BANNED BOOKS
How Books Affect Us
Doniesha Funderburke, Reporter and Photographer
October 27, 2022
A thousand books, several million words, all created by a different author with different storylines, banned. Book banning in schools has reached an all-time high. A banned book is a book that has been removed from a library, classroom, etc. According to the data collected by PEN America, “1,145 books have been banned by school districts across the United States between July 1st, 2021 and March 31st, 2022.” What’s more surprising, though, is the amount of time that authors spend writing award-winning, groundbreaking books for them to get removed from schools. The average person takes six to twelve months writing just one book. That's a year of their lives wasted. Books are used as a way to express how we feel about things happening in the world. They can be used as a way to reveal our life stories, and they can just simply be used as a way to express our imaginations. That shouldn’t be taken away from us within the blink of an eye.
Personally, I love to write. I love to create stories, and I love to read them. I would be heartbroken if my work was trashed because someone disagreed with the way that I spoke, or talked about controversies.
"To Kill A Mockingbird"
By Harper Lee
According to Marshall Libraries, “To Kill a Mockingbird” was banned because of its racial slurs and negative effects on students. Specifically, it was removed from the eighth grade curriculum at Biloxi (MS) Public Schools because of the use of the n-word. I can understand from a parent’s perspective how this may have an effect on their kid, however it's just a part of life. Slurs will always exist. Curse words will always exist. Bad people with bad intentions will always exist. To my way of thinking, the best thing that a parent could do is teach their child about these things and guide them away from them. At some point in their life, they will face these occurrences and they should know how to react.
"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian"
By Sherman Alexie
I remember reading this book in my freshman year with English class. This book follows the main character, Junior, and his life on the Spokane Indian Reservation and his decision to go to an all-white school away from his reservation. It has a series of profanity, sexual references, and allegations of sexual misconduct. This book isn’t just some cruel story that someone came up with thinking that it would make a good book. It is based on a true story. It is something that actually happened. Terrible things happen to good people all the time. They should be able to share their stories and experiences with the world.
"Lord of the Flies"
By William Golding
In my opinion, this book is very interesting. A group of boys get stuck on an island and must figure out a way to survive. This book was banned because of excessive violence and bad language. I will admit, the Lord of the Flies is a very violent and cruel book. The boys have differences and separate into two groups, ultimately leading to several of the boys dying. Although this book is extremely savage, it is still a good book. Parent’s can’t seriously expect their kids to read this book and start acting as they do. It is a book made for the purpose of entertainment. Allow it to entertain them without throwing a fit.