Erin Manning: A Literary Analysis

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Literature can be a powerful tool to help people make changes in their lives or see things from a different view point which has made people want to control it throughout time, school libraries and teacher curriculum being a large part of this. Some people would like to ban certain books all together, others would like tougher censoring, and many people believe in neither book banning nor heavy censoring, believing it would bring more harm than good. Even though some would argue differently, Ellen Hopkins refers to how a book can help young adult readers “I have received tens of thousands of messages from readers, thanking me for turning them around, giving much needed insight, and even literally saving their lives.” (Hopkins 1) Young adult…show more content…
Erin Manning has a point when she says “[W]e no longer live in an era where we can trust the authority figures in our children's lives to share our values and foster the same view of morality and decency which we ourselves have, we can't afford to let our children read whatever trashy novel they pick up at school.” (Manning 3) Parents and other officials need to be able to ban or censor the books they deem inappropriate because children are given access to a variety of books without parental consent first. Laruie Taylor, who is a parent, has asked for two changes regarding certain books deemed inappropriate “First, she wants these books, many by the same repetitive-message authors, placed in a restricted section of the library. Then she wants the school to notify parents and get their consent when their children seek access to one of these books either in person or by an Internet request.” (Masterson 1) These two simple changes are not a complete ban but do protect children from material that isn’t necessarily appropriate for school libraries or teacher curriculum. Literature involving topics such as sex, drugs and alcohol have no place inside the school classroom. Students need to be addressing these topics at home with their parents, not forced to talk about them in school. Literature can…show more content…
Within the classroom youth can develop a critical thinking mind set about controversial topics without having a certain view point forced upon them, others disagree this is right. As Marlyn Maxwell says “[E]very day [books] fall victim to the overzealous agenda of religious, community, and political factions that seek to establish the classroom as their forum for the inculcation and dissemination of an unquestioned set of ethical standards.” (Maxwell 1) This should not be able to happen, not all parents are able or willing to discuss all the issues their children would like to discuss with them, so by learning through teacher curriculum young adults are still getting the information they

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