Argument Essay Second Draft

            “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”, by Sherman Alexie, is a wonderful novel and should not be banned because of its content. School libraries and English teachers are trying to censor “Absolutely True Diary” from their students, as well as many other texts, and I disagree with this decision. School libraries and English teachers should not censor texts, such as Absolutely True Diary, that deal with controversial issues, such as racism and drug addiction, because authors do everything for a reason and a helpful lesson can be pulled out of any mildly inappropriate situation.
            Authors have a right to write whatever they want; their books are not bad influences. As the US Constitution puts it, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…”(Constitutionus.com). This first amendment makes it clear that speaking and writing whatever you want is a basic constitutional right, and for teachers to ban it is against the constitution. In “Darkness Too Visible”, an article about banning books, Meghan Cox Gurdon wrote, “Reading about homicide doesn’t turn a man into a murderer; reading about cheating on exams wont make a kid break the honor code.” In case you were unaware, the honor code or honor system is a set of rules or ethical principles governing a community based on ideals that define what constitutes honorable behavior within that community.

Many parents feel, however, that Y.A. (young adult) readers should be shielded from real world issues in books, such as racism. In “Chicago Tribune”, Ruth Fuller stated that “Some parents… want an assigned reading book [Absolutely True Diary] pulled from… school[s’] shelves… because it uses foul, racist language….” This statement makes it obvious that parents feel strongly about banning Absolutely True Diary, and pay close attention to the controversial ideas in the text. I also read a quote by Jennifer Andersen on Absolutely True Diary saying; “I can’t imagine anyone finding this book appropriate for a 13- or 14-year-old… This [book] is not appropriate for our community.” Clearly, some parents and teachers feel strongly about banning mildly inappropriate books. Fuller does a great job of showing this in her article.

            There is a need for Y.A. readers to learn about real world issues through minimal controversial behavior in books. “The Banned Books We Have Loved” shows us that there are countless lessons taught in countless books. For example, “From ‘Go Ask Alice’, we learned… that drugs should be considered with caution. “Absolutely True Diary” also taught us many good lessons. It states, “Life is a constant struggle between being an individual and being a member of the community” (76).

            These books have such beneficial lessons to be learnt that banning them would most definitely be a costly choice, in the way that students would miss the lessons. If you find yourself reading something you find too mature for you, no one’s stopping you from putting it down. Learning about graphic life lessons in the form of a book is a great way to learn something like that. I mean, what else is there that’s better than a well-written book?