Censorship In The Giver

Censorship and The Giver Censorship stems from concern for someone’s well being, protection matters, and a want to prevent hurried child syndrome. The list of banned or challenged books is ever increasing, striking a debate within our society. Often times books are not available for children in their school libraries because someone has thought the content required censorship. The most common reasons for banning a book include mature content, sexual explicitness, and a large presence of violence. The Giver by Lois Lowry is frequently challenged on the basis of mature content and violence. The Giver should not be banned from libraries because it shows the importance of individual expression, promotes children to think for themselves, and encourages self esteem. The novel is set in a futuristic society that holds control over everything. The population does not have free will nor do they question it. This proves to be problematic for the protagonist, Jonah. During the choosing ceremony where

Thinking for yourself often leads to the questioning of authority, which scares parents into banning the book. In the controlled society, elderly people who are no longer useful and babies who are different are sometimes released. This is an accepted practice within the community because it has been performed for the entirety of the citizens lives. Jonah discovers being released is the same as being put to death, although the government makes it seem like a peaceful tradition. The citizens never question tradition or think for themselves about what is actually happening to people once they are released. If they did, more citizens would be less accepting of killing people because they aren’t useful or are different. Introducing the idea of thinking for yourself is beneficial for children to learn because it allows open questioning which leads to better