The Importance Of Censorship In Literature

In a society where children are bombarded with electronics and technology, it can be challenging to convince them to sit down and either read or listen to a story. Reading and hearing stories helps to spark children’s imaginations and dreams. For some children, bedtime stories are not only special for the heroes or princesses they feature, but also for the scheduled time they get to spend one on one with their parent or guardian. In order for children to learn to enjoy reading they must be able to have a choice in what they are able to read. This is something that is taught to them from a young age, whether they are picking a bedtime story or a novel to read at school, it must be something that interests them. Literature should not be classified

Children and teens should be able to access literature “free of restrictions” (70). Censors of young adult literature “fail to see” the similarities between their “desires to suppress information” about sexuality, violence, and religion and the “successful attempts by dictators to control their countries’ population” (70). Countries who have tried to implement censorship are practicing control over their citizens, which is why Canada should not suppress the population from any literature. If children are told they are not able to read books they are interested in or curious about they will be deterred from pursuing leisurely reading which limits their intellectual

For instance, one reader who is age 6 or 7 may read at the level of a 9 or 10 year old, it all depends on the child. Age banding therefore creates a “betrayal of trust between the reader and the author” (130). Age banding can also “disregard the creativity of authors” (130). The age bans are “harmful to children’s enjoyment of reading,” as children may not appreciate or pick up a book that is targeted for a younger age group than their own. The same goes for young readers who are confident and may be “put off by books that fit their ability” rather than their age (130). It is important to respect and appreciate the “tastes and needs of children instead of applying guidelines” (130). There are also “explicit and implicit” social problems that are associated with age banding (135). These social problems include giving adults the power to control what their kids read, “preventing readers” from trying to read above their age, and not allowing children to stay updated on current