Should The Giver Be Banned

Ever since the release of the Lois Lowry’s famous novel “The Giver” in 1993, millions of readers have loved enjoyed reading the book very much, with over 12 million copies of the book being sold. However, schools have banned the book for its themes of suicide, puberty-related talks about sexual emotions, and rebellion. Some readers have even despised disliked the book for the involvement of religion, whether it’s the absence of religion in the story, or aspects from the Bible being present in the story, including Biblical names being present in the story. The fact that the book is being banned in many schools for these reasons is quite unjust upsetting because despite its somewhat violent themes, it teaches some important lessons. These

“And he could see, though his eyes were closed. He could see a bright, whirling torrent of crystals in the air around him, and he could see them gather on the backs of his hands, like cold fur. His breath was visible” (Lowry, 103). Banning this book will hide some important information and examples of the real beauty of life, and will probably even leave potential readers wondering what the earth’s has to its positive sidepositive side is supposed to look like. In this case, people will not realize the beauty of nature on this earth or even know what our natural world looks like. It’s filled with life and mind blowing amounts of beauty, as shown at the end of the book, where the main character, Jonas, finds wildlife and forests on his own for the first time. The only times he saw wildlife were through memories transferred by The Giver. The community never had any type of wildlife, as a result of Sameness, a living condition that aims for perfection of life, meaning that worry is almost non-existent, and that life is predictable in Jonas’s community. Banning this book will potentially make people confused about what is there in the natural world to see, not realizing the true and real beauty of our world. In conclusion, banning The Giver will halt the realization of some readers about what the beauty that holds is there in the natural world to see, and why it’s so