Caitlin

1/15/19
C Block
Should Books be Banned?

Scroggins, in his article Scroggins: Filthy Books Demeaning to

Republic Education, describes that children are often inadvertently

exposed to subjects such as “homosexuality, oral sex, and anal sex,”

and exclaims, “is this what parents and taxpayers in this community

want their children to be exposed to in school?”, meaning that in his

opinion, children should be sheltered from such topics including

purging of any related content from school libraries. Parents are

naturally most concerned for their own children, thus parents often

advocate for the censorship of “inappropriate” books from libraries’

shelves. They often claim the only way to protect their children is by

diverting their eyes away from the mature realities of this world. While

these may be the predominant views of parents as described by

Scroggins, I argue that children are missing out on amazing books that

will help them to understand the world better. Olive’s Ocean is one

such example, challenged due to its use of foul language and sexual

content (ironically by describing a kiss and a sex joke). No controversial

books, including Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes, should be banned

from middle school libraries.

The right of freedom of speech dictates that no books should be

banned from libraries. The first amendment of the U.S. Constitution

states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of

religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof: or abridging the

freedom of speech.” Writing is a way of expressing speech, and

removal of any book from the library may violate the constitutional

right of students. Even if it does not violate the author’s rights of

speech, Banned Books - Top 3 Pros and Cons by procon.org says that

banning books violates “students’ First Amendment rights.” These

rights were upheld in the U.S. Supreme Court in Board of Education,

Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982) which required inquiry of the

motive and intention of such content removal - if this purpose was to

deny students’ access to ideas contrary to those seeking removal, then

this violates First Amendment rights.

Some parents of children argue that books should be banned

from libraries if they introduce bad activities like drugs, self-harm, and

drinking to children. Content of all kinds, books included, shape the

character of children. Meghan Cox Gurdon in her Wall Street Journal

article Darkness Too Visible states that “...books focusing on

pathologies help normalize them and, in the case of self-harm, may

even spread the plausibility and likelihood to young people who might

otherwise never have imagined such extreme measures.” I agree that

books shape children’s characters, but books focusing on heavy topics

can help kids realize that certain activities are unproductive and

hurtful. Children are heavily affected by books, but content regarding

drugs or sex does not necessarily mean that it’s bad. Such content can
still teach important life lessons both inside and outside of the mature

topic that the book involves, and it can teach kids important moral

lessons concerning these activities. Gurdon also claims that “what is

inside of a young person’s mind, surely it is of consequence what he

reads.” Contrary to this author’s belief, there are many sources outside

of books that could affect a child more. These include their family,

friends, television, the internet, or rumors. Books are influencers to a

child, but they teach heavy topics in a way that can be safe for

children. Books have the power to shape children’s opinions on heavy

topics and can provide vital education and create positive influences. .

Children should be able to read Olive’s Ocean, by Kevin Henkes,

because it teaches them important life lessons about how to be

themselves. In this book, Martha, the main character, wants to put

herself in Olive’s shoes, who is a classmate who was killed in a car

accident. When Martha goes to her grandmother’s house, she begins

to gain courage from her grandmother, who says, “‘I think you need to

work on your book,’... ‘Go’, she said, ‘Be a writer,’” (59). Martha’s

grandmother is always there to support her and might inspire other

readers to be brave. The book could also provide some emotional

support to the reader if they are scared of a secret they have. A lot of

children want to change themselves to fit with society, which is terrible

because they are changing their personality in hopes of being liked

more. The world should learn to accept people, no matter who they

are.

Olive’s Ocean should not be banned because it teaches children

about deep and controversial concepts. In the beginning of this book,

Martha is handed a page from Olive’s journal from Olive’s mother that

says that Martha is “the nicest person in my whole entire class,” (5).

Olive is happening to go to her grandmother’s house at this time, in

which the reader goes through different events of Martha’s life during

her stay at her grandmother’s house. With Martha’s lingering thoughts

on Olive and her own career, she decides to write a book with Olive as

the main character. When Martha puts herself in Olive’s shoes in order

to learn more about her, she realizes that “If Olive can die, so can I. So

could anybody,” (104). Knowing what the real world is like is important

because everyone has to prepare for their life as well. This book

introduces more serious topics such as mortality, and provides a

glimpse to children of how harsh the real world can be. In addition,

Olive’s death teaches Martha so much more about her. Olive neither

had friends, nor a father. When Martha realizes this, she thinks that,

“Olive was brave… Braver than I am,” (216). The fact that Olive was

able to keep such a positive journal with none of these figures in her

life made her a really brave person. Moments like these teach children

that there are bigger things out there in the world besides themselves,
and before judgement people should always think of what others might

be going through.

Many parents argue that Olive’s Ocean should be banned due to

its sexual or vulgar content, however this book barely contains any

erotic content. During a daily morning of Martha, she describes the

routine that her family goes through. When her parents kiss in the

morning, Martha notes that if her older brother, Vince, “had been

around he would have said that his parents were exhibiting MSB.

Morning Sex Behavior,” (52). However, this barely contains any

“vulgar” content besides the word “sex”. Books in the Spotlight:

Banned Books Week 2011: Olive’s Ocean by Rummanah Aasi, a

librarian at Maine East High School, says that the “comment is

something that I would expect a boy undergoing puberty to say.” Aasi

implies this is a normal statement for any teenager. In fact, it makes

his character seem more real as Why Your Kids Should Read Banned

Books says that “a character’s language may add realism to the story.”

The only other reason that this book is banned for explicit content is a

kiss between Martha and a neighboring boy by the name of Jimmy. This

is an important and necessary part of the story because Martha’s crush

is a vital plot element which results in her thought obsessions. They

finally kiss in a lone shack on the other side of a field, where “his face

swam up to hers. She grew extremely still. There was a flicker across

his temple. The corners of her mouth twitched. Everything seemed to

be tilting. Now. He. Kissed. Her,” (128). Again, the content of this scene

is not overtly sexual, because they do not describe the actual kiss in

detail, but the moments before when their mouths are twitching. As

such, the sexual content in Olive’s Ocean hardly has any valid reasons

for its censorship.

Children can change the world by reading censored content. By

deliberately exposing children to controversial books, children could

become more aware of the real world and therefore take control of

their beliefs. It is important to remember that the children of today are

the adults of tomorrow. They need to be prepared to take their own

steps into the real world, so that they can learn to manage it. Banned

books are a key component in children's lives that we can use to teach

important concepts and ideas.

Bibliography:

Olive's Ocean - Kevin Henkes

Scroggins: Filthy Books Demeaning to Republic Education -

https://www.news-

leader.com/story/opinion/contributors/2010/09/18/scroggins-filthy-

books-demeaning-to-republic-education/77164936/

U.S. Constitution - https://constitution.findlaw.com/amendment1.html

Banned Books - Top 3 Pros and Cons -

https://www.procon.org/headline.php?headlineID=005365
Darkness Too Visible - Wall Street Journal

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1000142405270230365740457635762

2592697038

Books in the Spotlight: Banned Books Week 2011: Olive’s Ocean -

http://booksinthespotlight.blogspot.com/2011/09/banned-books-week-

2011-olives-ocean.html

Why Your Kid Should Read Banned Books -

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/why-your-kid-should-read-

banned-books