Should The Perks Of Being A Wallflower By Stephen ChoboskyBe Banned from School Libraries???
By Maddie Paterna class 812
Thousands of teens around the world have been in situations dealing with rape, drug and alcohol overdose. But the question is, is it because of content in certain books? No, absolutely not. Actually, they do the opposite. Like in the book The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chobosky it makes teens and kids aware of the consequences they will face if they (for example) they overdose and abuse drugs and alcohol, makes them aware of rape, and helps them to learn not to bully/exclude someone from society because of their sexuality. Also, banning of these books goes against the first amendment, which ensures the freedom of speech and expression.
First of all, the book the Perks of being a Wallflower should not be banned from middle school libraries because it teaches kids how to deal with drug and alcohol overdose and the dangers of overdose."Study has shown that because of issues in these books such as drugs and alcohol abuse, it has made kids more aware of the dangers and all the terrible things that can happen to you" (Huffington Post "Should we take these books out our children's hands?"). This quote proves that because of these books, it has made teens more aware of the consequences. In the article Banned Book Back in class Maddie Howard, a middle schooler who has read The Perks Of Being A Wallflower states "In the book there was a lot of drugs and alcohol, which was very surprising to us, and made us realize how much drugs can ruin a kids life." This quote shows how a teen was aware of the dangers just by reading a book.
In addition, The Perks of Being A Wallflower can teach a lot about rape. In the book Charlie witness a rape. "He reached to take off her pants but then she started to cry really hard and kept saying no." Charlie is watching this happen and doesn't know what to do, but when his mom finds out she yells at him and says that if something like that happens you have to tell someone. This part in the book shows that if you are a witness of rape you should always get help if you can. When I read this part of the book with my book club, it made me realize how awful Charlie must of felt in this situation and how he should of gotten help. This shows that this book helps you understand what to do in these situations. Also in "Dangerous Content in Books?" (Huffington post) it sates "89.46% of teens who read these books have been educated on these topics, not feeling inclined to do something on impulse." This quote shows that these books don't contain information that is harmful to the teenage mind, but has information that educates kids on these issues so that they are greater prepared in the world.
Lastly, banning these books also goes against the first amendment. The first amendment gives us the right to have freedom of speech and expression, and by banning these books from school libraries, it is taking away our right. In the article "I Will Always Buy My Children Banned books" (Huffington Post) the author states " I want children to see the dark things in the world so they are prepared for problems in the world, and that is their right to do so as stated in the first amendment." This shows that the author believes that the first amendment gives us the right to read these books. Although some people think that "Books should still be banned despite the first amendment because they are pervasively vulgar such actions would be unconstitutional" you still can't do that because that is against the constitution, and the constitution gives America it's freedom.
It is very important for kids and teenagers to be able to have access to books like The Perks of Being a Wallflower because it exposes them to the real world. Yes, books can be dark, vulgar, extreme, racist, gory, example cruel behavior towards gay and different people, so can life, and there is nothing we can do to stop teens from being exposed to this darkness.
