Is it ok to ban books? - Esme Farmer

Is it ok to ban certain books?

By Esme Farmer

As part of her Scholars’ provision, Year 9 student, Esme Farmer, has been researching and investigating the big question of ‘Is it ok to ban certain books?’. In the modern world where so many expressions of artistic licence are being questioned within the contexts of the need to be more ‘woke’ and of ‘cancel culture’, she has been wondering whether literature should be subjected to stringent censorship and monitoring, or whether, as a form of artistic expression, anything goes. Her argument is summarised below:

Some books can be seen to have a negative influence or effect on people. This is sometimes because the book contains offensive and hurtful language so the book is then banned to prevent more people from taking offense from its content. In 1988, The Satanic Verses was published, shortly to be banned by multiple countries that same year. The reason for this is, it was viewed as highly offensive and controversial towards Muslims, containing religious violence and it is now said to hold ‘A unique place in the history of literary censorship’. Literature can often have the effect of being ‘an extremely effective weapon for planting an ideology in people’s heads’. This means that when certain people read things they create this idea in their head because reading can trick you into forgetting to stay in touch with reality- an illusion of a different world forms and they start thinking about it more, occasionally leading to people repeating negative things that have happened in history. ‘The efforts to hide parts of our history are not simply to protect us but to tell a new story and define a new future.’

Another thing books can be banned for (more in the past than present) is discussing homosexuality or race. Books by Oscar Wilde were banned, leading to him being put on trial for writing about ‘gross indecency’

and ‘homosexuality’. When the famous novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ was published, it produced a lot of controversy for the subject of race and racism being brought up frequently, but is now seen as a ‘classic novel’.

Despite the fact that a book might be offensive or hateful and people think it should be banned, humans have a right of free speech and are allowed to write or read whatever they choose. However, claiming you can say what you please comes with the responsibility of being able to handle the knowledge that anyone else can come forward with an opposing thought, as other people also have freedom of speech – “If you believe in free speech, you also believe in showing why you disagree with people by putting forward your arguments – not by stopping your opponents from speaking.’ In addition to this, trying to stop people from saying what they feel might make someone more determined to force their opinion upon others or even encourage other people to believe that what they can no longer read has much more power than what they originally thought. Sebastian Huempfer highlights the fact that prohibiting something makes it much more desirable when he says

If you tell people it’s dangerous and you’re not going to let anyone read it, “ that makes it sound like it’s powerful and seductive in a way that it really isn’t.

Free speech can also be extremely beneficial through influencing others and sharing knowledge, as in past times in history, it has helped fight for change. An example of this is the suffragists, fighting for women’s rights. Even in books and literature, a voice can be strong and have a positive impact by not only teaching people more about our world but also sometimes creating characters and sharing stories in a way that makes people feel more comfortable in their own skin. In an article, Dr Epstein talks about how having diverse characters or accomplished female characters is crucial for future generations because to move forward as a society we need to be accepting of one another and feel like we’re equals. Things like this can only be discussed if everyone has a right to voice their opinion without feeling like they might be shut down.

Having considered both sides of the debate, there is merit for each approach to censorship. On one hand, it’s easy to get offended by things in literature, especially in today’s society. On the other hand, people have a right to read or write whatever they please. I personally believe that books should not be banned entirely, maybe just in certain places, such as schools or universities. Censoring a book can become quite a large thing – people have to read it, discuss it, and go to lengths to stop others from doing the same thing. If you compare a whole book being banned to something on social media being reported, like a post or comment, you can see just how different the two are, regardless of the fact that just one simple comment online can have basically the same effect as a whole book – imagine multiple. Things online can impact lots of people greatly, particularly since more and more people have social media as such a huge part of their day to day lives, even young teenagers. People need to control acts on social media before trying to prevent a full work of literature being seen – which is a form of art. Stopping people from expressing themselves just because a few people find a way to be offended is unnecessary. A lot of the time people are offended by something because they think they should be – not because it relates to them.

SCRIBBLE

Independent Day School 32 Town Walls , Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY1 1TN www.shrewsburyhigh.gdst.net www.shrewsburyhigh.gdst.net