It is true that anyone who cares about a child’s well-being would wish to protect that child from potential harm. If a child were to approach a hot stove, a responsible parent would place him or her at a safe distance from the heat source. Government or special interest groups would not even think to intervene in that scenario. So, why should they arbitrarily decide what is best for my children concerning the books they read?
John Stuart Mill, author of a classic essay entitled On Liberty remarked, “…the peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.”
According to the A.L.A, the Office of Intellectual Freedom has listed the top three reasons for banning or censoring books:
• the material was considered to be “sexually explicit”
• the material contained “offensive language”
• the material was “unsuited to any age group”
These reasons would certainly warrant due cause for censorship with regard to shielding our children from potential cognitive damage at an early age. The debate concerning this issue is not whether or not literature should be censored; rather the real inquiry determines who has the right to censor the offensive literature.
I would then pose this question with regard to book banning or censorship in America: Should certain literary classics become banned or censored in the U.S. due to content which is considered by members of today’s society to be damaging, offensive, and/or controversial? And does this ultimately violate the author’s 1st amendment rights?
I would like to begin by making the following purely opinion-based assessments:
First, banning or censoring literary works should not be dictated by the governing body or general public. Second, parents and teachers should take personal responsibility in previewing literature that may be potentially cognitively damaging to the children before allowing them to read the material. And finally, without the use of fact-based literature, the realistic portrayal of historical events may not be made available to those who might gain better insight into past lifestyles or events through reading. “Many firsthand accounts of the American Civil War were written by men who had fought in it, but few eyewitnesses give us so keen a sense of actual life on the battlefront as the author of The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane, who was born after the war was over” (Kennedy 3). Although images may be considered damaging and harmful to some, others may wish to educate their children through the use of ‘raw’ truth. Even fictional historically-based novels provide slices of historical fact, which is helpful in developing a clearer picture and a better understanding of eras long past. We often learn from the mistakes made by others in hind-sight. Sometimes history is not at all attractive and is often quite repulsive. However, is there any way to improve upon the mistakes of the past if we are not adequately informed while reviewing the details of those errors? Or maybe we could learn a thing or two from past accomplishments as well. Exactly who has the right to make that determination?
I find particular agreement with the American Library Association as the Library Bill of Rights declares, “Librarians and governing bodies should maintain that parents—and only parents—have the right and the responsibility to restrict the access of their children—and only their children—to library resources.” As a mother of two young children (with a son who is a “literary sponge”), I feel that it is my right and responsibility to take the time to preview the literature that my children plan to read. I may not have the opportunity to read each and every book beforehand, but I can perform my own independent research using reliable resources to consider the content of the text. My determination at that point will be predicated upon my desire to “censor” my children’s literature, not according to some organization, government, or group with which I am not even remotely associated or perhaps may not particularly agree with. With regard to a survey I conducted at the privately owned school where I work, the results depicted a unanymous support for the right of parents and teachers to determine censorship where literature is concerned. Some of the additional comments provided by my co-workers are posted in my previous blog.
Books such as Harry Potter, Gone With the Wind, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, The Red Badge of Courage, among many other classic literary works have been challenged by religious organizations and independent groups for years. According to an article by Amanda Cockrell published in the Journal of American Culture, the focus of censorship today has switched from issues regarding sex to the occult. J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, has been accused of indoctrinating children using “Satanism and witchcraft” (Cockrell 2006). Should we keep her from writing simply because some individuals or groups dislike the influence of her stories? How many children who previously loathed reading will pick up a Harry Potter book and perhaps gain a new appreciation for a seemingly endangered pastime? What happened to J.K. Rowling’s First Amendment rights? What happened to my right to determine whether or not my children may be exposed to her creative musings? My children are well grounded in religion and I have no concerns whatsoever that due to the writings of J.K. Rowling they will go out and join the occult. Afterall, it is purely fiction!
I would like to locate more evidence to substantiate the opposing argument to this issue as there is seemingly very little to be had. Perhaps there is more to consider regarding the censorship process that I am not privy to or currently aware of. I am open to gaining further insight into the reason behind this ongoing heated debate. I would invite all to issue any response, concerning agreement or disagreement, to my remarks in order to facilitate a continuing provocative debate concerning my topic inquiry.
Works Cited
American Library Association. “About Banned & Challenged Books” 2009. http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/aboutbannedbooks/index.cfm
American Library Association. “Library Bill of Rights” (1996). http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/statementspols/statementsif/librarybillrights.cfm
Cockrell, Amanda. “Harry Potter and the Witch Hunters: A Social Context for the Attacks on Harry Potter” The Journal of American Cultures; March 2006.
Kennedy, X.J. and Gioia, Diana. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. New York: Pearson-Longman, 2007. 3
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23 comments:
Well Lisa, you did a great job! I had no idea that censorship of literature has been such an issue. I can see how the topic would be challenging to research but what you found went very well with your opinions. And what opinions! Seriously, I can only agree with you. Harry Potter got and kept kids reading, and I know of a boy who claims to have read every book twice. I believe him. When something rises above the rest making such an impact and can boast of staying power, even if an old classic with tinges of racism and the very things I despise in our world, you found the bottom line: the censorship position belongs with parents. If you're old enough not to need your parents' permission, you're old enough to read whatever you want. If we're truly concerned about what children are exposed to, there's always the television to pick on... ;)
I've always had a problem with book banning & censorship. Too many people (including the government) would like to choose what's best for "everyone". Well, I don't fit into the "everyone" catagory! I believe people should be able to read and watch what they want. If a certain person is unconfortable with what my kids or I read, then they shouldn't read it, but that doesn't give them the right to choose for others. I agree with Margaret, if a kid wants to read a book-that's a good thing!
Thanks for the support, Margaret! Your comments are right on with my personal beliefs. This was only difficult to research due to the fact that there was such an overwhelming amount of information regarding First Amendment rights and the right of parents to provide adequate censorship. The groups who support book banning and forced censorship feel just as strongly, but seem to have very little support here in America. Thanks for your response!
I think you had some wonderful points. What some may deem unsuitable, others may not see any problem with. Parents should be the sole decider as to what is and isn't appropriate for children to read. There are always going to be issues when a few people try to speak for everybody.
As a fan of the Harry Potter series, I find it somewhat humorous that people had attempted to have it banned in the past. Why not ban every other story that incorporated witchcraft into it's plot, like Lord of the Rings or the Chronicles of Narnia? The reason nobody had a problem with these two series is because both claimed to have a "Christian" message, but that is the, esentially, the only main difference between those stories and the Harry Potter series. Also, what about the classic Disney films, such as Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, and Aladdin, (all of which are fairy tales) which all contain some being who possesses magical powers. This is exactly the reason why the responsibility of "censorship" should be left up to the parents, who like you said should only be deciding for their own children.
Tonya~ Thanks for your comments as well! There are many books out there that may not be considered "appropriate" for some, but simply provide others with a reading opportunity. You are so right that a child's desire to read is always a good thing. The fact that children engage in reading is what's most important. I appreciate your support with my inquiry.
Janesse~ I am happy to see another Harry Potter fan come to J.K. Rowling's defense. Your point about the Narnia series and the Lord of the Rings books is insightful. My son has read all of these numerous times and he has taken nothing negative from either story. He also understands that these are PURELY fiction. People need to give kids more credit! Thank you for your comments! :o)
Very well written Lisa. I agree that there is a need for some sensorship and regulation, and I am glad that you didn't say that there should be none of that. But as you mentioned, the right and responsibilty to regulate what s=children read should lie with the parents of those children.
There has been quite a hot button debate about some books, particularly Harry Potter. I remember hearing not too long ago about a book burning that a religious group help where they burned J.K. Rowlings' books. I was appalled!! Regardless of content it is terrible to burn books like that. I don't agree with the content of PLayboy magazine, but I am not going to have a burning party. I will show my opinion of the content by not reading it, and by not allowing my children to read it. That is definitely the best way to handle it. Well done.
I agree with you. As a mother of three small children I feel I know what is best for them. That goes along with what is right for them to read.
I enjoyed reading your post! I agree with everyone else in saying that parents should be the ones to censor books from their children, not government censoring books from the public. I, too, remembering hearing about the "problem" with the Harry Potter series, which I find absolutely ridiculous. If a parent doesn't want their child to read a book, then it's simple: don't let your child read the book. There's no sense in banning something as hugely popular as J.K. Rowling's books just because a few people have a problem with them- obviously, the majority don't (and even if they weren't as popular as they are, what would be the point in banning them?).
Thanks Danny...I never thought about this issue regarding magazine content, but that is a great point! I would never subscribe to offensive publications or allow my children to either; but like you, I make my point by not buying the garbage. I really appreciate your comments.
Amanda and Patricia~ I appreciate your comments as well. We parents all seem to feel very strongly about this issue. Even though we recognize inappropriate literature,
we would definitely wish to make that determination on our own for our children. Harry Potter is a great example of ludicrous censorship as many children finally re-engaged themselves with a desire to read as a result of these novels.
Professor Knowles made a good point as she reviewed my Blog Party evidence collection a few weeks ago. She noted that even the Holy Bible was at times on the banned book list. Interesting...
Thank you for participating in my Blog Party!!!
Hi, Lisa. Thanks for your thoughtful presentation of information. I agree that it's difficult to find support for the opposing side, perhaps because I don't share those views and am not on the right listservs! There are two points I can add from my own experience:
1) African and African-Americans sometimes speak out against the routine assignment of books that include racist depictions of Africans and African-Americans because they believe schools are condoning racism by treating such books as great literature. Two targets of these attacks are Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. Personally, I believe these books have anti-racist qualities that make them impressive for their time periods, but I also am disturbed when they are assigned without consideration of the racism depicted. The choice of teachers and schools to assign or not assign books is not banning, yet it can have the same effect because assigning books directs money to publishers who keep those books in print. Not assigning books can mean that books go out of print, which makes them harder to find. I believe we need to learn from our history, so we need to read these books, yet there may be other books, such as Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart that can teach anti-racism better and perhaps our money might be better directed there. (Achebe is one of the Africans who criticize the assignment of Conrad.)
2) As a parent of a six-year-old daughter, I have been censoring her reading and viewing since birth, despite my own freedom-of-speech inclinations. I think our culture employs fear to sell products, particularly fear related to body image, which is detrimental to girls. So, we don't have cable to avoid advertising, my husband and I generally preview any movies we show her, and we don't buy any books or clothing that use girls' and women's bodies as a marketing tool, such as Barbie and Hannah Montana (although she has a couple Barbies as a result of gifts). What makes me cringe is when these things appear in her classroom. I guess I expect her teacher to be aware of the problem. But I don't attempt to control her classroom experience. Eventually, my daughter will need to be exposed to these issues so that she can understand and deal with them.
There is a scene in Margaret Atwood's novel Handmaid's Tale where the main character's feminist mother takes her to a burning of pornography. I think this scene indicates the danger of censorship. Regardless of the reason, whether to keep out pornography or the occult (liberal or conservative), censorship contributes to an oppressive society that oversteps the boundaries of responsibility to one another and curtails the freedoms that keep us free. Iran is a good example of this problem. During the revolution, the liberals and the fundamentalists joined forces to oust the Shah. Both wanted a more moral society but for different reasons. What they got is a society that controls dissent by banning freedom of speech and sentences to death people who lead protests against the government. Nancy
Lisa-
What really can I say it looks like you have gotten just about everything covered in your paper and from all the comments. It was a very interesting read. To be completely honest with you I really had never even thought about censorship on books, movies yes, but never books. It makes sense to me that they would try to control books also but it never crossed my mind until reading your post. It gave me a lot to think about. I agree that we need some restrictions but we need to be able to make our own choices on what we read too. If they made ratings on books like movies have it would be easier to know what you were going to read and keep them away from children.
Very good job, thanks for the info and food for thought.
I am of two minds on the censorship issue. I do not agree that censorship should ever be sanctioned by the government, or even a community for that matter. I prefer educating people on the content, and authors purpose of writing so that they may make their own decisions about objetionable material. i was amazed at the controversy we had in out town over the production of a play with adult content to be produced by the high school drama class. i spoke with a friend who agrreed the play should be banned. when i asked if they had read the play their responce was no. they were still adamant about the ban. this is one of the dangers associated with the uneducated making dicisions about education.
education, constuctive solutions, and compromise are the only way to safly deal with censorship issues.
Nancy~ I strongly agree with you concerning the idea that sometimes literature deemed to have "racist" qualities actually promotes the opposite view. People have a tendency to resist the unkown simply because someone else expresses opposition. We joke at work constantly that people are "sheep." They also call me the "research queen" because I like to thoroughly research information before I open my mouth about it. Otherwise, I abstain from issuing comments.
Rob~ You helped make my previous point with your example of the play that sparked so much controversy where you live. It is ridiculous that someone could make a judgement on something they never even read. Thank you for that story! Perhaps those who jump to make assumptions without doing the homework to back up their conclusions should alter their methods of judgement.
Carmen~ What a great idea to place ratings on books! I never thought of that. As a parent I appreciate the ratings placed on movies and video games. It is helpful in determining which movie or game I will do further research into before allowing my children to "partake." I'll admit that some ratings can be deceptive, but I believe that's where our rights and responsibilities as parents come into play.
Thank you all for your thoughtful comments! This was a great topic to research and discuss. ~Lisa
I really enjoyed reading your Blog Party Inquiry. I completely agree with your opinion that the books students read need to be censored by the parents and not the government. Each parent is different while some may feel government restrictions are too much or too little.--I am abit suprised also about the Harry Potter ban attempt.
Good job on your post! This is a great topic, by the way, and one that of course will get a LOT of people thinking and responding. I am an actor and a director, and I've been doing theatre for the past 20 years. Censorship has been a source of controversy there from time to time, as you can imagine, and I am reminded of the drama (pun intended) that was caused just last spring by censorship of a play being put on by the high school. Once the play was finally performed (at EOU because religious groups in La Grande made a fuss and got it banned from the high school) the majority of the audience said they didn't see a valid reason for banning it. Many said they enjoyed it, and it made a LOT of money for the community. Imagine if it hadn't been performed...
As far as books are concerned, I agree with you entirely that it should be up to the parents to decide what their children do and don't read. Same goes for movies and TV shows and videogames and music. The image that I always see when anyone tries to say that the government has any place in censoring literature is Nazi book-burnings.
To answer your questions, No and Yes; No, classics should not be banned, and yes, it would be a violation of free speech.
We have become a society of hyper-protection of our youth. The least of our worries should be that a child might read a classic that contains some sexual content. They probably wouldn't be able to grasp the entire meaning anyway.
Can you imagine if all pregnant women had to hide for fear that a child might ask, "hey lady, how'd ya get that big belly?" Oh, that darn stork!!
Lacie~ Thank you for the support on my Blog Party conclusions. I think many people were surprised about the Harry Potter attempted ban. That information is thanks to Professor Knowles. She sent me a great article from which I gathered the information on that particular subject.
Seth~ I figured you may have some good insight into banning and censorship with regards to literature and plays since you are the expert actor/producer among us. I appreciate your input, as always. Sometimes people need to check into things a bit more before believing everything they hear. My husband and I still insist on previewing anything questionable before allowing our kids to view or read the material in question. Many times we find that objections by others are unfounded. Other times we find our own objections where others did not. I appreciate your comments!
Janet~ What a clever analogy for censorship! There was a time in our world when pregnancy was not spoken of or made known in public. I guess it was an "out of sight out of mind" sort of concept. I wonder if many young girls entered marriage (usually at a very young age) not knowing how pregnancy occurs. It was a different time with different social rules, for sure! Thank you for your comments as well.
Hi Lisa, I am with you 100%. I believe that it is the parents and the teachers right and obligation to ensure that our children are reading responsible material. There are some books that I would never allow my children to read based on their ages. I do not feel that they should be reading murder mysteries for example, even if they were based on true stories. Some things should stay out of their minds for as long as possible so that they are ensured a happy and healthy well-being. As a child it is important for them to read. When my oldest was 14 or 15 she was reading Gone With the Wind and actually persuaded me to read it. I didn't find anything wrong with her reading that particular novel. She is a very mature and bright young woman. I think that you also have to take that into consideration when allowing your child to choose books. Only the parents are going to know if their child is mature enough to handle reading certain content. Kuddos on your Blog! Shellye
I really enjoyed your paper. I also did mine on banning/censoring. I am neutral on the topic myself but as I can see from your comments and the comments on my blog most people strongly disagree with it. I understand most of the points made but at the same time wonder if the is anyway to please both party's? As most people have stated it should be the parents choice so, what if a book is assigned in school to be read and a book report done on it and the parent does not want their child to read the book would this take away from child. he may be assigned a different assignment but he would not be able to participate in the class discussion the reading of the reports, ect.
Shellye~ Thank you for your comments. I too have recently introduced my daughter to Gone With the Wind! It is indeed a classic well worth experiencing. As I mentioned in my post, I feel that often we can relate to true history through accurately written historical fiction. I want to shield my children from profane language and alarming mentally destructive images, but not from historical fact with regard to important issues. I appreciate your input.
Sami~ I appreciate your comments as well. You posed a great question that I recently discussed with Professor Knowles with regard to assigned literature by teachers. She and I seem to agree that if a parent voices opposition to an assigned reading for whatever reason, there would be optional replacement assignments available. It is a parent's right to oppose anything that may conflict with their personal beliefs. Thanks again for your participation with my Blog Party.
I whole heartedly agree with your idea that banning/censorship lies on the responsibility of the parent of a child; however, today's society doesn't always prove as responsible as one would hope. There are plenty of parents out there who unlike you, have absolutely no idea what their children are doing, reading, watching, or experiencing for that matter. Now, you could argue that if the parents don't care if their children are exposed to such things, then nobody else should either, but the truth of the matter is that such apathy could lead to further corruption, crime, or immorality--especially in a society which clearly isn't monitoring it's youth closely. Now I'm not saying we should start tearing books of shelves or burning down our libraries, because honestly I don't think that would do much at all. I do, however, think that perhaps books should have ratings, like the ones put on movies in order to expose it's bad content ahead of time. There could even perhaps be an age limit for purchasing/borrowing books with highly questionable content. Words can be just as powerful as pictures, and I have even found myself skipping through offensive pages of books I have read. Anyway, my point is not to attack your stance, but to add to it. I definitely agree that banning anything is a big mistake, and your comparison to Harry Potter and such is a fine example! Look at all the great readers that very series has developed in a tv-consumed world. Well done. :)
I have to agree with you that it is the parents responsibility to protect their children from harmful influences such as innapopriate literature. I must ask you though, currently, children find more entertainment in television, movies, video games, and of course the internet. What are your feelings regarding the government censorship of these forms of entertainment. I am not by any means proposing some sort of rating system on literature, just curious if your research drew any similarities between these different forms of expression.
Very good post.
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