Books are like people, there is a wide variety and range of them, they can range from different types of vernacular to age appropriateness. Due to the wide range some books are eligible to be banned from a school district for any array of reasons. Books can be banned because of, profanity, societal issues or anything else that could possibly be thought of. The Secret Life of Bees should be taught in high school curriculum because it allows for readers to see how someone can overcome oppression of racism and various categories of abuse. Racism is something that the population goes through every single day. All races are discriminated against, no matter the skin color, including the so called "superior" whites.
Protagonist Lilly in the novel
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Wanda Brooks is an Assistant Professor in Elementary Education at University of Baltimore ran a study in 2005 the response and feedback from students after reading the book Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry. Dr. Wanda explains it is perceived that more complex ideas should not be in the hands of children but with adult intellectuals. However, she contradicts the belief by verbalizing "Yet, in the classrooms where ethnically diverse literature is included in the curriculum, the messy concepts of race and racism are unavoidably read and talked about children of all ages" (Brooks). In the current time period and previous years before, many parents and guardians were uncertain about the exposure for their child to different aspects of different religion. Due to reading that genre of books children have gained the knowledge about other religions or culture. If the curriculum about different races and racism is not being emerged into students brains, how will they ever know when they're in a scene where they are susceptible to become the attacker of the cruel action or can be the receiver of racism as …show more content…
Organization Safe Voices lists that, "More than 1 in 4 teenage girls in a relationship (26%) report enduring repeated verbal abuse." (Safe Voices). With it stating more than 1 automatically jumps to at least half, half of teenage girls have been revealed to verbal abuse in a relationship; no matter it being, platonic, familial or romantic. In The Secret Life of Bees verbal abuse is highly prevalent throughout the novel, the abuse is mainly taken in by protagonist Lily Owens. The main abuser is her father T. Ray, with a constant demeanor of Lily being a dumb blonde girl, he constantly calls her numerous obscene names such as "you act no better than a slut" and "why you little bitch" (pg. 27&39, Kidd). While no adolescent should have to endure that mental beat down, Lily later uses that to better herself and she learns herself value while overcoming the repeated verbal abuse from her
Schools are meant to be a safe environment full of books and learning opportunities. If this is impaired by books that should be banned, students may feel displaced or uncomfortable. Even a high schooler is prone to this, if action is not taken. There are hundreds of books full of violence, explicit language, and drug references. Annenberg Classroom says it is “unsuitable for students” (AnnenbergClassroom.org). Students of all ages are strongly suggested to not partake of those things, and reading all about them can cause them to think it is acceptable. It is up to administrators and parents to decide what should be allowed in school libraries. Everybody has different beliefs, but most people would not want their
Although it is ridiculous to ban books, it is somewhat understandable. Some books are extremely heavy on the controversial side, and include a boat load of inappropriate content. “My corduroys. My boxers. Two layers. I could feel the warmth of her cheek on my thigh. There are times when it is appropriate, even preferable, to get an erection when someone’s face is in close proximity to your penis” (Green). It is easy to see why someone with a closed mind would take offense to this kind of content being in a book for young
The fictional novels “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd and “The Chosen” by Chaim Potok are coming of age stories about young protagonists. “The Secret Life of Bees” depicts the life of Lily Owens as she runs away from her abusive father, T. Ray, with her black caregiver, Rosaleen. Lily is seeking a connection to her dead mother while establishing new relationships in a new town called Tiburon, SC. Similarly, ‘The Chosen” portrays the journey of Danny Saunders as he breaks away from the path paved for him while coping with the lack of a father-son relationship. Within both novels, “The Secret Life of Bees” and “The Chosen”, the lack of parental figures in both Lily and Danny’s lives causes both protagonists to seek others to fill in these positions as seen when Lily relies on Rosaleen, the Black Madonna, and the Boatwright sisters and Danny seeks support from Reuven’s family.
Every family has parents and maybe some siblings too, it is what makes the family a family. Some kids are adopted and some are not and some like Lily Owens in The Secret Life of Bees got to choose her family. In the novel, The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd, the theme that appears a lot is how much family means, even if it is chosen.
They live in a bright pink house, a very feminine color. The woman in the household have names pertaining to seasons. “These names span a time frame of both sowing and reaping, spring to late summer.” (Emanual, Catherine B. 2). Appropriately, August (a mature season) champions and befriends Lily providing the wisdom and security she so desperately needs. She gently guides Lily but allows her to find her own way. Under Augusts’ wing, Lily finally finds a place to nest. She
Many schools are taking books out of their curriculum because of the harsh and uncomfortable language and topics. The Biloxi School District had taken To Kill A Mockingbird out of their classrooms and Drake High School had even burned all copies of Slaughterhouse -Five. It is wrong that schools began taking books like that from their lesson plan because students should not be oblivious to these kinds of topics and it is sending the wrong message about the authors and their books.
Although adult books are banned, children's books can be banned also for the same reasons. Dr. Seuss has books banned across the world from Green Eggs and Ham, to The Butter Battle. Through the parents and even the governments have entered into the banning of books. Also, books with talking animals have been banned in other countries, taking half of the popular children books many kids grew up with. Schools can even ban books due to opposing views, sex, language , or even religion. In the quote from Butter Battle by Dr. Seuss "Drop this bomb on the Zooks just as fast as you can. I have ordered all Yooks to stay safe underground while the Bitsy Big-Boy Boomeroo is around." (Dr. Seuss, 74). Behind the banning was the government, due to storyline being based off WWII, fearing children would become upset. During WWII students learned how to duck and cover if a bomb ever hit, and others were told to go underground. Though kid books are banned for different reasons than an adult book, the banning are influential to readers of today.
The main argument for why certain books are banned in schools is because the students need to be protected from the content within the books. For example, 13 Reasons Why, a novel about a teenager who commits suicide and leaves behind thirteen tapes containing her reasons has been banned from schools such as the Colorado School District, and some Canadian schools. The book was deemed as “negative portrayals of helping professionals.” and according to Lora Strum writer of the article “Banning books like ’13 Reasons Why’ makes it harder for teens to open up to adults, the author says”, “the book glamorized suicide”. As a whole, the school districts either took
Many books have been questioned and challenged. Even as far as to banning them. But what exactly is a banned book and why are they banned? A banned book is a book that has been censored by an authority, a government body, a library, or a even school system. A book that has been banned is actually removed from a library or school system. The actual contextual reasons as to banning them is use of explicit violence, gore, sexuality, explicit language, religion, or dark times in history. On the non-contextual side of the reason why they are banned books are usually because with the best intentions to protect people, frequently children, from difficult philosophies and information. Teachers, or even more common adults, often censor books from
All around the world, certain books are being banned or challenged in school districts often because the material is considered sexually explicit, unsuited for the age group, or includes offensive language or actions.
Books are a gateway to a world of imagination, but some schools are trying to shut those gates off by banning them. Books are some of the best teachers left, it's not up to a school to decide what a child should or should not read. Banning books can deprive a child of the opportunity to think. Books should not be banned because of the lessons they can teach, the fact that a school should not even be able to ban them, and it can deprive a child of the opportunity to think.
There are many themes present throughout The Secret Life of Bees including the power of women, the strength of motherly bonds, the role of bees, and the portrayal of prejudice in society. The power of bonds between women is shown throughout different aspects of the novel. Rosaleen was abused by racist men, but she keep going with even more strength than she had before. When Lily and Rosaleen showed up on the Boatwright sisters doorstep, the sisters took the two women they had never met in and treated them like family. This strength occurred throughout the novel. When Lily’s father ended up letting her stay with the Boatwright sisters it was partly because of the women in her lie. The women stood up to T. Ray and gave him a way out while also keeping Lily’s best interests at heart.
Some books have a few that are “society's most taboo subjects: race and rape,”(Try to Ban Books) this shouldn’t be something that is in school regardless if in a book. School is a place where kids learn about life skills, not read books that have rape and racism present in them. In a few case parents have been “trying to prevent kids from reading about racism in World War II - era” (Try to Ban Books), this give the parents right to ban books that were made during or are about one of the most impacting wars in the world just because it contains something they don’t agree with. This is what parents have the right to decide what their kids read in school but don’t hinder the other kids because they don’t want theirs to read these
First of all, The Secret Life of Bees is a 1960’s novel based on a child named Lily, who was bossed around and treated unfairly by her dad T-Ray, which he himself had a black maid named Rosaleen working for him since before Lily was born. Lily and Rosaleen had a very special relationship that had loyalty, trust,
It is my belief that since by the time the child is required to read such literature in school, they are at an age where they can distinguish between things that should and should not be said and it is the job of the parents to educate the child that just because they say it in a book does not mean he or she should.Another subject common to banned and censored books is sexuality.