books

Books don’t just give me pleasure; they calm and comfort me. I feel that no time is being wasted and no harm or dangers are being caused when I pick up a book. To be able to articulate every emotion and scene that occurs is the greatest skill one obtains when reading books. Why anyone would attempt to ban books may seem ridiculous to us westerners who consider ourselves liberals and open minded. But any time someone has a solid perspective on life and feels that it is being threatened he will more than likely retaliate; some more maturely than others by putting themselves in the other group’s shoes than give a counter argument. However there are those who are stubborn and retaliate by putting a stop to it; such as silencing and banning a book. Some attempts are foiled but others do not go in vain, considering that there are countries that have much higher censorship than others. Sure a few people in those countries will secretly obtain those books and get away; however there are others who are not as fortunate; they are unaware and convinced that censorship of certain material and information is right, never obtaining such books. I believe books should not be banned because when or wherever there is a person who seeks new, change, different, pleasure, etc. they should not be denied.

It wasn’t until I was 18 that I actually chose and completed a book on my own without skimming it or being assigned it and began to feel those feelings I described earlier. One of the first books I thoroughly enjoyed was “Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky. It was a kick starter in the right direction of pursuing literature. It was very influential to me because I also completed the nine books that were assigned to the main character during the story. There have been attempts to ban this book and the reasons are pretty simple. It contains minimal affiliation with sex and drugs. It’s a young adults book so it contains all the typical things a bored suburban boy, coming of age would attempt if the opportunity was handed when facing uncharted territory.  I liked it because the early 90’s is a period of time when rock was great and young romance was still delivered in letters. For those who enjoy nostalgic moments I recommend this book.

            A couple of reasons to ban a book are sex, drugs, violence, homo sexuality and many more. A book that comes to mind is “Naked Lunch”. Such intense graphic detail is displayed in this book by William Burroughs of pedophilia, heroin addiction, and taboo culture. It was influential to me because it taught me that there are no such things as limits and one should not be ashamed to expose what one considers their deranged thoughts to the public. Art is art.

Another book that I enjoyed and is also considered amongst the list of banned books is “1984” by George Orwell. A book that scared, puzzled, and entertained me.  If totalitarianism continued after WWII or even still today in any other country that embodies this government: a story of the horrors and dangers these tactics of propaganda and censorship could instill. A book that would be a great read especially since this class topic is media and the one thing that an authority knows is that if it wants to maintain power by force it’s through the media.