A topic that is widely discussed these days
is the idea of banning books from certain schools and libraries. Most of the
books being challenged are young adult (YA) fiction. The books are challenged
and defended by parents, children, teachers, and “concerned adults” (as said in
Meghan Cox- Gurdon’s “Darkness Too Visible”). Most of the time they are
challenged because they deal with dark and frightening problems such as suicide,
murder, rape, racism, and dystopian worlds that that threaten social norms. Some
people such as Gurdon think that the dark YA fiction should be forever banned
from schools and libraries, but others like award winning author Sherman Alexie
think that books should not be banned anywhere. There are quite a few extremely
gruesome books, but there are kids who need them. Schools and libraries, for
the sake of the children, should be kept just the way they are. If a parent
doesn’t like the content of a book, their child doesn’t have to read it.
YA books are a valuable resource even if they
are dark-- especially if they are dark-- because they can help get kids through
difficult times. Even more so if they are going through something similar to
what the protagonist of the book is going through. In an essay written by Sherman
Alexie “Why the Best Books Are Written in Blood” I came across a beautiful
quote, “I read books about monsters and monstrous things, often written with
monstrous language, because they taught me how to battle the real monsters in
my life. And now I write books for teenagers because I vividly remember what it
felt like to be a teen facing every day and epic dangers. I don’t write to
protect them. It’s far too late for that. I write to give them weapons–in the
form of words and ideas-that will help them fight their monsters.” I think this
quote really captures the reason why book should be kept in schools and
libraries. There are kids everywhere who face dangers similar to the ones in
these books. Dangers that people like Meghan Cox Gurdon call “Hideously distorted
portrayals of what life is.” For many kids, however, it is not distorted, no
matter how hideous. Those kids don’t need protection from their problems, they
need answers. To them and banning YA fiction would be denying them of their
answers.
There are teens out there who use literature
to connect to what can seem like an out of reach and untouchable world. YA fiction can alert troubled teens to the
fact that there are people out there who care
and are willing to help. Sherman Alexie himself has haunting issues tucked away
in his past. He says about his childhood, “When I think about the
poverty-stricken, sexually and physically abused, self-loathing Native American
teen that I was, I can only wish, immodestly, that I’d been given the chance to
read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part
Time Indian or Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak,
or Chris Lynch’s’ Inexcusable, or any
of the books Ms. Gurdon believes to be irredeemable.” The dark writing acknowledges
the teens’ problems, and shows that there are understanding people who are not,
in fact, ignorant and who possibly have experienced similar setbacks and
obstacles. If they can relate to understanding characters and authors they have
a fighting chance for their futures. By banning books we are taking away their
hope for a better life.
Some children, however, are not facing
problems such as murder, suicide, and rape amongst many. There can be gruesome
and inappropriate imagery, such as scenes involving a descriptive and grisly
murder. They could be too immature or just too sensitive to understand why
something like that would happen. Moreover, they could be much too young to
comprehend the intensity and potency of these problems. Children like these
ones ought to be sheltered, you say? Maybe not! The concern then would be
ignorance. In the article “Has Young Adult Fiction Become Too Dark?” by Mary
Elizabeth Williams, a young girl named Emma ingeniously states, “Darkness isn’t
the enemy. But ignorance always is.” A person cannot go through the world
without a care, not knowing about the issues people very similar to them face
every day. Kids need to understand that sometimes the cliffhanger doesn’t
resolve. Furthermore, what if one of these “hideously distorted portrayals”
became the reality of their lives? They
would have no answers to the problems, no weapons to fight the monsters, no
resources for survival, and no tools to put together the broken pieces. Our worst
concern should not be the fear of a topic, it should be not knowing it at all.
In the end, YA books, however dark, are an
everlasting resource of hope for troubled kids, and for educating what is
dangerously close to a generation that is completely ignorant to social issues.
For these teens these books are an asset, and where we see discouragement they
see hope, and where we see darkness they see a light. Banning YA fiction is not
an option. To do so would be a waste of an opportunity to make the world a
better place.
