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Why Is One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Be Banned

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Ken Kasey’s One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a literary classic known not only for its superb style and captivating story, but also for a number of well-publicized attempts to ban the book from school and public libraries dating back to the 1970’s just after the initial publication of the story. In 1974, the board of education in Strongsville, OH was pressured with a lawsuit to ban One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The plaintiff in the case (five residents of Strongsville) presented a long and complicated argument for why the book should be banned from the school system in Stronsville, which was mostly based on violence. In the opinion of the plaintiff, the book, “glorifies criminal activity, has a tendency to corrupt juveniles, and contains …show more content…

These include: Removal from school libraries in Randolph, NY for violent nature in 1975. Removal from Alton, OK for violence and language in 1975, removed from the required reading list at Westport, MA public schools in 1977, banned from the St. Anthony, Idaho Freemont High School classrooms in 1978 for violence also, the instructor was fired for teaching the book. Additionally, the book was challenged at the Merrimack, N.H High School in 1982, and also challenged as part of the curriculum in an Aberdeen, Washington High School honors English class because the book promotes "secular humanism." In each case, the premise of the ban or challenge was based upon either language or violence, but never did the schools or challengers take into account the audience and what they had already been exposed to prior to reading the …show more content…

This means that most students reading the novel would be 13 or 14 at least, and as young adults, the school districts all failed to take into account the experiences they had most likely already had in life. Course language is no stranger to the high school hallways and neither is the mild violence portrayed in the book. Today, PG-13 movies allow one use of the f-word as a verb and three uses of the f-word as an expletive. As long as no graphic seen of hard drug use is shown, a movie is also given a PG-13 rating. Furthermore, the MPAA has said that to earn higher than a PG-13 rating, movies must show “Extreme and graphic violence.” If this rating system is used to evaluate One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, most people would easily see that this movie fits the rating for the PG-13 section of movies, and if that is truly the case, there is no reason to ban the book from 13 year olds, despite the content being marginally questionable. Parents would rather let their children see an extremely violent movie like The Dark Night which is rated PG-13, than to let them read a classic book, and this is questionable reasoning. I firmly believe that the challenges and bans of One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest should be lifted, or at least adjusted in accordance with the movie

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In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez is a historical fiction novel about the tragedy of the late Mirabal sisters. Though the book is acclaimed by parents, students, and teachers for it’s fictional adaptation to the historical moments of that time, sadly it was challenged due to its diagram of how to build a time bomb. Port Washington is a school district with a goal of furthering students intelligence through literature and ensuring the safety of their students and families. A school in that district, Paul D. Schreiber High, had this novel on the list of books to be read in sophomore English class in 2000, the book was voted to be banned because of its easy descriptions of malice. This book is an opportunity to enrich the student's

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Banned Book Argument Essay on One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo ’s Nest Ken Kesey’s novel, One Who Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest, has been challenged by people who believe it to be to mature for high school students, however, it can help seniors to understand the flaws in some psychiatric hospitals and understand the type of people all while improving their reading skills.

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but that just like movies parental guidance is suggested so it makes sense that it should be banned but not for someone older who wouldn’t get distracted from the overall message. Child molestation is another reason this book was banned. Jeannette Walls talks about living with different relatives of the family and one of them attempting to do stuff with her and another time trying to do stuff with her little brother. It is made clear in the book that this wasn’t acceptable behavior on the adults part so I understand and agree that it isn’t for those younger than the age of sixteen.

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Others have decided not to ban it, because of the first amendment. Although banning Fahrenheit 451 would be an infringement on the author's right to speak freely, the long-lasting mental and physical devastation to the children reading this book that arises as a result of

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Fahrenheit 451, published in 1953 by Ray Bradbury, takes place in a dystopian futuristic society where technology has taken over all entertainment and educational uses, replacing books, and free thought isn’t allowed. The main character, Guy Montag, has a job as a fireman but instead of putting out fires he sets books on fire. The book continues as Montag meets a girl named Clarisse McClellan who brings up different viewpoints on life and books, making him begin to change his beliefs on burning books. Guy then begins to steal books, an illegal action, and store them in his house. Then, he rebels against the police force and the government in a very non-organized fashion.

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Anniston Tipps Acc. English 10 Mr. VanDyke 29 March 2018 The Banning of Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan Lois Duncan, the author of Killing Mr. Griffin, got the idea to write this book because she wondered what might happen if a psychopathic teenager was placed in a school setting. Mr. Griffin is a character based off of one of Duncan’s daughter’s teachers. Mark Kinney is based off of her daughter’s boyfriend.

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The promotion of underage drinking, the descriptive details of violence, and the sexual content in the book makes it highly inappropriate. The majority of young adults are not prepared to handle the situations mentioned in the novel. Most parents try their hardest to protect their children from these settings. Exposing young adults to these situations can result in problems because they are not emotionally mature. Society needs to be more sensitive to how this material can negatively affect a young person's development.

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Moral Lense Literary Analysis of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest The 1950s, the context of which One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a novel by Ken Kesey, was written, was called the Era of Conformity. During this time, the American social atmosphere was quiet conformed, in that everyone was expected to follow the same, fixed format of behavior in society, and the ones who stand out of being not the same would likely be “beaten down” by the social norms. In the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Kesey argues that it is immoral for society to simply push its beliefs onto the people who are deemed different, as it is unfair and could lead to destructive results. First of all, it is unjust for people who are deemed unalike from others in society to be forced into the preset way of conduct because human tend to have dissimilar nature.

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Literature, old or modern, has always been subject to criticism and judgement due to the issues that exist within classic novels. Whether the issue contains profanity, violence, or content too mature for young readers, award-winning books’ existences receive threats to be banned and forgotten. Unfortunately for Ken Kesey’s classic, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, this may be the only course of action. While the novel displays violence unsuitable for high-school curriculums, Ken Kesey’s classic should be in every library for adult readers. Although the novel teaches valuable life lessons about individuality and is mild compared to modern media, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest should be banned in all high school curriculums because it incorporates

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The Dangers of Book Banning The practice of challenging or banning books has long been a strategy used to label reading materials as offensive on moral, religious, or political, grounds. Books are being banned for containing offensive materials. It is argued that people can become influenced by detrimental ideas. The First Amendment expresses that citizens have the right to freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

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As young adults, our minds are still moldable. Parents were increasingly afraid of the influence One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest could have on their children. They were mostly concerned with the exaltation of criminal activity, such as murder, obscenity, and prostitution, that was illustrated in the novel. Adults were, and are still, wanting an alternative book that will exemplify good morals and role models.

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Henry Louis Gates said “censorship is to art as lynching is to justice.” The banning of books has become increasingly prevalent in the United States, there is an entire week dedicated to it. The Kite Runner is at the top of the list of books parents do not approve of in high schools. Although some believe The Kite Runner has graphic scenes inappropriate for students, the lessons that can be learned from the book outweigh “damage” students may face from reading it. There are several themes and lessons in The Kite Runner that prove beneficial to high school students.

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(cbldf.org). Because of this challenge to the book, the principal decided that all questionable content regarding student curriculum will be disclosed to parents beforehand. In 2003, the book was challenged and then completely banned in George County, Mississippi. The copious amounts of profanity and sexual content lead to this unfortunate conclusion.

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A parent or the student should be the one who decided whether or not the book is appropriate. Also, when a child is sheltered from the world, a book with just a bit of adult material could help them understand what really happens. It could prepare them so when they do become older and get a job, the world doesn’t put them into complete shock. Taken from Common Reasons for Banning Books, “…it is important that the reader makes his/her judgments on the book.” To elaborate on this, another person shouldn’t tell a student what and what not to read.

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When most people hear about book banning, they think of libraries across the country clearing their shelves of books thought to be taboo or problematic. While that once was a problem in the United States, book banning has taken a tactical, less obvious form of censorship and it is mostly in schools. It’s not a stranger to anyone that middle and high schools have required reading lists that name several books students will have to read for the academic school year. The books can range from anything to everything and are often stock packed with various themes, lessons, and messages. However, plenty of parents feel that certain ideas should not be taught to their children, especially when the ideas conflict with their own personal beliefs and interests.

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