Schon Gonzalez 1st Draft “Banned Books Essay” 11/10/13 Many schools and adults are trying to ban young adult
books. They believe that these books contain “inappropriate content” and are negatively
affecting children’s minds. They consider “The Outsiders” by S.E. Hinton to be one of
them. But I disagree. “The Outsiders” teaches valuable life lessons like not to take your
childhood for granted, or that everyone’s the same. Also, even if the book gets banned,
that’ll just make kids want to read the book more. So why even try to ban the book?
“The Outsiders” shouldn’t be banned. Many adults believe
that banning books like this will prevent teens from reading this book. It actually won’t
because it just encourages teens to read them even more. From the article “The Banned
Books We Have Loved” by Jen Doll states “…book sensors don’t seem to have realized:
banning books doesn’t, in fact, hurt them much at all. If anything, it may even inspire more
interest in them, and sometimes sales, too.” It’s so obvious, even authors are taking
notice. Just like R.L. Stine the author of the series “Goosebumps”. This is a quote from
R.L. Stine, expressing his feelings on when his book was #15 on the top 100 books that
should be banned. “It is a badge of honor to have people try to ban your books from
schools and school libraries… usually they prove to be good publicity.” Banning books
just gives kids another excuse to read the book.
Another reason why “The Outsiders” shouldn’t be banned is
because it teaches valuable life lessons. One of those lessons is to not take your childhood
for granted and to enjoy it. Hinton expresses this moral through one of the characters
quotes in the book. (p.178) “…you’re gold when you’re a kid, like green. When you’re a kid, everything’s new, like dawn. It’s just when you get used to everything it’s day.”
Another life lesson this book teaches is how everyone is equal and is going through the
same thing. (p.117) “ “I’d help if I could”, I said. I remember Cherry’s voice. It’s rough all
over. I knew then what she meant.” This scene is when Ponyboy is talking to a social
named Randy who plans on leaving town because he didn‘t want to fight or let the socials
down. Here, Ponyboy realizes both classes (Greasers and Socials) encounter the same
problems everyday.
Sadly, many adults oppose these young adult books like
“The Outsiders”. They believe that it’s a negative influence on the child’s mind. Many
believe that these books as the article “Darkness Too Visible” states “Puts children in dark
state”. Tanish Carey, publisher of “Sick-Lit Books”, believes the same thing . This quote
from her article states “ I know a girl of 12 in whose class the book (Red Tears) spread
like wildfire- several of them also started cutting themselves…” But the truth is that’s not
what young adult books are doing to the youth. If anything, it’s helping those who are in
bad habits, such as cutting themselves. This is a quote from Phil Earle (author of “Saving
Daisy”) in the article “Sick-Lit Books”. “When young people are lost in such traumatic
states, it’s vital they don’t feel alone… novels and stories on the subject offer a sense of
commonality and, most importantly, a sense of hope”. There’s also the possibility that the
adults are overreacting. In the video “Book Under Fire”, it talks of a school trying to ban
“Fahrenheit 451”. Some of the parents like Alton Vern, along with his daughter Diana
Vern believe it’s “downgrading Christians”. they were also offended by a scene where the
characters burn the bible. But seriously! This is a book that’s been out for more than 50
years with no complaints of it’s contents. So why start now? Also, the books fictional, so
why get offended by the bible getting burned? It isn’t real and isn’t a real conspiracy to be
made a big thing out of.
“The Outsiders” should not be banned. It produces great
lessons and give kids the positive idea about how they should act. I understand adults are
trying to protect the children from negative influences. But there’s nothing bad in the
book. And no matter how hard they try, the kids will always get around to reading the
book. So please, leave the book be, and let children enjoy the excitement of reading.
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