The Loss of Literary Gold

Censorship in the form of banning books is becoming a bigger issue every year. More books are being banned from school classrooms and libraries with less reasoning. In Melissa Kelly's article “Censorship and Book Banning in America: Taking Stock”, she discusses how the banning of books in schools is becoming more frequent and could have a negative effect on education. She states that education is not to be feared, and gives ideas on how to change curriculum instead of going extreme and banning a book. She poses the question, “Where does it stop?” This is a legitimate question. Book banning is censorship, and it is detrimental to education and society for it to continue skyrocketing as it is now.

The list of banned books is growing, and the reasoning behind certain books is growing in silliness. Kelly gives a short list of books and their reasons for being banned: some of the reasons are good, but it is all in the way a book is understood by an individual. Some have valuable lessons, and are an asset to education. Kelly gives many links to lists and articles on being banned, showing that a wider group of people are seeing it as an issue. There are processes to go through before banning a book, and most books that are banned don’t get this consideration. As Kelly states in her article, “Our county has a group which reads the questionable book and determines whether its educational value exceeds the weight of the objections against it.” This is quite a good idea, and more books should get this consideration. It should not be left up to one parent or school faculty member to decide what books go into curriculum or are banned from the school completely.

How does society know when to stop banning books? It can definitely put a damper on education. Many of the books that are used in curriculum have some sort of lesson or literary importance that is essential to learning. Kelly states, “There are enough hurdles in teaching with which we must deal.” This underlines that book banning is just an extra problem that is deterring students from literary excellence. Just because a book contains what could be touchy material for some, doesn’t mean it should be completely discounted. There are ways around controversial subjects, such as what Kelly suggests in her article, Discuss the controversial issues in the book with the students.” This shows that every book need not be banned because it is controversial to some, and that there are ways around banning a book. Banning books can also be detrimental to society in itself. Censorship is just the start to slowly pulling away free speech and thought. Being able to freely read and enjoy books is necessary to a persons well being, as is shown by Kelly when she says, “But one thing remains certain, I am better for that which I have learned in life.” This underlines the need for education and knowledge, whether it comes from a controversial source or not.

Censoring and banning books is an issue for education and society in general. Education needs the ideas of books, as is stated by Kelly in her article “Censorship and Book Banning in America: Taking Stock.” There are ways around actually banning a book, and it would be better if these procedures are followed. Most books banned have good morals and are crucial to attaining high literacy skills. In the links to articles and lists Kelly gives in her article, it is easy to see that book banning and censorship can not continue to grow and become a larger issue. Nothing will be approved by everyone; but books should not be controlled in such a manner.

         Banned Books and Censorship?
         In the article "Look Out Harry Potter-- Book Banning Heats Up", Dianne Weaver Dunne (the deputy editor of Education World) the topic of book banning is discussed. The article begins by talking about the Harry Potter series of books. It brings to light the views of those who oppose the series as being anti-religion, and why it could possibly be seen this way. The article also shows the other argument: that the books are simply fantasy and have no anti-religious context. Dunne then moves on to talk about censorship in schools and how appropriate it is for teachers or librarians to decide what books are removed. The article touches on the rights of parents to opt their children out of reading an objectionable book. Lastly, Dunne talks about the challenges of banning any sort of media for many different reasons. Dunne uses credible citations in her arguments, with many of her quotes and supports coming from other authors as well as the National Coalition Against Censorship. With a graduate degree in communications and  several jobs under her belt, she utilizes many resources and has a fair sense of credibility to her writings. 

         In her article, Dunne pushes the idea that the Harry Potter series is nothing more than fantasy. She suggests that the book has no anti-religious views as many people seem to think. Dunne uses the ideas of a Christian author, Berit Kjos, to support the argument that the book series supports the love for witchcraft as opposed to the biblical God. This helps Dunne's case in the sense that she is acknowledging the other side's argument with the views of an author with conviction of this idea. However, Dunne moves on to support the other argument that Harry Potter shouldn't be banned out of fear and ignorance, in the words of Wiccan Priestess Tamara Forslun. Forslun supports Dunne's idea saying that "These are children's books, and as long as they are not nasty, cruel, ridiculous in any way or show witches as evil, obscene creatures, then there is no cause for mudslinging or legal retaliation."This shows a great amount of support for Dunne's argument, in the sense that she has shown the views of both sides of the argument, while still making her own views on the subject known. 

            Dunne also discusses the self-censoring of teachers and librarians in schools. She asserts that teachers and librarians take it upon themselves to remove their opinion of objectionable books and media from schools. She uses the specific case of a superintendent in Michigan restricting the use of Harry Potter books.  She supports the argument with the views of a field representative from National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), Charles Suhor. Dunne then goes on to discuss the different medias that are under controversy and how censorship and the banning of books is a widespread dilemma. She uses the views of several of the authors from earlier in the article to support her claim. She uses specific items of media to support their views along with her own.

            Dunne’s article is about the banning of Harry Potter books, but also about the widespread censorship happening with all aspects of the media. She uses claims of other authors to support her views, and can cite specific incidences of censorship to make her argument strong. She is clearly well researched on her topic, and made a rather convincing argument.

The Hunger Games is the same as Twilight? Ah, no.

Out of all of the books I have read, the series I love the most is The Hunger Games Trilogy. Coming in March, Lionsgate will be releasing the movie for the first book, The Hunger Games. The article "The Hunger Games: The new teen franchise with Twilight in its sights" talks about how The Hunger Games is quickly becoming the commercial success that the Twilight movies were. It speaks a little on how the Hunger Games is different than Twilight, however. The article then continues on and expresses the view that The Hunger Games is all about a love triangle, just as that is all Twilight is about. However, this is quite the incorrect assumption. The meaning in The Hunger Games is much deeper than a love triangle with raging teenage hormones.

The main focus of these books is survival. The books are about a post-apocalyptic North America called Panem. Panem is made up of twelve districts that were shattered after a revolution. The government, called the Capitol, uses the annual Hunger Games to remind the districts who rules them. The Games constitute an arena that two children (a boy and a girl, from age 12 to 18) from each district are placed in and forced to fight each other to the death. The lone survivor is the winner, and gains glory, food, and money for their district. However, there is a love triangle with the heroin, Katniss, her fellow tribute Peeta Mellark, and her best friend Gale Hawthorne. This simply adds another layer to the story. It does not define the whole of the plot, unlike Twilight. 

With Twilight, the entire plot is based around Bella and her raging hormones. She can't decide between two "hot" males, and all four books are mainly about how she is trying to choose between them and is basically weak and silly the entire time. Bella's greatest worry is her sparkly vampire boyfriend leaving her, or her sweaty werewolf friend hating her. There is really no substance to her character, or to any of the books for that matter. The four books of the Twilight series all have basically the same plot line: Bella wants to be with Edward, she falls a lot, other vampires want to kill her, Jacob is annoying and can't get over Bella, Bella doesn't die, the end. Bella also ends up as a statistic; she gets married and pregnant at eighteen. Albeit with a scary monster fetus, but still.

The Hunger Games Trilogy, on the other hand, is all about survival and the hope of a better life. Katniss ends up as a tribute for the Games when her twelve year old sister's name is called. She volunteers because she can't bear the thought of a little girl going into the Arena and being slaughtered by the other tributes. This automatically makes her less self-serving and more selfless than Bella in the Twilight Saga. These books, while they do have a bit of a love triangle, are in no way all about that. There is depth to The Hunger Games, in the sense that they are about making the world a better place for future generations. The three main characters, Katniss, Peeta, and Gale, do what they can, regardless of the cost to themselves, to keep their families and friends safe. However, in keeping families and friends safe, they attempt to make the world a better place for whatever future generations may come. They all try to  change the world, bringing hope for a better life to citizens of the downtrodden districts. While the books involve quite a bit of violence, they advocate peace and alliance between people of different backgrounds.

Despite The Hunger Games having a huge fanbase similar to that of Twilight, the two fandoms are nothing alike. The Hunger Games fandom have a series that is written about something deep and meaningful, and sends a positive message out to the readers. The Twilight lovers have a series about a love triangle and out-of-control hormones. The youth of today need something deeper than that, and The Hunger Games offers that. Despite the bit of love triangle in the trilogy, the books are about survival, love, and hope for a better tomorrow.