very calming. Since this book is in a middle school library,

many of the readers might be too young to learn about mature content.

Comparatively, lots of religious parents might not agree with their kids learning

about sex at a young age because this book influences teens to have sex, since

they never know what day is their last.

No matter how mature or strong the content in a book is, books influence

many people’s lives in positive ways. Most readers read books because it is a

way for them to get away from the rest of the world and have some calm time to

themselves. Do not let anyone ban books that could hold lots of valuable
information that many readers will reply on. To summarize, people should be

able to choose what books they want and do not want to read.