Banning Books Argument Essay

   There is no such thing as a perfect world, so why should we hide these imperfections from kids? Perfect by Ellen Hopkins portrays some of the imperfections in life such as drug addiction, which is why adults such as parents have challenged both the book and the author many times. Although it is understandable that some parents may disapprove of their child reading this book because of the controversial issues portrayed in the book, that does not justify banning the book entirely. This book should not be banned from school libraries because it shows that the world has many issues people should be aware of such as suicide, drug addiction and anorexia.
   
    Ellen Hopkins and her work have been challenged and banned multiple times. Ellen Hopkins herself has even been banned from a school festival at Creekwood Middle School because of content in her works such as “...crystal-meth addiction, teen prostitution, suicide and incest.” (Bildner 1). These topics are viewed to be unsuitable to teens and many think teens should be shielded from these issues. Even Hopkins’ critics “...apparently saw little value in young people reading about such edgy and unpleasant topics.” The issues Hopkins writes about is controversial because the topics are not only disturbing by itself, but Hopkins portrays them vividly and bluntly. She portrays these issues such as self-harm and drug addiction without holding back, which is a turnoff to many. For example, in Perfect there is a character, Sean, who gets so addicted to drugs and gets so jealous of his ex-girlfriend that he went insane. The disturbing aspect of this part of the book was his thoughts because he starts talking to “The Guy Behind My Eyes”. “‘No way. Don’t be ridiculous.’ [Guy Behind My Eyes]: You never know. Deputy Rossiter: Who in the hell are you talking to back there? ‘No one. Sorry. Just processing.’ GBME: Maybe Aunt Mo is a lezbo too. Maybe she’d like them. ‘Aunt Mo is so not a lezbo.’ GBME: You never know. Deputy Rossiter: Did you know crazy people talk to themselves? ‘I am not crazy.’ GBME: You never know” (Hopkins 514). The disturbing content in this book means that this book is not meant for everyone. However, this in no way justifies banning the book for everyone.
   
    Banning this book and any book is wrong because everyone has different limits and these books can also make us more aware of certain topics. Everyone’s limits are different which means that something one person can handle another person cannot. Just because one group of people can’t handle something doesn’t justify banning it all together because there are people out there who are okay with content like this. Everyone should know their limit and nobody is forcing them to read these books. Teens are also more responsible than kids in elementary school and should be allowed some say in what they read. If teens feel that they are able to read about these issues without it doing any harm, then they should be allowed to. These books can also teach us about these issues. The world isn’t perfect and it will most certainly never be. However, we can make the world better by acknowledging these issues and figuring out ways to solve the problem. It is impossible to solve a problem without knowing about it. For example, Perfect contains issues such as anorexia, homophobia, and drug addiction. This book not only raises awareness about these issues but also may motivate teens to figure out solutions and help people they know who are dealing with issues like these. By banning books like this, we are “...diminishing a young person’s ability to go off into the world and interface with people from all walks of life” (qtd. in Bruni 2). By letting books containing this type of material to stay in school libraries, we are raising awareness of these issues and teaching teens that these issues really exist. Reading this book helps to inform teens of such issues and be openminded to certain topics such as GLBTQ.
   
    Although these books seem like one gruesome description after another, these books can actually teach readers life lessons. In Perfect, all of the characters narrating the book long to be accepted by parents, friends, or the people around them. Despite all the hardships that these characters go through, the characters had gone through a transformation throughout the book, just like any other book. Each character either learned how to accept themselves and found someone who accepted them, or learned how to deal with the pressure and the hate. These books are not just about drug abuse, alcohol abuse, self-harm, or suicide. These books are about how these characters learned to cope with the conflicts they faced just like any other book that is considered “appropriate” for teens. This book teaches that not everyone is going to like you, and sometimes you can’t be accepted by the one you wanted to be accepted by. However, there will always be someone out there who will accept you for who you are, someone who won’t make you change. It also teaches that in order for you to see how loved you are, you have to love yourself first and accept yourself. If you don’t love yourself, then others won’t be able to love you either. You shouldn’t beat yourself down because one person doesn’t like you and you shouldn’t change for them. Kendra, a main character in the book, became anorexic because she believed nobody would like her unless she stayed skinny. And even though she was skinny, she still saw herself as fat because she failed to recognize how much other people cared about her. Instead, she let the mirror dictate how she needed to look. “But that stinking mirror doesn’t lie. Every time I walk by it shouts out, Hey. Chub. When are you going to lose those fifteen pounds of ugly-ass flab? Do you want to stay size four forever?” She believed that she needed to be skinny in order for everyone to like her. “If I can...make myself as thin as I need to be, the rest of my life will turn right again. Maybe, if I can make Daddy proud enough, he’ll come see me cheer or watch me vie for Miss Teen Nevada. Maybe, if I can make Mom really look at me, she’ll have something to think about besides Patrick...And maybe, when Conner gets out, he’ll decide I’m the one he wants, after all.” It was only when she finally learned to live with herself that she was able to see that things weren’t as bad as she had thought they were. In reality, her dad actually was paying attention to all her pageants. She didn’t have to change in order for people to love her. These types of books are not what many people think they are and these books teach valuable life lessons as well.
   
    It is true that the content in books like these is not for everyone. It is understandable that adults will want to protect their child from content like this. However, it is not fair to take away everyone’s right because a parent thinks it is inappropriate for their child. Maybe it is inappropriate for their child, however that does not necessarily mean that the same goes for the twenty other kids who use the same library. It is okay to prohibit your child from reading certain texts, but it is unfair to ban the book entirely for everyone else as well. We must also keep in mind that although “...parents exist to rear children...” it is unrealistic to believe that they will remain children for the rest of their lives (Gurdon 5). They too must one day become adults and may have to deal with these issues. That is why it is important to teach them or at least make sure they are aware of these issues now so that they will be able to better handle an issue if faced with an issue such as anorexia or alcohol abuse. Instead of banning the book, parents can restrict their child and only their child from reading the certain book. Parents can also teach their child to put down a book if they feel it is too graphic or inappropriate for them instead of reading on, because nobody is forcing them to read the book. These alternate solutions will allow parents to still have some say without restricting those who can handle material like this from reading the book.
   
    Although the issues portrayed in this book are far from pleasant, it is important to be aware of these issues. It is impossible to solve these problems if we choose to ignore them. If a student perceives a book to be too graphic, the student should put the book down. One student’s inability to do this does not represent everyone else’s ability. And although parents have very right to restrict their child from reading a book, they have no right to restrict other children from reading a book. By allowing teens to read the book, they will become more aware of issues such as anorexia and drug abuse as well as learn valuable life lessons. Although a perfect world does not exist, it is still possible to make the world a better place. The first step to solving any problem is to acknowledge it is one. By banning these books we are preventing these problems from being solved; banning books do more harm than good.

Works Cited

Bildner/Austin, Phil. “Texas: If You Can’t Ban Books, Ban Authors.” Time. Sept. 2010: 29. Print.

Bruni, Frank. “The Wilds of Education.” New York TImes. 28 Sep. 2014: SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.

Gurdon, C. Meghan. “Darkness too Visible.” Wall Street Journal. 4 June 2011. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.

Hopkins, Ellen. Perfect. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2011. Print.

Social Awareness Project #3: Poem on bullying

I feel them staring at me
I don’t have to be a mind reader,
to know of me they think poorly
I don’t have to turn my head,
to know that they are whispering
Echoes in my mind, the words they said
I don’t have to hear,
to know they are calling me names
It makes me want to cower in fear
I don’t have to be there,
because they just
don’t care

But what they don’t know
is how much I remember of what they say
They don’t have to show
for me to know they hate me
It’s how I cry at night
until I sleep,
with nobody in sight
It’s how I try
to prove to myself,
that someone cares and it’s not a lie
And then it’s how they disprove
and break my efforts,
showing there’s nothing to prove
It’s how sometimes I feel
that all I am is a useless person,
which turned out to be real
It’s how I often wonder if they
would miss me if I was gone,
But they would rather have me gone they say

Then I think
Wouldn’t it be easier to just jump?
Or to lay my bleeding wrist in the sink?
Or to pull the trigger of the gun,
and destroy my own heart for them?
Because it’s much less work than having to run
and my legs have tired
I have nowhere to run
and my heart is no longer admired

But then I stop
Maybe I can prove myself wrong
Maybe I think and I let my hand drop
and put my knife away
I know I’m lying to myself
But there might be another way
And until I rule out the other paths
I promise I will stay
So tell me how to endure their wrath.


    When I was writing this poem, I was thinking about self-harm and why somebody might be pushed to inflict self-harm or even committing suicide. Bullying is a common factor of self-harm or suicide. Being insecure and lacking self-confidence also leads to self-harm. I put myself in the shoes of someone who was being bullied to the point where they were thinking of self-harm or committing suicide. I listed the factors of why somebody might think about this in the poem as well as in the end, the person trying to seek help. I feel that nobody deserves to feel that they are so useless that they would harm themselves or think about killing themselves. In some cases, if somebody had noticed or helped them, the person wouldn’t have killed themselves. This inspired me to write this poem.

Social Awareness Project #2: Reading Response-A Tree Grows in Brooklyn By Betty Smith

                   A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: By Betty Smith

    Poverty has always been a huge social issue. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith portrays the everyday life of a poor family perfectly. It is about a girl, Francie Nolan who struggles with her family to survive everyday. She does chores such as going to the recycling shop or the “junkie” to get money from the hoarded items such as rags and paper. Although Francie is poor, she and her family make the best of everything. Francie and her family also have their thoughts and opinions on poverty and the issues they face connected to it. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn explains the hardships as well as the thoughts and issues connected to it.
    Most of us don’t, and hopefully will never understand the hardships of poverty. Francie must do chores that a normal young girl such as herself would most likely never have to do. For example, Francie and her younger brother, Neely, collect “junk”: Paper, rags, iron, and copper. This hoarded material is taken to the “junkie” where they can sell it for a small amount of money. Francie must also go grocery shopping instead of her mother because her mother must clean houses to earn money for their rent. However, this grocery shopping is no easy task. She must haggle and sometimes trick people so she can buy food at the lowest cost. She sometimes must fight with others to get food. In one scene of the book, she goes shopping and must fight with others to get a semi-week’s supply of stale bread. “ “I want bread!” Francie called out.A big girl gave her a strong shove and wanted to know who she thought she was. “Never mind! Never mind!” Francie told her. “I want six loaves and a pie not too crushed!” she screamed out.” She also goes to the butcher, and must trick the butcher in order to get freshly ground meat and not the ground meat off the “plate”, which is implied that the meat on it cannot be trusted to be fresh. “ “Lady was just in. Bought a quarter’s worth of round steak ground. Only I ground too much and here’s the rest on the plate. Just ten cents’ worth. Honestly. I only just ground it.” “No. My mother said ten cents worth of round steak.” Furiously the butcher hacked off a bit of meat and slammed it down on the paper after weighing it. He was just about to wrap it up when Francie said in a trembling voice, “Oh, I forgot. My mother wants it ground.” ”
    Francie and her family have different feelings about being poor, and their actions reflect this. Although they are poor, they purposely waste sometimes. Francie loves the smell of coffee. “As she ate her bread and meat, she kept one hand curved about the cup enjoying its warmth. From time to time, she’d smell the bitter sweetness of it. That was better than drinking it. At the end of the meal, it went down the sink.” Even though they are poor, Francie’s mom allows her to do this because she believes that when they are poor, it’s nice to have the luxury of wasting something. She says that if it makes Francie feel better than drinking the coffee, she can do that. The coffee symbolizes that the poor have pride too, and sometimes feel wasting something makes them feel better. Francie has pride, and sometimes feels embarrassed that she is poor. On Thanksgiving, her school had a small pie, and said that someone could have it. Francie didn’t want the teachers to pity her because she was poor, so she made up a story in order to get the pie. “ “I’m glad someone wants it,” said Teacher. “I don’t want it for myself,” lied Francie proudly. “I know a very poor family I’d like to give it to.” “Good,” said Teacher.” Francie’s actions show that like others, she also has pride and is often ashamed of saying she is poor. Instead, she pretends that she isn’t and lies.
    Francie and her family show that there is more to being poor than just the literal meaning of not having money. There are everyday struggles and issues that may not come up in someone’s life if they are not in poverty. Francie also shows us that being poor can cause someone to become self-conscious about it. Accepting charity even when you are poor is sometimes hard because of pride. The text made me feel that being poor doesn’t just mean you have no money, there are more complexities to it. It made me understand the issue from a perspective of somebody who is poor and know that it’s not just about getting by but also about pride and how others perceive you.

Social Awareness Project #1: Daily News Diary

Daily News Diary:

Entry #1:
11/26/14
The New York Times “China Asks for Help Identifying and Returning Fugitive Officials” By Didi Kirsten Tatlow
Posted Nov. 26, 2014
    Everyone knows about the death penalty, and it still happens today. But China is one of the most well-known for the frequent “...use of torture and the death penalty.” It is estimated that “China executes about 2,400 people each year, more than the rest of the world combined”, although the Chinese government does not officially release the number of executions.
    Recently, Chinese officials who have been suspected of having fled the country with purloined assets are being searched for. China has requested that other countries help with their search of the fugitives. However, because China lacks the extradition treaties with countries that these fugitives most likely fled to, it requires these countries to “reform their laws” and “reduce the burden of proof required for extradition.” These countries include Australia, Canada and the United States. Several Western countries such as the United States, have already refused signing extradition agreements with China because of China’s frequent “...use of torture and the death penalty.”
    When I read this article, I thought about how unjust it is to execute so many people. The fact that these estimated numbers are more than the rest of the world’s annual execution rate combined is sickening. China has many citizens, which could affect those numbers, but even then it should not be necessary to kill that many people. It made me resist the idea of helping China find these fugitives, even if they did do wrong. On the other hand, I do understand why China would want to find these fugitives. However, execution still seems a bit harsh.

Entry #2:
11/27/14
CNN “Who else remains captive by ISIS?” By Michael Martinez and Mariano Castillo
Posted Nov. 19, 2014
    ISIS is well-known for taping videos of them beheading hostages. According to the article, ISIS has beheaded a total of five Westerners, which includes two Americans, journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff. There are many journalists who have gone missing, about 20 are still missing in Syria. Many believe that they are being held by ISIS. ISIS has also collected a lot of money through ransoms. In 2013, ISIS collected about “$20 million from ransoms generated through hostage-taking.”
    When I read this article, I was horrified by the number of beheadings that had occurred. Killing these people was unjust because these people had most likely never done anything to their killers on a personal level. It was also unjust to take these people and hold them hostage for the interest of money. This made me think about how much people will do to get money. Apparently, ISIS would take many for hostage to get it.

Entry #3:
11/28/14
CNN “Ferguson shooting a tragedy, U.N. torture panel member says” By Jason Hanna and Susanna Capelouto
Posted Nov. 28, 2014
    The jury has finally decided to not prosecute police Officer Darren Wilson “in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.” Although the events in Ferguson, Missouri are a tragedy, comittee member Alessio Bruni of U.N. Comittee Against Torture said on Friday that U.N. Comittee Against Torture “has to respect the decision.” The United States recently got a periodic review of “compliance” with the U.N. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The report included a section on police brutality and criticizes “excessive use of force by law enforcement officials, in particular against persons belonging to certain racial and ethnic groups.”
    I definitely agree with that statement in the report. This reminded me of the Ferguson shooting, and I also agree with Alessio Bruni’s decision on “respecting the jury’s decision.” I still believe shooting Michael Brown was wrong, even if he did do something wrong. The guns given to the police are there for last resort or in self-defense. I also, however, must take into account that nobody is really sure of what happened. There is no strong evidence that Officer Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown because of his ethnicity. This means that there is not enough evidence to prosecute him. However, he should not have shot Michael Brown in the first place.

Entry #4:
11/29/14
CNN “Israel charges 3 Palestinians in Alleged Plot to KIll Foreign Minister” By Tal Amir and Ben Brumfield
Posted Nov. 21, 2014
    The fight between Israel and Palestine still goes on. Recently, the Israeli military arrested three Palestinians from the West Bank and charged them “in alleged plot to assassinate Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.” According to court documents, the scheme involved a plan to “purchase rocket propelled grenades and fire them on his convoy.” Israeli leaders are targets because Israeli soldiers “killed Palestinian children and women, and they entered Al Aqsa mosque and attacked Palestinians.”
    This article made me think about the whole concept of revenge. It is a never-ending cycle because each side refuses to forgive the other and instead causes harm, which in turn provokes the other side to get revenge. I can’t point to one side and say that it’s all their fault, even if they started it, because at this point both sides did equally bad things. They both injured or killed people that had done nothing to them directly. It also made me think that violence never solves anything, even if you won a war. There’s always going to be someone seeking revenge for a loss.

Entry #5:
11/30/14
The New York Times “Police Break Siege of Government Offices in Hong Kong”
By Chris Buckley and Austin Ramzy
Posted Nov. 30, 2014
    Students in Hong Kong are currently demanding democratic elections. They experienced a setback when “their attempt overnight to besiege the government offices collapsed and the police thrust into the protesters’ biggest street camp.” The police had arrested 40 people in Admiralty, the site of the largest remaining protest camp. However, the students are still determined to win even though some believe this will end in a Pyrrhic victory.
    I admire their determination to win as well as their courage to stand up to the government. I believe that you should fight for what you believe in, especially if you are fighting for a right. This also made me realize that some countries don’t have democratic elections, even if they wanted to. It made me thankful that America has democratic elections and freedom of speech. It also made me realize how many things we take for granted everyday.

Reflection:
    Doing this assignment really made me aware of the kinds of things happening in the world. I realized how much happens each day that most of us don’t know about. I also realized from this experience that when I read these articles sometimes I think about these things a lot, and don’t even realize it. Writing what I was thinking about really helped me organize my thoughts and actually realize my opinion on these topics.
    Writing summaries also helped me get the main ideas from each article and sort out the facts as well as understand the article itself more. This allowed me to think more about the article and develop more thoughts and opinions about the topic.