Bridge To Terabithia Banned

The novel Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson is one of the thousands of books that have been banned or challenged in the last 100 years. Written in 1977, the novel has been controversial due to the subject matters of the concept of death, inappropriate language, and religion. In classrooms and libraries all over the world, this book keeps on popping up on the banned-book list. It is because of these subjects in the book that people believe it teaches the readers, mostly younger kids, inadequate morals and sets bad examples for students. The novel Bridge to Terabithia should not be banned due to its informative subject topics and positive impact on readers of all ages. The book is about the friendship of two fifth-graders named

The inappropriate language used is an issue because children may not understand what the words mean or they may repeat the words in the book which are not suitable for kids of young age. Words such as “Hell” and “damned” could confuse young readers in the religious context that they are used and at such a young age the belief is that children should not be exposed to cursing. Parents can get skeptical on this certain topic because they don’t want their little ones repeating bad words or acting out as the characters in the book display. On the opposing side, the book isn’t meant to be harsh and scary for a child but the purpose is to get a glimpse into the real world, not just a world of imagination and perfectness. The world is full of imperfects and it is important that children get a brief understanding of the real world, a world with cursing and

In the novel, Leslie comes from a non-religious family where as Jess’s family goes to church every Sunday. One day Leslie asks to join the Aaron family on their way to church and when she gets there she is fascinated with the concept of God and the story of Jesus. Jess thinks otherwise and he says to Leslie, “it’s because we’re all vile sinners that God made Jesus die.” Leslie objectifies and Jess’s younger sister May Belle tells Leslie that she will be “damned to Hell” for not believing. It is because of the different beliefs of the two characters the audience can be easily confused of which theory is correct or even if the theories are logical and true. Religion varies from person to person which is why promoting one belief could be unfair or unjust to another. The preferred audience age is questionable for the reason that various people have clashing beliefs which is why the controversy is brought to attention in whether it is appropriate for elementary schools and libraries. On the contrary, the argument of religion should not stop people from reading is book. It is a chance for the audience to experience contrasting views of religion and could make the subject be seen from a changed