Why is history in stories being changed? Books across the country are being banned and censored. These books tend to have a common theme of racism, sexism, violence, and more, according to “Penn America”. But if the authors intended for the book to be read like that, then why are these authors’ words being censored or banned? For example, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee writes a lot expressing violence and racism during the “Jim Crow” era. This controversial book finds itself being banned in multiple schools due to its use of a racial slur. A book like this is written to help raise awareness of the corruption of that time and prevent history from repeating itself. So, why should students be deprived of this knowledge? History is history for a reason; nobody said it was pretty.
History.com stated, “According to James LaRue, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, challenges to the book over the decades have usually cited the book’s strong language, discussion of sexuality and rape, and use of the n-word.”
“The most current challenge to it is among the vaguest ones that I’ve ever heard,” he says. The Biloxi School Board “just says it ‘makes people uncomfortable.’” Being made uncomfortable is the whole objective of this book. Books like this aren’t written to make people feel warm and fuzzy inside; they are written to help people understand the harsh realities of times like those.
Another book that is facing these problems is The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This book helps show the struggles that high school teenagers can go through. For example, this book goes through themes of loneliness, sexual assault, homophobia, and more. MSNBC’s Ali Velshi, host of “Velshi,” and Hannah Holland, MSNBC producer, said, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” honestly grapples with adolescent anguish, the numbing pain of a close death, the pressure to conform, and the generational toll of sexual abuse within a family. But at its core, it is a story about the power of friendship. Sam and Patrick offer Charlie a steady ground to find himself. They are shelter from the storm that is the typical pain of high school and the additional trauma Charlie is facing.” They also said, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” has been targeted for ban again and again — nearly every year since its publication in 1999. I don’t need to say why. Every detail that makes this book emotionally resonant and culturally necessary is the very reason it is targeted. There are terrible things that happen in the pages of this book — rape, sexual assault, and homophobia — but they are things that happen in real life, off the page. Books can save a life — and help those who have been left behind to carry on, too.”
This book can help teenagers worldwide who are also facing similar problems realize they are not alone. If these things happen every day in real life, why aren’t as many people reacting the same way towards it being posted on the news instead of being published in a book? The concepts can be scary or get introduced to people the wrong way, but let the people who enjoy it continue to read it. Or even take it away from the people it could help.
These are just two examples of two very different books that are facing the same problems. If authors’ voices are being published even though they are just going to take them away, there’s no point in writing books like these that can do a lot more good than bad.
