Why Are Banned Books Banned

Banned Books The Harry Potter series, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and To Kill a Mockingbird are a few examples of books that have entertained many people for years (Banned & challenged Classics). There have also been books that helped shape America, like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and The Call of the Wind (Banned Books That Shaped America). What most people do not know is that these books have been banned in some places. It might be a weird fact that these famous books are banned, but they are. Books are banned for many different reasons. Some reasons include racial issues, blasphemous dialogue, sexual situations or dialogue, violence or negativity, encouragement of “damaging” lifestyles, presence of witchcraft, religious affiliation, political bias, and age inappropriate. The biggest reasons for banning books are offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuitable for an age group (LibGuides). Books can get banned by anyone from parents to a government. Religious groups, governments, parents, schools, and libraries are the most known for banning books. The biggest group that bans books are parents. Parents ban books to protect their children or

Classics like Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter are commonly banned in schools across the country. These schools want to protect children from the harms of inappropriate material. Some schools bring a case upon the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court usually leans on the schools side in these cases. School boards state clear policies describing how books are selected to avoid controversy. These selection policies should have viewpoints of many people around the community. Good internal communications and public relations are the best way to avoid unnecessary controversy (Education World: Banning Books from the Classroom: How to Handle Cries for