Why Lord of the Flies Should Not Be Banned

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Charlie Galdamez Mrs. Peters Honors English 10 5 March 2013 Put a Book on Trial Lord of the Flies To me Lord of the Flies is a book represents a dystopia world where there is no government or authority and everyone can do whatever they want. Lord of the Flies is about school boys that get stranded on an island and they try to govern themselves and to maintain order and civility, but they ultimately fail. Instead, they descend into violence, brutality, and savagery (“SparkNotes”). ALA (“American Library Association”) shows many high schools and school districts that want to ban Lord of the Flies. A high school in Sully Buttes, SD and Owen, NC both challenged Lord of the Flies in 1981 because the book is, “demoralizing in as much as it implies that man is little more than an animal.” Another high school from Marana, AZ challenged Lord of the Flies in 1983, “as an inappropriate reading assignment.” An independent school district from Olney, TX challenged Lord of the Flies in 1984 because of,” excessive violence and bad language.” Finally, the Toronto, Canada Board of Education ruled on June 23, 1988, says that Lord of the Flies is “racist and recommended that it be removed from all schools.” Parents and members of the African-American community complained about a reference to "niggers" in the book and said it denigrates African-Americans (“American Library Association”). Lord of the Flies should not be banned because this book teaches many life lessons, like to not baby your kids or keep them unexposed to the outside world. These kids were lost and didn’t know what to do, they believed in ghost and they chose their leader solemnly on looks (“SparkNotes”). They judge people like Piggy because he’s fat and wears glasses. Finally, this book portrays a dystopia of no government, order, or civility, which leads to savagery. This could be reason why people would want
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