Is it banned?

Alex Grenn '23

Arts and Entertainment Editor

Since January, there has been a surge of book bannings all across America. Some of the books being banned are regarded as favorites here at Louisville.

The first book that is currently being challenged in Missouri, Florida, and even in California is the freshman required reading: “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson. Now, this is not the first time that “Speak” has been challenged or banned. The reasons that are being given for banning this book are still based on what a man named Wesley Scroggins commented on the novel in 2010. He called “Speak” a novel of “soft pornography” which is absolutely ridiculous considering how this novel seriously and appropriately addresses rape and the trauma it brings.

Another commonly challenged book this year is “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood, taught here in English IV. This book has also been challenged multiple times over the years, mainly for concerns of it being too “sexually explicit.” However, in 2022, the two main arguments on why “The Handmaid’s Tale” should be banned are that it is “too violent” and “promotes feminism.”

The most popular banned book this year is “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas. This book has been challenged and banned several times all over the country since it was first published in 2017. However, over the past two years, the number of bannings of “The Hate U Give” has skyrocketed. The reason given for this book being banned is that it depicts “anti-police” themes, almost like that isn’t the point of the book.

But it is not just young adult books and classics that are getting banned. Children’s books are being banned left and right across the country and the reasons couldn’t be funnier.

One of the most popular banned children’s book series “Harry Potter” by J.K. Rowling has been number one on the banned books of the year list for three years in a row back in the early 2000s. But “Harry Potter” did not just stop being banned. “Harry Potter” is currently being challenged in Pennsylvania, Kansas, and Wyoming for promoting witchcraft and for being “anti-family.” It is not Harry’s fault that he is an orphan.

“Harriet the Spy” by Louise Fitzhugh, a personal favorite of mine when I was in elementary school, is currently being banned in Ohio for being a bad example for kids by teaching children to lie, spy, and backtalk. How is anyone supposed to hold a conversation with anyone without talking back?

The very popular book written by the one and only Dr. Seuss, “The Lorax”, is also being challenged. Now, why would a book about wanting to cut down fewer trees and save the planet be banned? Well, it’s because the book is promoting cutting down fewer trees. “The Lorax” is being challenged for “criminalizing the forestry industry.”

Almost every book you can think of is currently being challenged or has already been banned by someone in the United States. Although the reasons that are given can be very entertaining to read, banning books, in reality, is incredibly harmful. Banning books closes off potential readers to an entire sphere of thought. Banning books reduces the exposure to new ideas and topics, which makes people more close-minded.

Louisville teaches books that have been banned all over the country and around the world despite its banned status and we couldn’t be luckier for it.