To Kill a Mockingbird. The Hunger Games. The Catcher in the Rye. The Color Purple. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The Kite Runner. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. The Great Gatsby. The Diary of Anne Frank. Harry Potter.
These are just a handful of the books that have been challenged or banned in schools and libraries in recent years. For many people around the world, these books are integral to the experience of growing-up. They are literary milestones, and some of the first texts from which we learn the joy of reading.
But not everyone sees it this way. These books have been banned because they are seen by many in society as offensive. The reasons range from being sexually explicit or using offensive language, to being violent, anti-family, or even satanic. Although this might seem absurd to those who have read and loved these books, many children and teenagers are forbidden access to these texts precisely for these supposed dangers.
Many governments exercise some amount of control over publications in their countries, but censorship is of course more widespread in some places than others. Banning books from schools is a widespread practice in the US and has led to the creation of a Banned Books Week, which takes place during the last week of September every year. This event sets out to celebrate the freedom to read, and to highlight the value of open access to information. The event was launched in 1982 as a response to the increasingly high number of challenges to books in schools, libraries and bookstores. According to the American Library Association, more than 11,300 books have been challenged since the event was initiated.
For the last two years the number one spot on the list of most challenged books in America has been occupied by Dav Pilkey’s hugely popular “The Adventures of Captain Underpants” series. The books follow two fourth-graders and Captain Underpants, a superhero who accidentally becomes real when the two boys hypnotize their principal. Despite their popularity, the books have been banned in many schools for use of offensive language, unsuitability to age group, violence as well as encouraging children to disobey authority. In an interview last week, Pilkey said:
“My goal with Captain Underpants is to make kids laugh and to give children (and especially reluctant readers) a positive experience with reading at a crucial time in their development (ages 7 to 10). Children in this age group who hate to read are in great danger of becoming functionally illiterate adults. So when a child connects to a book — even if it’s a book that we as adults might not care for — it’s a BIG DEAL!”
In an age where reading competes with so many other novelties for children’s attention, the banning of books they do enjoy is effectively cutting them off from this world. Censorship means that children don’t get to experience new and interesting concepts through reading. Reading offers children the invaluable opportunity to form their own opinions and conclusions on a variety of issues. Many books which are often banned are forbidden precisely because they explore themes which children may not have encountered before. Challenges to these books come from parents and other authority figures who feel the need to protect their children from dangerous ideas, or material which may change the way they see the world. This is exactly the purpose of these books, and is why we should encourage them! Reading about issues such as racism and sexuality is of paramount importance for children and for teenagers.
By forbidding these books, these issues become taboo, and alienate children who really do deal with them day to day. Why should a child who deals with racism or any other issue considered unsuitable for their age be prevented access to a book which deals with such issues? The extent of children’s knowledge about the world is too often underestimated. Why should we prohibit books which explore real life themes that they may well deal with some day, or maybe even deal with currently?
Unfortunately the real world isn’t censored. We cannot shelter children and teenagers against controversial or dangerous issues in society. Instead we must teach them how to think and deal with these problems for themselves. As for prohibiting books for dealing with sexuality, how else are teenagers to realise that others go through the same changes they are experiencing? One of the most comforting things while growing up is reading about characters who feel as you do, and who are experiencing changes just as you are.
The issues these books deal with – sexual abuse, racial slurs, violence– if children cannot learn about these problems through reading, then how? What better way to learn than through the eyes of a character who deals with them first-hand? What better way to learn about racism than through the eyes of Scout, struggling with her to understand the prejudices of society in To Kill a Mockingbird? What better way to understand the injustices faced by many young girls at the hands of men than through Celie’s voice in The Color Purple? Instead of worrying that children will be exposed to dangerous issues, we should celebrate books that introduce them to reality in mature and relatable ways.
Fortunately, the act of banning books often inspires the unintended consequence of attracting enormous interest in the material. Known as the Streisand effect (named after American entertainer Barbara Streisand, whose attempt to suppress photographs of her home in California resulted in further publicity of it), censoring books naturally sparks curiosity in the forbidden texts, and this is how many of these books have become so popular and well-known. The most talked-about books are more often than not the ones that deal with controversial topics. This is why reading is so rewarding. It allows us access to other ideas and thoughts which can often be revolutionary. Banned Books Week celebrates this fact by reminding us all how crucial it is to have choice when we read, and how we should try our best to give the young in our society this choice too.
According to Oscar Wilde “The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.” This week I encourage you to pick up one of these immoral books and celebrate your right to read.
