Many people all over the country are taking sides in the battle on banning books. When people ban books, they are getting rid of life lessons and important morals for many children. Some banned books, like Animal Farm by George Orwell aren't so inappropriate that they should be banned from libraries everywhere. I just read this book a couple of weeks ago, and I am glad I read it. Banning Animal Farm is taking the wrong side of the fight.
Animal Farm is a classic book with an important message. Sure, it has some violence. But it isn't all that graphic. Probably the most graphic scene is on page 41 when the animals are at war with the humans. It says, "The pellets scored bloody streaks along Snowball's back, and the sheep dropped dead." According to the article "Banned Books We Have Loved" by Jen Doll, "Over and over again, the books worth reading were the banned ones." This book teaches us that some types of governments don't work out the way they're supposed to by using kid-friendly characters such as pigs as the dictators/bad guys and other farm animals as the characters being affected. You can learn a lot from this book.
You shouldn't ban books for everyone. Books like Animal Farm deserve to be in libraries. Although it has some graphic scenes, it is overall a classic book. For instance, on page 22 of the book when the animals finally get their freedom, it says "Yes, it was theirs- everything they could see was theirs…. They rolled in the dew, they cropped mouthfuls of sweet summer grass, they kicked up clods of black earth and snuffed its rich scent." Even in a book whose message is dark, it is scenes like this and in-depth descriptions that make up for the violence. If you are a parent personally thinks that your child isn't ready for this stuff and you're planning to ban it, don't get rid of it for everyone. It is a personal decision of what your child can and can't read.
Book banning isn't even all that affective. When I first saw the banned books list, I saw many books that I had either already read, or was planning to read. The fact that these books were banned made me want to read them even more. For many authors such as R. L. Stine, your books being banned can be a source of pride. It means that their books are actually being read. All in all, instead of trying to ban books for everyone, try discussing with your child what they can and can't read. Also try to get their insight on what they feel comfortable reading. If we ban relevant books like Animal Farm, then over time future generations might forget the moral of the story. If we aren't reminded of these lessons, we might forget them someday. Overall, I am happy that I read this book and I don't regret choosing it. Maybe some day people will realize how irrelevant book banning is.
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