Censorship In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

History teachers far and wide have long said that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat the past. Ironically, censorship has recently given their counterparts in the English department challenges educating on some of humankind's most heinous, but important pieces of history. Censorship of literature in the form of banning historic books is one of the worst phenomena infecting schools nationwide. A prime example is found in the prohibition of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, which despite being a true tale, has been banned numerous times on counts of violence and profanity. However, the murder mystery is an invaluable, albeit gory, teaching tool about the detriments of violence and also provides insight into human nature. Although the

Throughout history, the suppression of facts and unpopular opinions has led to nothing but conflicts and frustration. This was recently evinced in author Greg Lukianoff's book, Campus Censorship,: "As you censor unpopular opinions you end up with classroom environments where individuals can't really speak their minds. You also end up with students mostly talking to people they already agree with. The research on this is very strong--when you talk to people you already agree with, it thwarts development of critical thinking skills, and it makes people much more confident in what they already believe. It tends to make people more adamant, and exacerbates the serious problem of groupthink" ( Lukianoff 1). School is a huge part of children's socialization and conditioning for life. If schools teach children that suppression of controversial ideas is the norm, they will take that idea and apply it to their real world experiences. This ideology is highly dangerous because it prevents people from venturing out of their comfort zones and experiencing the world around them. Similarly, if schools cut out books like In Cold Blood, it promotes the idea that if a concept such as violence is undesirable, it can just be ignored. Lukianoff continues, "If we've legislated politeness, and legitimized the idea that disagreeing with somebody could potentially

Violence is never the answer, but covering it up for the sake of protecting innocence is what often causes it in the first place. Thus, students should be introduced to literature like In Cold Blood during the most formative years of their lives to expose them to real violence in a controlled setting. Rather than giving teenagers to the world naive and unknowing, it is crucial for teachers to equip them with the knowledge to combat the violence around