Argument Essay- Should THe Hunger Games be Banned? MaxF 811

 

            As a tribute falls, a cannon sounds and a hover copter rushes to pick up the fallen body. This is the story of the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Some adults want this story taken away, from younger kids and teenagers because it is “violent, sexually explicit, offensive”. They go on to say it is “anti-ethnic, anti family, insensitive, and satanic”. However, The Hunger Games should not be banned because a few parents don’t want their 14 year olds reading this book. Anyone who has read the Hunger Games knows the book is not sexually explicit. While the level of violence in the book is higher then most, the violent actions in the book are what empower the story. Without it, the impact of the story would be diminished. And finally, while the complaints were motivated to get the book banned, all of this started when the movie came out. The few parents who started weren’t paying attention to what their kids were reading, starting this whole snowball of complaints. The Hunger Games should not be banned just because it has some violence in it, and some claims for banning are not supported with evidence.

            Many parents and school board administrators have wanted to ban the Hunger Games because of “excessive violence”. However, it is hard to tone down the type of violence in this kind of story. It is very important in the storyline because the violent actions in this book hammer the image through, making this a very compelling and exhilarating book. The dystopian society plot is empowered by a somewhat large amount of violence, and no violence, no story. “The sheer scale of its brutal, disturbing violence should be shielded from younger children, and introduced only alongside careful conversations with parents. But that doesn’t mean the book should be banned outright.” (Weebly.com 1) However, I do agree with this, the book should probably not be introduced in elementary school, but maybe in 7^th or 8^th grade is an appropriate year. Outright banning however, is overreacting, and just because it’s violent does not mean that it will have a negative affect in a child’s learning and development. On the contrary, it can teach a child some more about the real world and some politics. The Hunger Games is a good book to read, and should not be banned just because it is violent.

            There has been a huge wave of complaints against the Hunger Games ever since the first movie came out. The fact that most parents can’t tell the difference between a movie and a book is somewhat disturbing. “Apparently parents and educators are too stupid to know the difference between a book and a movie.” The movie made the book recognizable, and so parents have wanted to ban this book ever since. Also, some of the claims are perverse. The Hunger Games being “sexually explicit” is ludicrous. There is maybe a paragraphs’ worth in the whole book that is slightly sexually explicit, as well as in the movie. This makes me think that the critics of the book are people who have never actually read the book or saw the movie, and are going off of one angry parent on a random social website. This may be the cause of most of the events that got this book on the challenged book list. The Hunger Games should not be banned just from a few angry comments on a social media website.

            There are many reasons why people want to ban the Hunger Games, but I don’t think that the book should be banned. It is an exhilarating book that deserves to be read by many. The story is very moving and is very popular. The Hunger Games is an inspiring book that can teach children about the real world.