I ran across a list of books banned during the 2004-2005 school year. A lot of them didn't surprise me. You had the typical agenda books like George Has One Dad and Fourteen Mommies or The Attack of the Evil Split Infinitives, the books that use racial language that was acceptable back in the 1800's like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or To Kill a Mockingbird, and then those books that are probably a little inappropriate for elementary school libraries like Playboy: A Pictorial History.
One book on the list that caught my eye was The Giver. It's by Lois Lowry and is a dystopia novel — sort of a Brave New World for kids. It won a Newberry Medal in fact. I had read it a few years back and thought it was a really good book. It turns out that it is one of the most frequently banned books in the United States. I looked around for the reasons and found some really great quotes by the banning proponents such as these three:
“This book is negative. I read it. I don't see the academic value in it. Everything presented to the kids should be positive or historical, not negative.”
“It should be seen as a criminal act for this book to be presented for or made required reading for anyone under the age of twenty — thirty would be even better...”
“In reality it is being used to prepare children — not yet able to comprehend the nature of life — for ... an age when one is killed and disposed of like garbage for being the smaller of two identical twins.”
Of course, the whole message of the book is exactly the opposite of that last quote. The amazon page for the book lists over two thousand reviews so it has certainly generated quite a reaction (though many appear to be posted by students who have been forced to write a review by their teacher). If you're waiting for a movie of it to come out rather than read the book, you're in luck. It looks like Walden Media (the Narnia guys) will be producing a movie version. If you're still wondering what happened to Jonas, Lowry caved in and wrote a sequel.
I'll leave you with my favorite review from the Amazon site:
“It is about a kid named Jonas and an old guy who gives Jonas bad memories. The ending is so weird. The book makes you think too hard. It is bad.”
Comments
i find that messed up that they banned the giver it could be a good influence because of some little bad parts right
Posted by: james on Thursday, February 1, 2007
If kids don't ever have to think, or are too protected from real issues than they will all become ignorant to the real world and be losers.
Posted by: Joe on Sunday, April 29, 2007
I agree with Joe. There are of course moments in our children's lives that we must protect them and shelter them from reality, but I will not shelter my children their entire lives. If I do so my children will not know how to live, they will not know that even though the world is not perfect there are so many other happy aspects to live for. I read The Giver when I was in the 4th Grade and it changed me, yes, but it changed me for the better. When I hear of books being banned it saddens me becuase these are the same books that have sculpted my life. When people bann books they are taking the rights from our children to braoden their minds and explore further into the realities life holds for us.
Posted by: Danielle on Friday, January 4, 2008
The fact that this book is widely banned is incredibly ironic. I think that allowing this book, or really any book to be banned would simply be taking one step closer to becoming the sterile and detached society that is presented in the book.
Posted by: Meg on Thursday, April 17, 2008
I cannot believe the short-sightedness of people sometimes. After reading this book (and loving it) as a high school sophomore, I can honestly say that the people who have tried banning this great novel have completely missed the messages the author is trying to transmit to the reader. It helps prepare those who read it for the real world where not everything is nice. Also, it shows what abolishing emotion can do to the average person.
Posted by: Jean on Thursday, May 29, 2008
I read this book, requried, for 8th grade. I would not have read it if it was not required (my aunt had brought a copy over and sat in my basement for 3 years prior to reading it), but since reading it I can definitly say that I would have missed out.
The narrow-mindedness of the people in charge of the book-banning is actually quite scary, from the perspective of a student. They only want to expose us to the happy skip-around-and-dance world that doesn't exist? What will happen then when we get splashed with reality?
The Giver does have many "negative" things that happen, examples being the choosing of the twins and 'Release,' but they could be seen as representative of what does, or VERY easily could, happen in really life. I read 'Things Fall Apart' last year which is an accurate representation of Africa's old culture (not sure if they still do this), but they used to take unwanted babies and just stick them in the 'Evil Forest,' leaving them to their gods to take care of if they were meant to live. What does that remind you of?
In short, the fact that this wonderful, highly insightful and inspirational book is being banned in AMERICA is insane and irrational. I really liked what Meg said in her post; that banning this book brings us one step closer to becoming them. I am not saying that we need to drum it into Elementary students that the world is an awful terrifying place, but we can't over-sugar coat it, because then what questions will there be should another 9-11 or some other massive traumatic incident occur? Or what if they turn on the news and see footage from Iraq? Life isn't terrible, but it's not all pixie-fairies and rainbows, and we can't try and make it seem that way to the leaders of our future.
Posted by: Kalynn on Thursday, September 25, 2008
Thanks for comment, Kalynn. This is banned book week (Sept 27 - Oct 4).
Posted by: CJ on Monday, September 29, 2008
This has been my favorite book since about 3rd grade. I may have heard before that it's been banned, but it really surprised me when I started doing research what small, inaccurate things this book has been banned for. Drug use? Sexuality?
I wonder if the parents read the book or just read a page mentioning the "Stirrings Pill" or a brief mention of nudity...
Posted by: Mia on Thursday, October 23, 2008
Imagine living in a utopia, a world with no problems. No war, no emotion, and no free will. Lois Lowry’s The Giver is a book about a 12 year old boy named Jonas. Jonas lives in a seemingly utopian society, where war, feelings, and emotion are nonexistent, because people take medicine to suppress them. Each family unit is allowed two children, one of each gender. Extra children that are born are “released” from society. It is revealed in the book that “releasing” is infanticide. The surplus children are euthanized, and some people also “release” themselves, or inject a lethal medicine into them. When it is revealed that Jonas’ brother will be “released”, Jonas tries to run away with him to escape.
The Giver has won a Newberry Medal, yet it has created opposition i n libraries and classrooms across the country. It seems that librarians as well as parents have some concerns about the use of euthanasia, infanticide and suicide in a middle-school level book. They feel that middle school students aren’t ready to handle the discussion of such topics, and want the book banned from their children’s libraries. From a parent’s perspective, I would be worried about my child’s innocence being stolen by a book. This is not the case; however, because The Giver merely discusses topics which parents feel uncomfortable explaining. The facet of the matter is, most kids in middle-school are already exposed to “the real world”, and will not be as negatively influenced by The Giver as expected.
I understand that the book discusses suicide openly; something not socially acceptable in our society, I do not think it is a legitimate reason not to allow kids to read about it. It is a problem we face in society today, and will continue to face as long as there are problems in life. As for infanticide, it is a real-life problem that occurs in our society everyday. However horrible it is, I feel that it’s unfair to kids to hide them from the truth. Suicide is am issue, and it will continue to be as long as we don’t live in a utopia like Jonas. I think that it would be unfair to kids to shelter them from real life problems.
While The Giver doesn’t say that suicide is wrong, it doesn’t promote it, or state that it’s acceptable. If concerned parents could get past the fact that this book has some controversial topics in it, they would see that many kids would benefit from reading it. The Giver may be on the new edge of what’s socially appropriate, but it has messages in it which are very beneficial to children who may read the book.To ban this award winning book because it discusses real-world problems would be unfair to children who would benefit from the story.
Posted by: Nicole on Wednesday, November 19, 2008
I think The Giver was a really good book and should not be banned, it teaches children nothing is perfect and we can't make it that way. It teaches all of us that to get rid of something that you don't like, you may have to give something up that you do like. Like, for example, The community got rid of love and "stirrings" because there were problems with relationships, and so, there was no choice in who you got to pick to be with, which just ended up blocking out the whole love thing. Which love is really important. So our world will always be imperfect, but we have to learn to live with it, or we might end up killing the smaller of a set of twins.
Posted by: Megan on Thursday, January 15, 2009
I read this book when i was about ten years old, i think this book is a good representation of the world. This book showed me that the world is not perfect. I think that it shouldnt have been blocked
Posted by: L Dzki on Thursday, February 5, 2009
i also read this book when i was very young, and i loved how much it made me think. i will remember that book forever, and i can't believe it's been banned.... i feel sorry for any children who now won't be able to read this book...
Posted by: Rachael on Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The book is also charged with containing sexual passages. In my personal opinion I didn’t see anything like that. There is a brief paragraph in which Jonas discusses a dream he had that involved a female classmate. His parents see this as the beginning of what is termed the "stirrings" and he is promptly medicated to control those urges. So I think it should be kept on all school and library shelves
Posted by: michael abernathy on Tuesday, March 10, 2009
I think it is just ubsurd what parents are saying about these books! I mean come on! Because it has death and killing?! First of all, they probably didn't even read the book! Second of all, it's all in the news and papers, about the kiling and all that. A kid reading a book that mentions it is not going to go around like,'DEATH!DEATH!' I mean seriously!!!
And technically, there was no positive light to the killinganyway. as a matter of fact, Jonas hated it and looked down on it.
People are just crazy! and getting worked up for nothing!!
Posted by: Ashley on Thursday, April 23, 2009
So i find it rather ironic that a book that is about the government shielding and banning things from everyday life, just so happens to be banned.
Todos los que están contentos de que se prohibió este libro son estúpidos.
Posted by: Alphonsus on Thursday, February 4, 2010
I agree completely with Meg and Alphonsus. We are putting these same children, that we are shielding from the book, in more danger by allowing them to believe that the world is as simple as it may seem.
Posted by: Jenn on Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Giver was EXTREMLY weird and freaky i think it should have a better ending and less death...
Posted by: Jaylor on Tuesday, March 9, 2010
I am 35 and I was required to choose a young adult book to deconstruct and reconstruct using critical literacy. You can google critical literacy for a full explanation. My two high school daughters have read The Giver. One did not like it and the other did so I read it. I was blown away by it.
I understand why people want to ban it. I makes you think about the way life should be. It makes you question the status quo. It makes the reader uncomfortable. We all want to have the opportunity to be happy with our lives and have peace and contentment, but are we willing to give up who we are to do that? Those who see this book as a danger to their children probably have not read it like most of the people who have posted here have said. That or they read it and totally missed the message. We must learn from our mistakes (memories are required for that) and there is the saying, you can never know peace if you never know war. Obviously that is very strong, but you get the meaning.
Posted by: Bess on Saturday, April 17, 2010
I quiet honestly enjoyed the book and disagree with banning I mean I read it for english and found nothing wrong with it we let children watch movies that are worse than this book.
Posted by: Brooke Burbank on Thursday, April 29, 2010
The Giver is a great book that should be admired throughout the future. It shows that the world isn't perfect and if it was perfect it wouldn't be the best. People think life is all bad but when you read this book it tends to show you the truth to life and our world is better than we think. We tend to believe that we wont make it any better or our world is the worst out there but if you put it into reality it isn't. The giver is a colorless reality where everyone is a specific thing when life as we know it is not like that. We are able to be different and experience things that "The Receiver" is given from "The Giver" in the story but we have our own reality to show us this and we tend to take things for granted.
Posted by: Tyler on Tuesday, May 25, 2010
The Giver is the best book ever. It offers so much insight and is so emotional. Banning it is terrible, mean, and stupid.
Posted by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 25, 2010