The Pros And Cons Of The Giver
The Giver by Lois Lowry is a frequently challenged book that is part of many middle and high school curriculums. On the American Library Association’s list of most commonly banned books, it ranked eleventh from 1990-1999 and twenty-third from 2000-2009 (Admin). This novel, even though its theme is anti-censorship, is challenged on the basis of sexual influences and violence, especially the recurring theme of euthanasia. Despite these protests, The Giver should remain in curriculums and continue to be read for generations.
The Giver is the quintessential example of the detrimental effects of excessive censorship. The novel takes place in a utopian world where all emotion/ love has been stripped from the citizens of “Community”. The world is a monotone, personality drained void where choice has been eliminated from everyday life. The maturation novel follows a young boy named Jonas. At the start of the novel, he is twelve years old and is given the position of “Receiver of Memories” at the Ceremony of Twelve, an initiation into adulthood which determines one’s career. As he receives information from the Giver of Memories, his mind is opened to the ability to feel and experience natural human emotions. However, in a highly censored world where all books are illegal except for three mandatory government books and “precision of language” is a highly valued virtue, he must be careful in how he shares his unique understanding.
Many concerned parents and members of the community say The
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Restricting knowledge is the first step toward a society much like the one presented in The Giver by Lois Lowry. The book satirizes censorship and shows the potential threat it would bring to the global population. Although the theme of the novel is the danger that censorship creates and lack of individualism, the uninformed still protest its reading based on the belief of the presence of sexual ideas and violent themes. This is the irony of
Persuasive Essay On The Book Night By Elie Wiesel
476 Words | 2 PagesCensorship and libraries could be synonyms in the present. With the number of novels and ideas seen and advertised, there are equal amounts of articles hidden behind the scenes or tucked away. Recently, a debate sparked about books involving mature or violent content being allowed in schools. Night by Elie Wiesel is a book about his personal experience through the Holocaust involving death, excessive violence, and the Jewish religion. Sensitive topics such as these lead others to preach the removal of such harsh writing due to their objective obscenity and effects on students.
Undercover Reading By Judy Blume: The Banning Of Books
631 Words | 3 Pages“Having the freedom to read and the freedom to choose is one of the best gifts my parents ever gave me,” Judy Blume. The issue is there are both pros and cons upon banning and challenging books. Some people may be all for it and believe their children should not be exposed to realism that comes from books ‘trying to protect them.’ What ever happened to the freedom of speech? Books are constantly challenged or even banned.
Arguments Against Censorship In America
232 Words | 1 PagesCensorship in America is often debated. Erin Manning, texas-based writer explains that the American Library Association chooses to censor certain books because of “inappropriate content” and “second rate writing”(Manning 1). Parents attempt to protect their children from the outside world, by limiting their exposure to age appropriate language. When parents do this, their children’s knowledge of the outside world may be limited to what parents let their child view. Although some parents may feel that their child needs filtered information and entertainment, others believe that children and teens need to be shown uncensored content.
Dont Censor To Kill A Mockingbird
882 Words | 4 PagesEver since its publication in 1960, it has also been one of the books most frequently challenged by would-be censors.” (Johnson-Durst) When this book is read in schools it can make the students
Why Is Fahrenheit 451 Be Banned In Schools
652 Words | 3 PagesBooks are an essential way to gain knowledge whether they are controversial or not. Thousands of books have been banned from public libraries and schools due to being deemed ‘inappropriate’ by parents, administrators, or religious leaders. Whether Americans should ban books in public libraries and schools is an often debated topic. This censorship of books is dangerous, as it restricts the American people's’ ability to access information, leaving Americans ignorant. Historically, banning books is not a new practice.
Examples Of Censorship In America Today
816 Words | 4 PagesCensorship in Todays America Censorship has been a topic of debate for decades. Despite the existence of the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech, the United States has a long history of censoring literature. Most Americans believe that it is unethical to stifle freedom of expression, but often some of the First Amendment’s biggest supporters are its worst enemies. It shocks many to see how rampant it still is in the present day. This paper will show examples of how governments, religious institutions, and schools try to limit first amendment rights through censorship.
The Argumentative Essay Of Banning Books
609 Words | 3 PagesAt one point in time, over 7,220 books have been challenged to be banned. Though these books have been removed for the safety of children, not all books should be banned for many reasons. These include the fact that banning books is infringing on the First Amendment, keeping children from understanding the real world, and, even though there are many reasons for book banning, not banning books could help a student’s education and can even work against itself. Banning a book from a school or public library could go against a person’s First Amendment of the freedom of press.
Huckleberry Finn Should Be Banned
1456 Words | 6 PagesIn 1998, McClintock High School in Tempe, Arizona assigned students to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. The book has long been regarded as a controversial novel, and each generation that comes upon it has found something that rubs against the current societal norms. The mother of a student at McClintock took serious offense to the use of the word, “nigger” throughout the book and protested that it be banned due to the racial discrimination (Source I). Huck Finn is just one of the many pieces of literature that have been labelled “challenging,” and many feel that they do not deserve a place in schools’ curriculum. However, the study of challenging literature introduces students to new ideas and lessons that they can apply
Jonas: Changing The Community In The Giver
517 Words | 3 PagesThe most important assignment in the community. He must receive memories from the current receiver. The chief elder made the decision to make only one person bear the burden of the memories. Everyone thinks the community is perfect, a utopia, but Jonas sees all the flaws .Jonas changes throughout The Giver and as a result, tries to change the community.
The Importance Of Freedom In The Giver
1073 Words | 5 PagesWould you give up love and true happiness for a life without pain? In the dystopian novel The Giver, written by Lois Lowry, strong emotion is sacrificed for a peaceful environment. The depicted community at first appears to be a utopia, where hate and discrimination are abolished, but the emotionless society is quickly revealed to be dystopian as the story continues. They live in a world of sameness; there is no hunger, suffering, or war, but also no color, diversity, or sensuality. The protagonist, a twelve-year-old boy named Jonas, uncovers the truth about his community when he is assigned to be the Receiver of Memory, and acquires the memories from the past from an elder called the Giver.
Literary Analysis: The Giver By Lois Lowry
846 Words | 4 PagesLiterary Analysis: The Giver Imagine a world where everything seems perfect but truly it is not as pleasant as it appears. In The Giver by Lois Lowry shows us a community in the future with no feelings at all. Jonas a twelve year old boy knows his life as it is and one evening he learns the truth about the community. Jonas set’s off into a adventure to change it all. Character,conflict,and symbolism makes the reader see thru the eyes of a twelve year old in a place of slavery disguised without anyone knowing it.
Analytical Essay On The Giver
771 Words | 4 PagesOne of the main themes in “The Giver” is the importance of individuality. The people in the community are not given any freedom to be individuals. They are not allowed to be different, and this creates less understanding of the world. This is why the community needs a receiver to understand these things for them.
The Community In The Giver
1439 Words | 6 Pages“Even the Matching of Spouses was given such a weighty consideration that sometimes an adult who applied to receive a spouse waited months or even years before a Match was approved and announced” (Lowry 48). In the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry, there is a community where there is almost no decision or say in any situations, you wake up tomorrow, and it is the same as yesturday. Nothing is ever unique or different, it’s always the same. Every choice is made for them, every move the make being decided for them. This is how it was in the community, everything was the same always.
Essay On Banned Books
709 Words | 3 Pages“American citizens who care about the improvement of education are urged to join students, teachers, librarians, administrators, boards of education, and professional and scholarly organizations in support of the students’ right to read” (The Students Right to Read). Citizens should be allowed to stand up if they believe books should not be banned. It is important that writers should be able to have their books out to the public without getting banned. “Challengers often employ a definition that maintains that banning materials is the only true form of censorship,”(Knox 740). Censorship of books is common and a real problem.
The Importance Of Censorship In Literature
2367 Words | 10 PagesChildren 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
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