Censorship and English Literature

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the arguments against censorship of literature in the educational system. The author argues that literature allows for the presentation of a wide range of necessary, but sometimes, unpleasant issues, encourages free speech and allows different opinions to be expressed. In this paper's opinion, literature also encourages diversity and is often the students only exposure to different cultures and practices. The author also points out that controversy often encourages dialogue and as a result allows students to form their own, independent ideas. The paper uses examples from different literary works and quotes different educators in order to support these arguments.

From the Paper:

"The reality is that a good work of literature very often is shocking to some extent. A comparison of two literature stories that make the same point will illustrate this. These two stories are "A Secret Sorrow" and "A Sorrowful Woman." These two stories have a lot in common. Both deal with a depressed woman whose husband is trying to help her. The major difference is that in "A Sorrowful Woman" the woman commits suicide and in "A Secret Sorrow" the woman is helped by her husband and gets better. Both of these stories show how important it is to reach out to people. The difference is that "A Sorrowful Woman" shows what happens if you don't and "A Secret Sorrow" shows how the situation can be saved if you do reach out. While both stories have the same overall meaning it is "A Sorrowful Woman" that has the most impact. The shock of the ending makes the point much clearer than a happy ending. I believe this same feature is true of most literature that it is a shock value in a story that makes it effective. I also believe that the world based on television and movies only makes the shock value more important. Consider how many movies have violence in them. Even though violence is not accepted in society, in movies it is common."

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