Book Banning
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Book Banning has existed in America since colonial times, when legislatures and royal governors enacted laws against blasphemy and seditious libel. Legislatures in the early American republic passed laws against obscenity. Though freedom of the press has grown significantly over the course of the twentieth century, book banning and related forms of censorship have persisted due to cyclical concerns about affronts to cultural, political, moral, and religious belief.
Drugs, sex, and profanity are daily topics for todays society. Students around the world are faced with all these topics everyday. Why ban books that could help students understand more of the situations that they will have to deal with in life. Sometimes it is hard to talk to parents, so books are an outlet for some teens in the nation. Banning this type of text is unethical, but yet still happening. A good example of this type of text is Ask Alice, a girls diary that was released as a book. In this book she discusses her struggles with drugs and sex. Although she shared her story as a cry for help, she eventually died from a drug overdose. This book would help teens think twice about their actions and life, but yet they can never experience it because it is banned for its sexual and drug abuse context.
One of the most challenging books of the twenty-first century is the Harry Potter series. J.K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter, started the series in 2000. Harry Potter is a book series about seven years of a young wizards life. This book is detested because of the witchcraft and adventure. These books have sold million of copies world wide. Not only is it a New-York Best Seller, there are even essay contests on how Harry Potter Books have changed peoples lives. Tyler Walton wrote that the series helped him through his leukemia treatments. Another contest named Ashley, wrote that the series helped her cope with the constant change of different foster cares. She believed that her and Harry Potter have a lot of copy, such as they both have horrible scars to remind them of their past. Something that is so inspirational, why is it so frequently challenged? Macbeth, written in the eighteenth century is taught nation wide. Shakespeare, the author, wrote of a man that was told prophecies and acted on them through a wide variety adventures, including in his death. This story is yet not as inspirational as the Harry Potter series and almost impossible to read without side notes. These two tolerably stories are the same in context, but yet one is banned and one is taught nation wide as an example of great literature.