Awareness of Censorship Moment - Assignment Example

Awareness of Censorship Moment My first experience with censorship was when I checked out Stephen King’s The Dead Zone. I was in 7th grade. Our school library was small. We had a very small library. Since I loved to read, I was usually found going over the small selection during lunch, free periods, and after school. One of the oldest books dated back to the 1890’s. I found The Dead Zone in a stack of paperback books. It looked really scary. The cover was of a carnival wheel. It did even have a synopsis on the back. I checked it out. The librarian did not even notice the name, since she was busy on the phone. Since I was an avid reader, I took a book everywhere. My Mom noticed the Stephen King book immediately. She said “I loved that book!” My Mom is very liberal about reading habits. As long as it is the printed word, she does not care if we read anything. I started reading the book that night. It was very fascinating. I read a couple of chapters before bed. The next morning, I scooped up my math book and The Dead Zone. My first period was English. I quickly finished the assignment in order to read The Dead Zone. As I picked up my book, my teacher came up to my desk. We were all scared of Ms. Allen She reminded me of Shelly Long, the actress. Ms. Allen was not only the English teacher, but the librarian as well. She hated me for some reason. I think it was because no matter what she assigned, I always finished in class. Ms. Allen snatched the Stephen King book out of my hands. Then Ms. Allen demanded “What do you think you are reading?” “Stephen King’s The Dead Zone,” I replied tentatively. I did not feel guilty, but her tone of voice scared me. She did not even bat an eye before sending me to the office. Ms. Allen even had the teacher next door watch the class. We marched to the office. I received a lecture about how Stephen King was not appropriate reading for a child my age. Ms. Allen got into trouble for checking the book out to me in the first place. I was really upset when I left the meeting. I did not understand what I had done wrong. I went home quite upset. When my Mom found out that the teacher had taken my book, she threw a fit. She promptly put me in the car. We went to the local Wal Mart. I was too frightened to even ask questions. I thought Mom was mad at me. She dragged me to the book section. The Stephen King books were on the bottom. Mom picked out The Dead Zone and another King book called Carrie. With my mouth opened wide, she marched up to the checkout lane. My Mom always loved an occasion to cause a scene. She loudly announced that her child’s school believed in censorship. After yelling the school’s name, she proclaimed that her child could read Stephen King, because this was a free country. I was so embarrassed. Picking up my bag of books, I tried to leave inconspicuously. It did not work. Everyone was either laughing, or shaking their heads. On the way home my Mom explained the First Amendment. She also told me that I was going to take The Dead Zone to school the next day. If the teacher took the book, I was to call home. I was always nervous, but to deliberately break the rules! I could not fathom it. The next morning I tried to rush and ‘forget’ to take the book. Mom caught me on the way out. She told me to remember what she had said about Freedom of Speech and censorship. I had planned to leave the book in my locker all day, but Ms. Allen caught me on the way in. She promptly led me to the office. I told the principal my Mom wanted him to call her. His call was short. She told him she was on her way to the school. Knowing my mother, I was scared not for me, but the principal. I should have been scared for us both. My Mom showed up in her robe and house shoes! She got into a shouting match with the principal. Her side of the issue was I am her child, she will determine what I read. The principal’s side was the Board of Education had censored that book. A school was not a democracy. His argument just made my Mom madder. She threatened to sue the school. The principal gave in to her demand. I was allowed to bring Stephen King books to school, if they were my own and did not share them with the other students. Over the next week I read both books. I never really understood the fuss. There were cuss words and a few soft sexual scenes, but the uniqueness and horror of the story over shadowed everything else. The horror was not really frightening for me, since Stephen King had made his characters have super natural powers. I did not understand why anyone would censor a genius like Stephen King. I still do not understand. My views on censorship were formed by this event in my life. I became very anti-censorship. If knowledge is good, then why censor knowledge? How is someone to judge a piece of information if they never see it? How can someone’s reaction be predicted? As a result I decided that I would not censor my children. Everything, except pornographic material, would be available to my children. My feelings are how can a child grow without learning? Children have to have knowledge, so why censor what you want child to know? I feel that children should be able to learn for themselves, not just my values or beliefs. Censorship is an evil thing to me. It causes ignorance. Learning and knowledge only occur through an exchange of ideas. This cannot occur if all the facts are not available. Censorship is the opposite of Freedom of Speech. America is a free country, not communist China. In an effort to remain free, Americans should fight censorship at all levels. Unless inciting violence, all opinions need to heard. - The most important thing is that you fully describe your experience and that you fully explain its significance. It will not be enough to simply relate your experience – explain why it matters. - Be descriptive. Try to “show” the reader your experience, but remember that you need to both describe the incident and explain its significance. Read More