Banned Books Argumentative Essay by Demitrius Hilerio Class 810

Demitrius Hilerio

Class 810

12/11/14

                               Should Young Adult Texts be Banned?

    Many texts; have controversial topics in them that many people may feel uncomfortable about. Some of these texts are very popular, but still are questioned because what content it contains. Sometimes texts are directed towards the teen audience, but have many mature topics that many parents and educational organizations feel aren’t fit for teens. For example like the text “Am I Blue?” by Bruce Coville. This text is about a boy name Vince that gets bullied because of his sexuality. Then his fairy godfather Melvin comes along to lead Vince through a journey of self confidence and acceptance. Many texts that have topics that are thought to be unsuitable for teens are sometimes banned. Even though the text “Am I Blue” contains controversial topics like homosexuality and strong language, people should still be able to read it because of what they can learn from texts that contain topics like. People should also be able to read these books because their rights as Americans.

    The text “Am I Blue” shouldn’t be banned because of what our country’s First Amendment of the Constitution is about. In the article “Banned Books” by Borgna Brunner the article suggests that “The First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees our right to free speech, which includes the right to read and write books that might be considered by some to be too violent, hateful, or offensive.” (“Banned Books” paragraph 5) The author’s basically explaining how our country’s Constitution is being contradicted by organizations and parents that do not understand this amendment goes for everybody not only adults. The people who are contradicting the country’s amendments do not understand that they are stopping important learning experiences and lessons from occurring in a teen’s mind. They aren’t allowing teens to read certain books that may have a big impact on their maturity. “ ‘According to the ALA President Carol Brey-Casiano, "Not every book is right for every person, but providing a wide range of reading choices is vital for learning, exploration, and imagination. The abilities to read, speak, think, and express ourselves freely are core American values.’ ”(“Banned Books” paragraph 6) This quote means that books that are banned usually have an important message behind them that allows a young reader to benefit from the text and learn and explore beyond what they already know. Which can allow the reader to learn more things about life than they already know like how decisions affect a person’s life.

     In addition the text “Am I Blue?” Shouldn’t be banned because in the text “Am I blue?” contains themes that may be questionable for some people (homosexuality, bullying, strong language, etc.) the parts in the text that contains this content allows the reader to understand how certain decisions can affect a person’s life. Books can help the reader think about the rights and wrongs in life. One example of this is in the article “Should teen books be banned?” by the Guardian a teenager author explains her opinion and suggests  “Teenagers may have developing minds, but books help to shape it. I think that its more important for teenagers to read these kinds of book, it gives them a wider viewpoint on life and what it can really be like.” (“Should teen books be banned?” paragraph 8) This means that texts like “Am I Blue?” can give young readers a different perspective on life. One example of this is the part in “Am I Blue?” when Melvin explains how people treated him because he is gay. For example, “It’s how I met my maker, so to speak. I was walking down the street one day last year, minding my own business, when three bruisers dragged me into an alley, shouting, ‘We’ll teach you, faggot!’ They never did explain exactly what it was they were going to teach me. Last thing I remember from life on earth was coming face to face with a tire iron. Next thing I knew, I was knocking at the Pearly Gates.” (“Am I Blue” page 3) This sentence shows how Melvin’s sexuality affected the way he was treated. This is valuable because this sentence displays somewhat of a realistic situation that allows young readers to understand how some of the topics in texts are real life issues that people actually deal with.

 On one hand, some may say that the text “Am I Blue?” contains clichés, stereotypes, and language that is just inappropriate and offensive and should not be allowed to be in a teenager’s possession. For example “Taking back the language is one way to jam the grinder. My friends and I called each other ‘faggot’ and ‘queer’ for the same reason so many black folks call each other ‘nigger’—to take the words away from the people who wants to use them to hurt us.” (“Am I Blue?” Page 5) some may take this sentence offensive and/or think the language in this one sentence is simply too explicit for some readers. On the other hand, the message behind what Melvin is trying to say is more important than the way he is wording it. In this sentence Melvin is trying to teach Vince a lesson about gaining strength from the bad things people call him. Melvin is also trying to teach Vince a lesson about self-confidence and acceptance within himself, which can be a lesson for the teenager reading it. These lessons can teach readers to feel different about their insecurities and personality just like Vince did by the end of the story. “ ‘And my third wish? I’ve decided to save it for when I really need it—maybe when I meet the girl of my dreams. Or Prince Charming. Whichever.’ ” (“Am I Blue?” Page 10) This part indicates how a person can come back from their confusion and sadness to become strong and confident, which is an important lesson teens can learn.

    The text “Am I Blue?” by Bruce Coville should not be banned because of all of the valuable lessons it offers. This text and texts similar to it shouldn’t be banned of our basic rights as Americans. This text should be able to be shred among the young readers community because of the valuable lessons it offers. Though the reader does include some language that is a bit vulgar it’s because the author used this technique create a stronger piece of writing and using these words and clichés as an advantage to prove the author’s point. Many readers are mature enough to benefit and truly get the message from this text, which is why it does deserve to stay in schools.

Work Cited

Bauer, Marion Dane., and Bruce Coville. Am I Blue?: Coming out from the Silence. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Print.

Brunner, Borgna. ""Banned Books"" Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.

Carr, Freya. "Should Teen Books Be Banned?" The Guardian. N.p., 27 Sept. 2013. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.

Social Awareness Project by Demitrius Hilerio Class 810

Table of Contents

Pages 1-3: Poem about Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and Michael Brown: A poem from the point of view of the three of those people dead looking at how their deaths affected people in Ferguson and in the rest of the United States.

Pages 4-5: A reading response about the poem “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday and Abel Meeropol. Which explains how I personally connect to the poem and what social issue the poem is talking about and more.

Pages 6-7: Interview with Aniesa Narvaez a person that works in clinics and breast cancer centers and changes the world just a little bit everyday.

Page 8: Bibliography

Poem About a Social Issue

 Michael and Trayvon and Eric are up there talking to each other

They talk about what impact they have on the people down here

They talk about the chaos that is happening down here

They think about the bigger meaning of their deaths

And then they laugh

Why?

What is so funny about death and chaos

It isn’t funny

It’s just the fact that they know that none of this was meant to happen

Michael notices that this started because a pack of cigarettes

Trayvon notices this also started because he looked “suspicious”

And lastly Eric notices this also started because he was being falsely accused and harassed and wanted to stand up for himself

They understand the chaos and why it is happening down here

They see families protesting and fighting for laws

They see the police forces in Ferguson

They see the tear gas

The guns

The riot shields

The attack dogs

And people looting

They stop laughing and start feeling disappointed by the fact their deaths can lead to   more deaths and destruction

They want to tell the families why can’t they just be the people they were and why can’t they protest in a peaceful way so no one gets hurt

But then again they’re up there, and they’re not aloud to speak to us about the chaos we’ve caused.

My process of writing This Poem and why I wrote about this topic

When writing about the topic of Police shootings I thought about current related issues that are occurring. I thought to myself “what topic has a large impact in our community and can really make people understand my message I’m trying to convey.” Right away I thought about Michael Brown’s death. I thought about the recent result of Michael’s death (Riots, looting, and more). Then a thought occurred in my mind that writing a poem only about Michael Brown’s death would be too simple. Then I thought about connecting Michael Brown’s, Trayvon Martin, and Eric Garner because they all are a part of the same social issue. I also thought that speaking about these three people will make my message get through to the people that are reading it more easily. I also thought that writing about these three people will give a different point of view of the issue and make the poem have a bigger affect on the people who are reading it.

     I was inspired by Suheir Hammad’s “What I Will” poem because it has to do with standing up to a certain issue and many people are standing up to the issue of police shooting civilians right now. I also wanted to include specific things about Ferguson that put a picture in the reader’s head. Just like in Hammad’s poem because she includes certain facts about the war that made me think about what it would be like in her shoes. In my poem I wanted the readers to see my opinion of the issue but in a different format. I also wanted the readers to feel a special/deep connection to my poem and to really feel the message of the poem.

Response to a Literary Piece

     In the poem “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday and Abel Meeropol the authors are trying to send an important message. After all the poem was made in the civil rights era, which was an important time in American History. The poem is about the social issue of African Americans being lynched, which is a very sensitive topic about our history. This poem really puts the reader in the poem to visualize what the author is talking about. This poem gives off a very serious mood and gives the reader a feeling as if they were there during the lynching.

     This poem is very serious and upsetting. I think this because even though I was not there for this time period I feel this is very important to our society now and how its evolved over time.  The message the authors are trying to send are how serious and ruthless he lynching was in that time. The author does this by giving lots of graphic details about the bodies hanging from the trees and compares them to fruit hanging from the trees. One example of this was when the authors explained how the body’s faces looked and the smell of the bodies. “The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth, Scent magnolias, sweet and fresh, Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.” This part in the poem allows me to feel uncomfortable and feel sympathy for the people that were effected by this time in history. This poem also gave me another perspective on this issue, which was the people witnessing lynching and people that thought it was cruel

       This poem can connect to todays social issues because it shows how many hard times we have gotten through. This poem can connect to social issues like the police shootings, racial profiling, and more. If this social issue in the poem is compared to the social issues today then you’ll notice that, though the lynching does not happen in America racism issue is not fully over. I think this poem must have been very important and daring at the time because taking the side that the authors did was very dangerous. I also noticed how much this poem must’ve meant for people in this time period because many families went through this issue and were probably disturbed and hurt by the detail in this poem, which is why when the civil rights era is brought up this is one of the most important poems/songs there was for the time. This poem was this important because it really connected with the people reading it.

Interview

       I interviewed Aniesa Narvaez (my mother) because she worked in clinics and hospitals, which I thought is a interesting experience to share. Keep in mind that I paraphrased most of the interview because it was going on for a long time and it would be a lot to write down.

Me: What do you do in your job to contribute to the hospital?

Narvaez: I translate the data from radiologist’s reports and transfer them into the computer to begin the follow up process.

Me: Is there any extra things you do in your job to contribute to the hospital?

 Narvaez: I translate for patients that speak Spanish only, so during procedures I translate for the patients.

Me: What sicknesses or medical issues do these patients usually have?

Narvaez: Breast cancer.

Me: In what type of facilities have you worked in?

Narvaez: Usually comprehensive medical clinics and radiology facilities, so comprehensive breast imaging facilities, so that’s where I work now. Comprehensive breast care facilities where they provide all services for breast care.

Me: Do you ever feel like you really help these patients?

Narvaez: Absolutely. There was one case where a patient was having a procedure and she was really scared and she had to speak about her feelings about the procedure. I had to translate to her what the details were and why the doctor thought she needed to get this procedure. I feel by me translating the details it gave her a better idea of what decision she had to make and what were her options were and in the end she was very grateful.

Why I Feel This Person Changes the World

  I feel Narvaez changes the world, but in a small way because a big social issue is cancer. I feel that many people in modern times are dying from cancer especially breast cancer, which is something that does not currently have a cure. I feel Narvaez is helping the breast cancer patients that are in need of help even in a small way that can make a big difference over time until a cure is finally found. Though Narvaez organizes radiologist’s data as her main job, but she translates for patients, which is important because it shows how the little things can have a big affect on a person’s mental state and healthy decision-making. I think anyone in any job has an effect on the world or in our society in some way, but social issues that have to do with medical diseases and sicknesses are extremely important because medical social issues are existent nationwide. Anybody that is in Narvaez’s position is making a change to the world because they’re learning to deal with these patients and doing the best they can to make them understand what procedures they will need to do to maintain their health while a cure for breast cancer is still trying to be found.

Work Cited

Holiday, Billie, and Abel Meeropol. "Strange Fruit." Strange Fruit. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.