Argument Essay Draft #2

     I think certain books should be banned from classrooms of younger age groups if it has content that's too mature. A book, for example, is The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian. I read this book with inquiry group and I do think it has come content that might make readers uncomfortable. Also, come parents/adults may not want their kids to be reading such books and to be exposed so come of this content at a young age.
     This book includes many controversial topics/issues such as bullying, racism, harsh language/cursing, and more. For example, Junior is a Native American living on a reservation and decides to go to an all-white school. This creates a few problems for him, like having people pick on him for being the only colored kid in the school, and how he's betrayed the tribe by leaving their school. One kid at the white school, Roger, was bullying Junior and said "Did you know that Indians are living proof that niggers fuck buffalo?". This includes stuff that I know a lot of parents wouldn't want kids reading. There's a lot of other cursing in this book, too.
     I feel that the word 'hope' also plays a pretty big role in this book. On page 43, Junior is talking to Mr. P, his teacher. He's telling Junior that he has to leave the Rez forever. After this part in the book, it shows something that Junior has drawn that has two signs pointing one way saying “REZ” and “HOME”, then two signs pointing the other way that say “HOPE” and “???”. There’s also another drawing on page 47 of Junior’s face drowning in ants on an anthill with a thought bubble that says “Hope?!!??”. This shows that the Rez is the only place Junior could ever call home and that he had no idea what he would do or where he would go if he had to leave. This shows that the book does teach valuable lessons, one being about hope.
     The book makes Junior have to deal with alcoholism in his family. He says that his dad's an alcoholic, and also, his sister and a family friend named Eugene died because of alcohol. I think these topics might give kids the wrong impressions about these harsh topics, and might even scare them. There's also mature content such as masturbation. Junior has been open about it and says it helps him cope with everything. Again, many parent's don't want their kid finding out about such content until they're at least a bit older (like in 8th grade or high school).
     I think that if certain books really do contain topics that young kids shouldn't read about, then it should be banned from their classrooms. Maybe from 6th grade classes and below. I remember reading books in 4th and 5th grade that weren't meant for my age group/had some harsh content and made me feel uncomfortable. I don't think other kids should be doing that and I know their parents probably wouldn't want them to either.