Argument essay

Henry Klapper

Argument essay revised draft

The Giver by Lois Lowry is a thought-provoking book about a utopian society lacking color, diversity and emotions. Although the Giver, nonetheless, is a thought-provoking book some people believe that it provokes bad thoughts. In 1995 a concerned parent in Kansas achieved the task of banning the book from libraries on the grounds that the book contains “murder, suicide and the degradation of motherhood and adolescence”. Although it is true that the book contains murder and suicide they are cleverly and subtly edged into the story, however the “degradation of motherhood and adolescence” are nowhere to be found in this book. This book doesn’t degrade motherhood but teaches the readers to be grateful for it because in the book the characters aren’t allowed to ever meet their birthmothers and instead grow up with parents who don’t have the ability to love. This causes the readers to be aware and thankful for their surroundings and what they have. The book causes readers to have these feelings similarly with love, color, diversity and a number of other things. I think this makes the book great because it gives us so much realization and happiness for what we have with out taking those things away first.

            Some parents say the Giver by Lois Lowry Should be banned because it contains sexual content. These parents are half right. Although it is un-deniable that there is some sexual content in the book there is only really one main part containing sexual content. This part is where Jonas has a sexual dream about one of his friends who are a girl named Fiona. This part is actually very crucial to the book because it reveals that the people of the town take pills to tae away the feeling of love. A specific line from the scene showing this is “But his mother laughed again in a reassuring, affectionate way."No, no," she said. "It's just the pills. You're ready for the pills, that's

All. That's the treatment for Stirrings." In the book by stirrings they mean attraction or lust. This part of the text is important for two reasons. The first reason why this part of the book is good for readers is that it teaches readers to not hide the way they feel. The reason why this is true is because  for the same reason this book makes us feel grateful for color its the same with love. In addition to my first reason why this specific part of the book is good for readers another one is that The Giver commonly classified as a teen book, which means it’s for teens. If it’s for teens than most likely its main audience is teens. This is relevant because its main audience is teens than some of them are probably also going through the faze where they have similar dreams as Jonas. This matters because if they’re going through the same things as such a beloved courageous character than it could make them feel less weirded about this topic or insecure.

Some parents think that The Giver should be banned in addition to its sexual content because of suicide and euthanasia. A South Carolina Librarian Thinks “The book helps student raise questions about the costs of a controlled life and better appreciate their democratic society” This point adds on to what I was saying earlier on how the book make us more grateful for what we have. Another Library director in South Carolina says, “If we waited for every kid to be ready, we’d be the same kind of world Jonas is in”.  An additional opinion from former children's book buyer at the Tattered Cover Book Store , Mary Brice, say’s “Many young adult books deal with weighty topics, something their readers crave”.  Additionally quoted from Brice is “For example, she said, there has been a surge in Holocaust books for teen-agers, both fiction and nonfiction, in the last 10 years. The bookstore even sells picture books for younger children on topics ranging from a homeless family that lives in an airport to the Los Angeles riots. "It's a time when their minds are very anxious to be challenged to grow," she said.” This line is a strong point because it shows that the children aren’t being forced to read this they in fact love these type of books

In Conclusion it is my strong opinion that the giver should not be banned let alone any book. If teen's enjoy these books that teach them deep and sincere lessons as well as it is our right to have access to them then I conclude that books should not be banned.

works cited

"Banned Books Awareness: The Giver by Lois Lowry." Banned Books Awareness. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2014