Thousands of books and works of literature are banned each year because of the gritty and raw reality that they portray. People have the right to freedom of speech and thought, even if their topic may seem unorthodox or obscene to others. Some authors write books based on real life scenarios such as gang violence, rape, and even murder and a lot of people tend to forget that that's what happens in real life. News reports, documentaries and exposés address a lot of these sensitive topics as well. I believe that if you do not like something you see, read, or hear, then simply do not pay attention to it. In my opinion, the topics mentioned earlier are a part of everyday life and need to be exposed to the general public. People need to be mature enough to be able to understand the graphic nature of real life. If society refuses to associate itself with these subjects, so be it, but don't censor it for those who actually take a real interest and understanding to these types of things. The book I am currently reading for my novel study is a perfect example of a book that would probably be banned in a library or a bookstore, due to the explicit content, but it has a deeper meaning than what is shown in the text.
"Towelhead", which is the book I picked out for my novel study, looked like any other book. I read the synopsis at the back and I thought that it was good enough to read. The book caught me by surprise as soon as I read the first 25 pages. Already there was coarse language, disturbing descriptions and sexual references. I thought to myself, "Wow, this is really intense. What kind of book am I reading?" As abrasive as it was, I continued to read, only to be shocked to find that the content would only get harsher and grittier. The main character (Jasira, 13 years old) is dealing with the overly strict rules enforced by her parents. Every other young girl has strict parents, but imagine being taught to be ashamed of your body and not being able to express yourself. One is supposed to be comfortable with talking to their parents, but Jasira feels the need to be be extra careful with what she says. Her dad seems to hit her over the littlest things, like coming to the breakfast table in just her pyjama shirt. Being declined the knowledge of growing up can have a real impact on a person. In Jasira's case, when she asked if she could use tampons, she gets the wrong information from her father: "Tampons are for married ladies." Not having the proper information about growing up can be pretty dangerous. Not having love and support from your parents can also affect a child's perspective of life. I can infer that Jasira does not know what it is like to feel loved and accepted, which leads her to be sexually obsessed with her much older next-door neighbour, who treats her kindly and shows her love. This puts her in a very bad position. Because she has no knowledge of what is right and wrong, her neighbour exploits her and she does nothing about it. As disturbing as this sounds, there is much more written in the book and sadly, these kinds of scenarios do happen in real life.
The book itself is far more explicit than what is told here and this situation and others similar to it occur in our society. If people want these types of books censored, it seems like they want to censor reality. Books like these are written to provide the public with a general understanding of what goes on with violence, murder, etc. We cannot make these sensitive topics go away. They happen in our schools, they happen down the street from where we live. It can happen anywhere. All we can do is learn to comprehend it.
