Should Challenged Books Be Banned?

Should Challenged Books Be Banned? 

   Across the world, school boards are debating whether to ban certain books. The banning of certain 

books is called censorship. “Censorship is the removal, suppression or restricted circulation of 

literature” writes Henry  Reichman. Many to all of the deal with what parents say “mature topics”. 

Some topics include rape, romance/sexuality, drugs, addiction, religion, children challenging 

parent(s)/ authorities, etc. One example of a book trying to be censored is 13 Reasons Why by Jay 

Asher. This particular book deals with rape, underage drinking, bullying and suicide. Some people 

say the book should be banned, however it can teach valuable things to readers such a cause-and-

effect; therefore, it shouldn’t be banned.

     Some parents have been saying that book makes “the reader feel nakedly uncomfortable” because 

it deals with rape. “The harsh reality is that many students... act on those feelings of despair.” after 

being raped. A person just can’t take the feeling anymore. Although suicide, which Hannah 

committed may not be the right choice, it can teach kids or just people in general to get help. Overall, 

the book may deal with a mature topic, but it can help people cope and be “comforting” to know 

others are going through what you may be going through. 

    When someone bullies someone, the victim will typically put on an I don’t care face. But their 

hurting inside, because they can’t seem to get what the bully said out of his/her mind. In the book the 

main character commits suicide, because all of the actions people thought didn’t effect her really did. 

“People [need] to realize that every action-or-inaction has consequences.” This is very true, although 

this may just be a fiction book things like suicide happens every day. One recent example is a 14-

year old student, David Q. Phan. Phan committed suicide in front of his school and classmates. He 

“condemned the bullying...” 

    Lastly censorship of books goes against the U.S constitution. The constitutions first amendment is 

about “Freedom of expression”. Literature is a form of expression, and if people take that away, it’s 

saying you shouldn’t express yourself. Totally wrong! People need a voice, to be heard. Books are 

banned because people “disagreed with the ideas contained in the book.” Honestly this isn’t fair to 

all the people who want to read the book. It’s your choice. 

    In conclusion, although the censorship of books is taking place, banning books won’t help. In fact 

books like 13 Reasons Why can help, and teach lessons. Small things you don’t think effect people 

may. You don’t know their personal life. It’s just a matter of time before the actions people make set 

the person of. There are many things we can’t change, but if everyone works together the censorship 

of books will be one less thing to worry about. 

Bibliography 

Asher, Jay. Thirteen Reasons Why: A Novel. New York: Razorbill, 2007. Print.

"Banned Books Awareness:." Banned Books Awareness. Banned Books World, 26 Jan. 2014. Web. 16 Dec. 2014.

 Fillichio, Carl. "Banned Books Awareness:." Banned Books Awareness. Huffington Post, 26 Sept. 2014. Web. 16 Dec. 2014.

 "First Amendment." First Amendment. Cornell University Law School, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.

"First Amendment Site." First Amendment Site. Lehigh University, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.

Social Awareness

                           Social Awareness                                                                                              

Table of contents

1. Short dramatic scene
2. Interview
3. Observing surroundings 

By: Lian Jones 810

“Seamus!” My mother yelled “Dinner!”

I race downstairs to find a cross with Jesus on it. 

“Dang. What’s that for?” I ask, pointing at the cross with Jesus on it. 

“Your father and I have decided that it’s time to go to church.”

“Um... Okay?” 

My eyes move from the cross to the chocolate cake sitting on the dinning room table. My mother never, and I mean never made sweets. She said it was only for special occasions. 

Smiling my mother replied “Your Uncle finally divorced that Theo guy.” 

“And why is that good?” I knew the answer but asked anyways.

“Gays aren’t liked in some places, and where we live, well we don’t like them. On the better side your Uncle can come to family events. Your father is thrilled, you know how he always loved your Uncle.”

The church is fancy. As we go inside a old women handed my family and I a pamphlet that read Gays Go To Hell! 

Dang! Little kids could read this. 

“Ah some new faces,” A voice chimes. “ I’m Joe, the Priest. 

“John.” My father says.

“Trisha, and our son Seamus.” My mother says pointing toward me. 

“Whats with the title?” I ask pointing to the pamphlet. 

One minute the Priest is smiling, the next second his eyes are like stone. Hard, cold. 

“Homosexuals aren’t welcomed. They are a sin, all going to Hell. Why do you ask, are you one?”

Wait what? How did this turn on me?

I look at my parents for help, but they just stand there staring at me. 

“What? No. Just curious.” 

But I don’t know, I’ve never liked a girl like that. I’ve kissed a couple during the game spin the bottle, but felt nothing. The only time I felt someone who when a kissed a boy during the game. But that couldn’t make me gay... Could it?

The first thing that popped into my head when we were assigned the project was gay discrimination and feminism. With feminism already covered, I realized I wanted to write a short dramatic scene. I want the scene to make people think about how some societies treat homosexuals, even though there nothing wrong with them. 

The scene is about a 14 year old teenager named Seamus. The overall scene, again is about how some societies portrays homosexuals. The narrator, Seamus is trying to figure out his sexuality. However in his world, society shuns gays. It is just a sliver of his journey on finding out who he really is. 

Carmen Berkeley is a 17 year old student at high school Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts. She is also a camp counselor at Chimney Corners Camp for Girls (CCC). I am choosing to interview her because like many of the employees at CCC she definitely represents CCC and feminism. 

Why do you think women are portrayed as “weaker” then men?

“I think that people assume that women need help in order to succeed in life. Some people think that women and girls can’t handle tough situations. It may because of how we dress, or because some women were makeup or really anything.”

How are you supporting women’s rights? 

“I give $40 a month to “Global Fund for Women” Its an organization that wants women and girls to have everything and or opportunity that men have.”

How do you think Chimney Corners helps young women?

“Chimney, as you know is a all girls camp and I think that that really helps to show that girls don’t need to rely on a man. Also many young women feel pressured to look and act a certain way when around a guy, and because Chimney is a all girls camp they have the chance to be themselves and to not have anyone judge them. [At camp, in the morning] You can go out in sweatpants and a baggy sweatshirt and no one is going to look at you a say “Ew”, because around half of the camp wears that.” 

Do you think that men and women are treated equal now? 

“No, but it definitely is better then it was say 30 years ago. Yes women still get paid less, but in the past 100 years women have gained a lot of power like voting.”

Have you ever experienced a situation were you were not being treated equal to a man?

 Not personally, but what I’ve noticed even though you and your friends or whole school I suppose is that if a guy dates more then one girl in a short period of time its considered cool, but when a girl dates more then one guy she’s considered a slut.” 

What I’ve noticed at school is that theres a lot of popularity. Whether is be in the classroom, entire grade or school in general. Theres a hierarchy in the school the “popular” people, semi- “populars”, “popular” wanna be’s and just plan not “popular” people. Although some may disagree with this assumption, I believe it is correct. Popular is defined as “liked,admired or enjoyed by many people or by a particular person”. However I think that people now think and popular and think everyone knows that group, or they’re so cool. 

I think that people think that “popular” people are care free and just got that way and that they’ll never live up to them. Which is wrong. First of all, everyone has something going on in their life that isn’t good. Secondly, although it may not seem like it but the “popular” people all had to make their way up there. I don’t think there really is a solution to it it’s kinda of engraved itself into school life. 

Don't Mess With the Ladies

     "Morons and Oxymorons: Undermining Women in Leadership" by Nicholas Bray is about how people are undermining women when it comes to leadership. The article goes into detail about why people undermine women. Also what makes women question themselves.
     Nicholas Bray makes it clear that he believes that women should be treated equal. He starts by saying "Women leaders are trapped in an identity conflict created by stereotypes about how they should behave." Bray wants to show the reader how women are equally as good as men. "Adopting typically male attributes like grey suits in such an environment won’t resolve the contradictions, she says, and may actually worsen the inner conflict between leadership identity and gender identity." Because women try to show men that they are equal in the process they can build on top of the fact that there are stereotypes. A study shows that women are moving faster then men "According to OECD figures, 47 percent of women in OECD countries are now set to graduate from university, against only 32 percent of men." If this is true then why do women have to work harder to try to prove themselves?
     Stereotypes have been a part of society for a long time. "According to Karelaia, however, the causes lie much deeper, in stereotypical attitudes to gender and leadership that are deeply entrenched among both women and men." Women are also set back by "family obligations, including the bearing and raising of children, are often cited as the main explanation." Although this is not said aloud people still think it.
     This article makes me think about how women are treated in society. You see women being undermined everyday. Even kids do it, it may not be intentional but it still happens.

Social Activism; Gay Rights

     In the 1970's the gay community started making change. Although there were laws about how 

everyone was treated equal and all that, it wasn't always followed. Especially when it came to the gay community. People would harass people who were openly gay. Being gay back then was even 

classified as a illness. Many people back then were afraid to come out, because of how they saw other gays being treated. 

     Gay Activists began to change how things were running in the U.S. "The Gay Activist alliance and later the Nation Gay Task Forced lobbied for a city gay rights law. This didn't pass till 1986, but it still passed. Secondly, you would think that police officers would have to respect people being gay on duty, however there was "police harassment and homophobic[ness from them]." Gay Activist got news reporters to cover this. Lastly, doctors would classify being gay as a "mental disorder". In "1973 ... the American Psychiatric Association to stop classifying homosexuality as a mental disorder." Even though all of this took time the Gay Activist never gave up. 

     Going to the museum and reading about how gays were treated back then made me realize how unfair society is. What if being straight was wrong and being gay wasn't? Even today there are people who classify being gay as wrong. There are religions out there who say being homosexual is wrong too. When someone comes out they want to be treated the same, but if someone anti-gay then they'll probably shun that person even though in the inside the person is still the same as before. 

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

        13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher has many connections in it, whether it be to the real world or to characters. 13 Reasons Why is about a girl named Hannah Baker who commits suicide. She creates a series of tapes, each tape is about someone and why they “helped” Hannah decide to kill herself. The book is told by a teenager named Clay Jensen. 
The overall book definitely relates to the real world. The major relation being suicide. Another relation is rape. In the book a girl named Jessica Davis who gets raped at a party, obviously quite traumatizing. This plays a big factor in the book, even though from just reading the book it may not seem like it. If you spend a little more time thinking about Jessica’s rape you’ll see that Hannah didn’t do anything to get Jessica some help.   “I would have opened those doors ad stopped it. But I didn’t.” (page 227) Hannah didn’t tell anyone about Jessica’s rape, which plays a role in why Hannah committed suicide. 
Another relation to the real world is Hannah herself. Hannah like most teenage girls feel misplaced, misunderstood and like know one is listening to them. Hannah goes to the guidance counselor seeking help. But what did the counselor do after Hannah told him that she was “talking about... [her] life.” (page 279) and how she said she had to move on. Mr.Porter, the guidance counselor did nothing! He allowed her to leave and he didn’t go after her to get her help. 
Overall 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher has many real world connections. It explains how these issues can effect people. 

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher part 2

Claims

Justin Foley and Alex Standall are both rude, they both did something to Hannah that had a big impact on her.

Hannah Baker relates to the real world because like some people Hannah feels misunderstood and out of place.

Justin Foley and Alex Standall both relate because without realizing it what they did got the ball rolling. It was just the beginning to the end.

Clay Jensen might have been able to stop Hannah from committing suicide if he expressed his feeling toward Hannah.

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Lian Jones                  13 Reasons Why  by Jay Asher                                                ELA

810                                                                                                                          Blog #4

     Archetypes 

Alex Standall- mean one

Alex created a hot or not list, and intentionally put Jessica and Hannah on it. However they were not on the same side.

“... Jessica Davis looked pissed . Why? Because right next to my name, but on the other column, was hers.” pg. 39-40

Alex knew this would upset Jessica and Hannah, because they use to be friends. 

Justin Foley- obnoxious one

Justin is quite obnoxious, and he knows it. 

“A cupped hand smacked my ass. Then he said it “ Best Ass...” The sarcasm. The arrogance.” pg 47-48

Hannah Baker- tragedy

The whole story is based around Hannah and how she went through a lot and ended up committing suicide. She isn’t a tragic hero because she wasn’t particularly a hero. Hannah is the overall tragedy, she told her story through the tapes and all were sad. 

     Symbols

A symbol in the book is the tapes. The tapes represent how Hannah really feels. When Hannah was alive she didn’t particularly express herself, and when she made the tapes she let her emotions out. How Hannah truly felt about her life, and how everything effected her in such a negative way to the point of suicide. 

Double Identity by Margaret Petterson Haddix

Double Identity 

     The book Double Identity  by Margaret Petterson Haddix, is a phenomenal book. Its about a girl named Bethany who is forced to live with her aunt, Myrlie  who she didn’t know existed, because her parents are on the run. When her dad is talking to Myrlie, Bethany overhears her dad saying “She doesn’t know anything about Elizabeth.” A couple days later they find out about a man named Dalton Van Dyne, and that he is looking for her and her parents. Bethany changes from feeling terrified to feeling liberated. 

     “No, please Daddy don’t go.” This quote shows how Bethany is terrified of whats happening. There are so many questions to be asked. Whats happening? Why are you leaving? Bethany doesn’t know how to act, everything went so quickly. Bethany is realizing how much this effects her parents (leaving her), especially her Mom. Seeing a grownup cry means something is quite upsetting or wrong. Bethany is feeling mistrustful of people and abandoned by the people she loves. 

     “And Dalton Van Dyne is crying.” Even though what Van Dyne said was sad, in a way it set Bethany free. Before Bethany was cowering in fear because of him, and when she had to speak to him he began crying. She was able to understand why Van Dyne was looking for her and her parents. Bethany was set free of the burden of running. She was freed of the fear she was in because of Van Dyne. 

     Overall Double Identity is a great book. There was a lot of change from Bethany throughout the story. 

Every Day by David Levithan

     Over the summer I read a great book called Every Day by David Levithan. A brief overview of the book is; a person named A wakes up in a new body each day, one day A (Who is portrayed as a boy) wakes up in a guys body named Justin and when A meets Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon he realizes she's mistreated by Justin. In the afternoon they spent together A begins to fall for Rhiannon. This is one of the best books I've read, when reading the book I found a great message; love someone for who they are, and not what they look like.

      The one day A and Rhiannon spent together both A and Rhiannon felt a connection for each other. The day they spent together was great, it opened up Rhiannon's eyes on what she was missing being with someone who couldn't care less for her feelings. Rhiannon was only staying with Justin because "She has been hanging on to the hope of him..." Justin and Rhiannon have had many fights and Justin has "destroyed her". That one day Rhiannon got to tell her opinions and open up, she didn't fall back in love with Justin, she fell in love with A. If someone were to tell you they liked you but woke up in a different body everyday, whether it be a boy or a girl, fat or thin, you'd probably run away however Rhiannon didn't when she found out. Rhiannon stayed with A when he was a boy or a guy and no matter what A looked like, because she liked A for who he was and not what he looked like. Obviously there are many examples of how Rhiannon stayed with A because of his personality, but one example is  a boy named George who is 45 minutes away from Rhiannon. I find it amazing how even when their a couple minutes away or a couple hours away they still manage to see each other, this tells me Rhiannon cares as much for A as A does her her. 

     In the book there are a lot of examples of how Rhiannon loved A for who he was and not what he looked like. Not having Justin be there to boss Rhiannon around definitely aloud Rhiannon to grow as a character. Overall the book was spectacular and if David Levithan made a book from the point of view of Rhiannon, it'd be cool to see how Rhiannon changed.