Censorship of Childrens Books: The Giver by Lois Lowry - Essay Example

? Censorship of Children’s Books: “The Giver” by Lois Lowry The very concept of censorship opposes the fundamental freedom of speech, thoughts and ideas. In general, all kinds of communication are limited to some extent because people censor themselves before deciding what to write in a letter or a book. Censorship occurs when a third party decides to limit the contents of a book. Since, censorship controls the flow of ideas and information in the society in both democratic and non-democratic countries, there are arguments regarding its pros and cons. Censorship in general is applicable to television programs, movies, books, magazines and Internet. The core reason of censorship is not restraining expression of people, but to protect them. Some of the advantages can be avoidance of plagiarism, restriction of vulgar and obscene materials, hiding sensitive military data from enemy states and so on. However, opponents of censorship argue on many elements like human rights are violated and excessive control is exerted on people’s fundamental freedom of expression. This paper discusses about censorship of children’s books with special focus on banning of The Giver by Lois Lowry. Censorship of children’s books Arguments Censorship can be more accurately defined as “government restriction or legislation of materials, including the banning of books” (Hintz & Tribunella, 429). In other words, censorship is restriction imposed by a governing authority over the access of contents of a book according to the age and status of the intended readers (Hintz & Tribunella, 430). There is a significant role of censorship and selection in the books meant for children and young adults. Censorship of children’s books happens when an entire book or a portion of it is considered inappropriate for children or young adults, and decision is taken by appropriate authorities to prevent children from reading it. Those who advocate censorship consider this as a necessary step to exert control over books and literature that are especially written for children and young adults so that they are not exposed to vulgar or adult stuff. These supporters of censorship believe that certain ideas and expressions need to be controlled that have the potential to corrupt the young minds. Moreover, by censoring books, writers promoting racism and sexist ideas can be curbed. Also, books are censored to avoid children from seeing unwanted stuff like photographs portraying violence. Those who oppose censorship believe that this practice violates the right to free expression by the Americans, which is agreed by the U.S. constitution. These people believe that a single group assigned with the task of making decisions on censorship does not have the right to decide on behalf of everyone that what books or parts of books are inappropriate for children and young adults. Opponents of censorship argue that it is the responsibility of parents to decide on their children’s behalf what they can or cannot read. They also assert that it is not right to criticize materials for the simple reason that they are ahead of time (Magoon, 8-11). Impact of negative reading Censorship of children’s books arises from the concept that children and young adults should be separate from the world of adults. Children are considered as innocent and should not be exposed to the pressures and vagaries of adulthood. Texts and pictures are considered as adult materials when they are deemed inappropriate to be seen by children and young adults like books on the subjects of violence, racism, sexuality, drug use, social upheaval and political controversy. Such books are often banned in its entirety or else chapters containing such materials are banned from publication in order to protect the innocence of childhood. The importance of censorship of children’s books lies in the fact that young readers get negatively affected by violent and provocative ideas or images they find in a text. It cannot be denied that works of literature can adversely affect children and young adults, because denying this fact will go against the basic concept that literature has immense power to influence a child’s emotions and innovative ideas. However, some of the arguments against censorship of children’s books are based on the belief that some children have natural resilience power and they can revert back to their normal selves even after experiencing difficult situation and shocking events. These children can take violent and provocative materials in books in stride. Moreover, censorship denies children and young readers from critical reading skills. For instance, even if they feel disturbed after encountering negative materials in a book, they can control their emotional upheaval by discussing those materials with their parents, teachers or other adults in their family who in turn can help the children to develop critical reading skills (Hintz & Tribunella, 428). The seven volumes of Harry Potter books published from 1999 to 2007 are immensely popular all over the world. However, even these books have faced many challenges regarding distribution and publication. There have been various attempts to ban the publication of the books including burning the books. The core reason given by supporters of censorship of Potter books is that the stories depict occultism which is defined as “belief in the supernatural outside the parameters of conventional religious beliefs” (Hintz & Tribunella, 446). The Potter stories also revolve around alchemy, wizardry, magic and witchcraft, all of which are believed to have negative impact in the minds of young readers. Such materials are generally believed to have the power to garner interest among children and young adults and can provoke them towards occult subculture. The demand to censor publication and distribution of Harry Potter books is mostly prominent among the Christian community as they believe that certain materials in the books are against the faith of young Christians. Although the major reason behind censoring the books is existence of occultism, other reasons shown by the advocators of censoring the books are portrayal of intimidating bureaucracies, corrupt school authorities, and hero worship of Harry Potter and his friends although they have repeatedly broken school rules and regulations. According to a CNN report on December 31, 2001, pastor and members of Christ Community Church in Alamogordo, New Mexico have indulged in burning books of Harry Potter series. They claimed that the books teach children to practice witchcraft. However, not all members of Christian community support the censorship of Potter books. According to these members, Potter books promote allegiance to friends, sacrifice for goodness, and fighting the evil (Harry Potter defeating Voldemort in the final volume). It is true that magic as portrayed in Potter books are not only the mild ones like summoning faraway objects or cleaning clutter in a room, but also dangerous curses and Dark Arts. However, the author J.K. Rowling said that those are skills that need to be mastered and in no way related to religions. Also, she insists that like science, magic is also something that can have good or bad ends depending on how it is practiced (Hintz & Tribunella, 446-447). The Giver (1993) The Giver is a children’s book written by Lois Lowry that depicts an imaginary community that is ruled by strict authorities in order to maintain peace and order. This community which actually is an embodiment of dystopia is devoid of pains and chaos. Since the people living in this community have not experienced pain, therefore they are also ignorant about human emotions like love, happiness or remorse. There also exists no freedom of choice and individual liberty. Only two characters in this novel are capable of comprehending human emotions and they are The Giver and a 12 year old boy Jonas. It is from Jonas’ perspective that the story has been narrated. Although initially, the society in which the novel has been set has been portrayed as utopian land, with further progress into the story, the reader can get glimpses of its dystopian features. The Giver is the only one who has in his mind the “memories of the whole world” (Lowry, 81). He has been assigned to transmit all those memories that include human emotions to Jonas who is selected as his successor by the community members. The society as depicted in this book is full of regulations that provide the young readers to realize the importance of freedom of choice. In this society, the Birthmothers give birth to infants but they can “never even get to see Newchildren” (Lowry, 27). It is the responsibility of the Nurturing Center to take care of the babies for one year. There were also other rigid rules like only “two children – one male and one female” (Lowry, 14) were assigned to every family. Since every family led similar lives which were akin to robots, they have lost the ability to feel any kind of emotions. The story takes a turning point when Jonas experiences feelings and love for the first time. It happens when he starts seeing colors and a family celebrating a holiday. For Jonas, it was a “warm and comforting memory” (Lowry, 126) transmitted by the Giver. This book implies the importance of human feelings. Although negative feelings like envy can cause wars and chaos, but people having no feelings like love and joy can only live like robots. Criticisms Although, the novel received the prestigious Newbery medal in 1994, it was not free from criticisms. It has also appeared in the number eleven slot in American Library Association’s challenged books list. The demand for banning the book arose because of “depiction of infanticide, euthanasia...., or puberty-driven sexual awakening” (Stewart, 21). Although similar themes have been covered in other books, The Giver gives a clear description of release (meaning death according to the novel’s characters) of an infant who is a twin. Also, according to critics there were sexual innuendos in the dream that Jonas had about his friend Fiona: “I wanted her to take off her clothes and get into the tub.... I wanted to bathe her” (Lowry, 40). Although Jonas does not indulge in the actual act of consummation in his dream, it is nevertheless been criticized by adult readers as potentially provocative and suggestive. The book has also received criticisms because it is considered as having rebellious materials that can make young readers believe that they must be integrated into political life. Since books of imaginary worlds are read by young readers at very early age, therefore the feeling emerges early in their minds that they have the capacity to reform a society. Although The Giver reinforces many cultural values which are worthy of reinforcement, it is however considered that not all values can be accepted without question (Stewart, 21-23). This book depicts an imaginary world that embodies dystopia, and like all dystopias the inhabitants of this world have a worse fate than the readers. Although the effort of the authorities of this world is to create a Utopian world, the result is absence of personal choice and freedom. The protagonist Jonas feels alienated from this society so much so that he attempts to escape from this world. This book has been criticized for depiction of horrifying events like euthanasia. The author Lowry through her book has implied that people without past memories do not have the emotional capacity to feel love and pain. For instance, Jonas’ father who is a professional child nurturer takes the life of a new-born baby albeit good-naturedly, and he has no remorse for his action (Hanson, 45,51). Such raw portrayal of euthanasia is considered improper for children and young readers, and hence many parents have demanded for banning of the book’s publication. There have been various reasons cited mostly by parents of school going children for banning of the book. In the 1990s, just after the publication of the book, the main objections were portrayal of extreme “violence and sexual scenes, infanticide, euthanasia and sexual awakening” (Baldassarro). In Kansas city, in the year 1995, one parent objected the existence of the book in school libraries because the book contains subjects of murder and suicide, and also the book insults the concept of motherhood and degrades adolescence. This protest was successful since the books were removed from all school libraries and were only accessible to teachers under certain conditions. Another parent in New York protested because of usage of “mind control, selective breeding, and the eradication of the old and young when they are weak, feeble and of no more use” (Baldassarro). Personally, I feel after reading the book that it portrays the importance of savoring memories in one’s life. Memories of past events can make one feel all kinds of human emotions like love and attachment, and this can build a bright future. Moreover, it teaches young readers the joy of individual liberty and freedom of choice the lack of which can make our lives monotonous and without feeling. Therefore, I consider that the book has many positive views which can be good for the children and young adults. Conclusion The core problem of censorship of children’s book occurs due to the need of universal agreement. A book meant for young readers need to be appropriate for the readers in the perspective of everyone and disturb no one’s sensibilities. Such a situation is practically impossible because of the varied social, political and cultural opinions in this world. At the same time, parents and teachers, and also the strongest advocators of censorship of children’s books have practical opinions regarding texts and images in books that cannot be in any way deemed appropriate for children. Thus, censorship is a complicated issue especially when the subject of censorship includes books and movies written and made for children and young readers. There are varied views on what is suitable and what is not suitable for children along with criticisms about group rights regarding censorship. Censorship also has the power to encourage or discourage freedom to read among children individually and collectively. References 1. Baldassarro, R. Wolf. “Banned Books Awareness: The Giver by Lois Lowry”. March 27, 2011, November 15, 2013 from: http://bannedbooks.world.edu/2011/03/27/banned-books-awareness-giver-lois-lowry/ 2. Hanson, Carter F. “The Utopian Function of Memory in Lois Lowry’s The Giver”, Extrapolation, 50.1 (2009) 45-60 3. Hintz & Tribunella. Censorship and Selection 4. Lowry, Lois, The Giver. 1993 5. Magoon, Kekla. Media Censorship, ABDO, 2010 6. Stewart, Susan Louise “A Return to Normal: Lois Lowry’s The Giver”, Lion and the Unicorn, 31.1 (2007) 21-35 Read More