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Banning Harry Potter

             Rowling's Harry Potter series has many positive points including the fact that it can be used to educate children and the characters can be compared to stereotypical people and situations in real life, which are merely cloaked in fantasy to disguise a classic story of good v. evil which should be accepted for what it is, a really good story. This extremely controversial series has parents and religious leaders across the world denouncing the books as evil propaganda for Satanism. Here in the United States the books have been challenged and banned in schools and public libraries with some extremists staging book burnings that resemble those held in Nazi Germany. Throughout all of this controversy children have continued to become enthralled by the harmless fantasy and magic.
             In her article, "Banning Books From the Classroom: How To Handle Cries For Censorship," Sharon Cromwell uses a format that is easily understood to explain the issues involved with the challenging and banning of books. Ms. Cromwell strives to present both sides of the argument equally, and begins by presenting the issues in the statements: .
             advocates of banning certain books maintain that children in grades K-12 will be harmed if we don't protect them from inappropriate materials. Opponents are equally heated in insisting that censorship of books and other curriculum materials violates the academic freedom and diversity of thought protected by the U.S. Constitution (2). .
             This presents both sides of the issue clearly and defines the outlines of the article, which strives to be fair. In discussing the case, Island Trees Union Free High School v. Pico (1982), the Supreme Court is quoted as saying the "Constitution does not permit the official suppression of ideas," and then it is stated that the banned books were returned to the school shelves. This is followed by the statement, "the Court seems to allow school boards a rather free hand with curriculum materials," which seems to reinforce the First Amendment Right of Free Speech, and protects both the student's and the teacher's rights (Cromwell 2).


Essays Related to Banning Harry Potter

1. Harry Potter

... the site because it dealt with this touchy subject of censorship. According to the website, some conservative Christian parents have openly called for the banning of the Harry Potter books in schools. Many parents who object to the Harry Potter books base their objections on the teaching of the Christian church. "The fears and misconceptions about anything having to do with "magic" or ... website told me that many communities have taken action against books that they feel will have negative effects on their children's development. I have a hard time understanding why they believe the Ha...

  • Word Count: 729
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Schools and the Banning of Controversial Books

... still question the morals that books challenge. According to the American Library Association, A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby ... public schools, parents tend to snub their noses at books with religious content. Or, when viewed from the opposite perspective, people protest to the books that contain unholy content. J...

  • Word Count: 2168
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Harry Potter

... You can actually figure out what sort of feeling each of them had, say miserable, ambivalent, anxious, agitated, and remorseful. In this book, Harry Potter demonstrated an adolescent sensation: immature, curious, rebellious, but kind-hearted. This is exactly the way teenagers react when confronted with what they considered adversities ... . The Ministry of Magic refused all facts, while Professor Albus Dumbledore had to set up the Order of Phoenix against the Dark Lord. Harry, the target of the devils, was to encounter more than he could imagine. Before school, he was attacked by Dementor...

  • Word Count: 445
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

4. The Banning of Books

... of Rights. The first amendment of the Constitution states that citizens have both freedom of speech and press (Constitution). In the act of banning books, this right is essentially disregarded and completely violated. Censorship of literature and speech were contributing factors to the colonies deciding to break away ... and speech censorship (First). Even though some materials may be offensive to some people, the public as a whole should not be forced into banning or censoring a book. In the words of Noam Chomsky, "If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we ...

  • Word Count: 816
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography

5. Banning Books from the Classroom

... different view on this issue and believe that many books, from classic novels like the "Catcher in the Rye" to the recent award-winning "Harry Potter", have objectionable subject matters that should not be used in the classroom. In schools around the nation, there is a hot debate about what ... of the fact that they are indeed educational and may benefit many students by reading them. In Muskogee, Oklahoma an enormous controversy has exploded over the banning of the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee because of its racially sensitive issues. The book takes place in a white, segre...

  • Word Count: 1119
  • Approx Pages: 4

6. Hogwarts School of Witchraft and Wizardy versus The Church

ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY Time and time again, we encounter newspaper articles heralding the banning of Harry Potter by parents and in some private schools with a Christian focus. Their argument always seems to be along the lines of "Harry Potter novels promote and normalise witchcraft" and "children are being lured towards witchraft and sorceries, practices which are deemed evil in the Bible". No matter how they justify their ... Abortion? (I won't get into them. They'll be topics for another article on another day, hahaha) I believe all children should have access to Harry Potter novels because b...

  • Word Count: 1012
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Banned Books: An Evaluative Essay

... distorted. Disguising a culture proves a sense of shame. Many people underestimate youthful intelligence. By assuming young readers can not understand and appreciate an author's wording, censors misjudge student intelligence. Banning a book cheats a person of enjoying a valuable part of literature. Author Kurt Vonnegut's works are often challenged because of his dull reaction and sarcastic approach to war and massacre. ... subject to discuss or examine, the problem is not alien to young women. Simply eliminating it from a library's shelves will not initiate the crime of rape to cease. Ban...

  • Word Count: 1254
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Controversy

... the freedom of speech." If this is true, then what is the deal with book banning? Isn't that a part of free speech? I do not think that they know what is wrong for everyone. There are some things that people think aren't wrong, by they are censored anyways. Harry Potter is a great example; most families love that little wizard kid and still is banned ... exposed to controversy everyday. Thousands of books have been banned due to censorship. People with imagination are probably missing out on really great books. Schools are banning books that aren't even gory or pertaining to death. Harr...

  • Word Count: 379
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Literary Analysis of Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

... landmark on literature. Literary Paper Lolita, a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, is a book that appears on banned book lists time and time again. Among titles such as Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, it is apparent why this book has a little more of a home on the list than other titles. It may take a higher ... level of maturity to appreciate this text than one such as Potter or Games, but it should not mean people miss out on a work of literary genius. The story of a romance between a forty-year-old man and ... but fail to do anything about it. This is mainly because of how much work and ...

  • Word Count: 2449
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Has Bibliography

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