The Disadvantages of Book Censorship

Paper Summary:

This paper argues that book banning is censorship. It argues that having to explain why a book is inappropriate to a child would be more difficult than to actually sit down and discuss the material presented to make sure it is properly understood. It is depriving a child of an opportunity to do some exploring on his/her own. The paper shows how certain classics, including Mark Twain's classics "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" have been banned over certain periods of time.

From the Paper:

"For example in Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the excessive use of "nigger" is being pointed out as causing self-esteem problems with young black Americans, along with dialect speech as being cited as bad grammar. Racism should not be hidden from children, then (as in the time frame of the story) or now. It is a real issue that still exists and should not be considered taboo. Presenting this book as classroom material is certainly not promoting it, but laying it out for open discussion. This is often something that children do not fully understand until it is too late. Presenting a "rose-colored" view of the world is lying."

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