Seth Sprandel
Ms. Yeam
Honors English 2
17 November, 2015
Banned Book Project
Self-Harm has been a major problem in society in the past and in today’s society. Many people have done it. ¨Self-Harm was the fourth leading cause of injury hospitalisation during the period 1999-2000 to 2003-2004…During this period, there were 32,582 hospitalisations for self-harm, at a rate of 115.1 per 100,000 population aged 10 years or older¨ (“Self-Harm” 1). In Cut by Patricia McCormick, the main protagonist, Callie, cuts herself to feel pleasure. “A tingle arced across my scalp. The floor tipped up at me and my body spiraled away. Then I was on the ceiling looking down, waiting to see what would happen next...I felt awesome” (McCormick 3). Despite Cut being a controversial book among the people, Cut should not be banned because it tells the story of a person overcoming sickness and reaching out for help.
Cut was published in October of the 2000’s, and has received many good reviews from a bunch of critics. This book has even won awards like Children’s Literature Council’s Choice 2000, Teen People Book-of-the-Month and New York Public Library Best Books for the Teenage. However, this book sparked debate among the parents and teachers of the nation. Many parents and teachers “...argue that Cut glamorises self-mutilation and could actually encourage readers to try and capture the feelings described by Callie when she cuts herself” (Herod). Even schools have banned it from their libraries, Texas’s schools restricted this book because, “Belief that character’s self-mutilation would cause readers to do it, too” (Apple 14). The main issue that parents and teachers had was that their kids and/or students might start cutting themselves, to see if it is like the way Callie described it in the book. This was the main reason this book was challenged and banned.
The social events during this time period were a pretty rough time. “Self-Harm was the fourth leading cause of injury hospitalisation during the period 1999-2000 to 2003-2004...During this period, there were 32,582 hospitalisations for self-harm, at a rate of 115.1 per 100,000 population aged 10 years or older” (“Self-Harm” 1). Self-harm also includes suicide attempts, which in NSW, New South Wales, which is in south east Australia, suicide was the leading cause of injury-related death during 1998-2002, with 3,822. Self-Harm isn’t always for suicidal thoughts, there is a type of self-injury called NSSI, Nonsuicidal Self-Injury. Which is what Callie does in the book Cut. Callie does NSSI for the pleasure that she feels when she does it. “There is a grade by gender interaction for nonsuicidal self-injury, such that ninth-grade girls report the greatest rates of engagement and do so by cutting themselves” (Barrocas). Self-harm in general was happening all around the world when Cut was published in 2000. Which didn’t help the tolls for the people that self-harm in the 2000’s. This book still could be challenged today. Since parents are most of the time over-protective on what their kids read or see. The American Library Association could challenge and ban the book again.
Cut by Patricia McCormick should not be banned or challenged. Parents and Teachers have the opinion that the book promotes self-mutilation. Because this book talks about a character coming through sickness. Callie only cuts twice in the book, the beginning in which how she first started, and once more when she takes a pie tin and cuts herself with it. After that, Callie doesn’t really cut anymore. She starts to open up to the doctor that is in the book. These graphic scenes can’t really be censored from the book. Because if it did, it would take the main point of the book out. Which is fighting through challenges to get better, mentally and physically. This book is meant for older audiences though, for the graphic nature of the book though.
Censorship can be a good thing and a bad thing, it can protect us things that we don’t want to hear and see. But it won’t give us the full truth. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 had been constantly challenged a banned. It has been challenged because of the offensive language that is in the book and to “clean up” two incidents that happened in the book. Many schools have removed it from their course list as a result of it not getting censored or banned. Cut has been banned because of its graphic scenes with Callie cutting herself. Censorship is a really nasty thing to authors and everyone alike.
Censorship has been a problem in today’s society. From not giving the whole song on the radio, to sanitize books of it’s nasty remarks or it’s imagery. Many people aren’t getting the truth in today’s society. Everyone is going to live in a censored life, it’s a way of life. People don’t want to get offended, and people don’t want people doing things that isn’t right. An example is self-harm, many people don’t want people to cut or hurt themselves. Despite Cut being a controversial book among the people, Cut should not be banned because it tells the story of a person overcoming sickness, and reaching out for help.
Works Cited
Apple, Laurie, comp. "How People Read." Human-Information Interaction and Technical
Communication Concepts and Frameworks (2012): 367-97. Texas Library Association. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.
Barrocas, Andrea L., Benjamin L. Hankin, Jami F. Young, and John R. Z. Abela. "Rates of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in Youth: Age, Sex, and Behavioral Methods in a Community Sample." Pediatrics. American Academy of Pediatrics, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. The 50th Anniversary Edition ed. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. Print.
Herod, Alex. "Banned Books: Cut By Patricia McCormick." For Books' Sake. N.p., 2 May 2015. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
McCormick, Patricia. Cut. Asheville, NC: Front Street, 2000. Print.
"Self-harm." PsycEXTRA Dataset (1996): n. pag. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.
Ms. Yeam
Honors English 2
17 November, 2015
Banned Book Project
Self-Harm has been a major problem in society in the past and in today’s society. Many people have done it. ¨Self-Harm was the fourth leading cause of injury hospitalisation during the period 1999-2000 to 2003-2004…During this period, there were 32,582 hospitalisations for self-harm, at a rate of 115.1 per 100,000 population aged 10 years or older¨ (“Self-Harm” 1). In Cut by Patricia McCormick, the main protagonist, Callie, cuts herself to feel pleasure. “A tingle arced across my scalp. The floor tipped up at me and my body spiraled away. Then I was on the ceiling looking down, waiting to see what would happen next...I felt awesome” (McCormick 3). Despite Cut being a controversial book among the people, Cut should not be banned because it tells the story of a person overcoming sickness and reaching out for help.
Cut was published in October of the 2000’s, and has received many good reviews from a bunch of critics. This book has even won awards like Children’s Literature Council’s Choice 2000, Teen People Book-of-the-Month and New York Public Library Best Books for the Teenage. However, this book sparked debate among the parents and teachers of the nation. Many parents and teachers “...argue that Cut glamorises self-mutilation and could actually encourage readers to try and capture the feelings described by Callie when she cuts herself” (Herod). Even schools have banned it from their libraries, Texas’s schools restricted this book because, “Belief that character’s self-mutilation would cause readers to do it, too” (Apple 14). The main issue that parents and teachers had was that their kids and/or students might start cutting themselves, to see if it is like the way Callie described it in the book. This was the main reason this book was challenged and banned.
The social events during this time period were a pretty rough time. “Self-Harm was the fourth leading cause of injury hospitalisation during the period 1999-2000 to 2003-2004...During this period, there were 32,582 hospitalisations for self-harm, at a rate of 115.1 per 100,000 population aged 10 years or older” (“Self-Harm” 1). Self-harm also includes suicide attempts, which in NSW, New South Wales, which is in south east Australia, suicide was the leading cause of injury-related death during 1998-2002, with 3,822. Self-Harm isn’t always for suicidal thoughts, there is a type of self-injury called NSSI, Nonsuicidal Self-Injury. Which is what Callie does in the book Cut. Callie does NSSI for the pleasure that she feels when she does it. “There is a grade by gender interaction for nonsuicidal self-injury, such that ninth-grade girls report the greatest rates of engagement and do so by cutting themselves” (Barrocas). Self-harm in general was happening all around the world when Cut was published in 2000. Which didn’t help the tolls for the people that self-harm in the 2000’s. This book still could be challenged today. Since parents are most of the time over-protective on what their kids read or see. The American Library Association could challenge and ban the book again.
Cut by Patricia McCormick should not be banned or challenged. Parents and Teachers have the opinion that the book promotes self-mutilation. Because this book talks about a character coming through sickness. Callie only cuts twice in the book, the beginning in which how she first started, and once more when she takes a pie tin and cuts herself with it. After that, Callie doesn’t really cut anymore. She starts to open up to the doctor that is in the book. These graphic scenes can’t really be censored from the book. Because if it did, it would take the main point of the book out. Which is fighting through challenges to get better, mentally and physically. This book is meant for older audiences though, for the graphic nature of the book though.
Censorship can be a good thing and a bad thing, it can protect us things that we don’t want to hear and see. But it won’t give us the full truth. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 had been constantly challenged a banned. It has been challenged because of the offensive language that is in the book and to “clean up” two incidents that happened in the book. Many schools have removed it from their course list as a result of it not getting censored or banned. Cut has been banned because of its graphic scenes with Callie cutting herself. Censorship is a really nasty thing to authors and everyone alike.
Censorship has been a problem in today’s society. From not giving the whole song on the radio, to sanitize books of it’s nasty remarks or it’s imagery. Many people aren’t getting the truth in today’s society. Everyone is going to live in a censored life, it’s a way of life. People don’t want to get offended, and people don’t want people doing things that isn’t right. An example is self-harm, many people don’t want people to cut or hurt themselves. Despite Cut being a controversial book among the people, Cut should not be banned because it tells the story of a person overcoming sickness, and reaching out for help.
Works Cited
Apple, Laurie, comp. "How People Read." Human-Information Interaction and Technical
Communication Concepts and Frameworks (2012): 367-97. Texas Library Association. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.
Barrocas, Andrea L., Benjamin L. Hankin, Jami F. Young, and John R. Z. Abela. "Rates of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in Youth: Age, Sex, and Behavioral Methods in a Community Sample." Pediatrics. American Academy of Pediatrics, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. The 50th Anniversary Edition ed. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. Print.
Herod, Alex. "Banned Books: Cut By Patricia McCormick." For Books' Sake. N.p., 2 May 2015. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
McCormick, Patricia. Cut. Asheville, NC: Front Street, 2000. Print.
"Self-harm." PsycEXTRA Dataset (1996): n. pag. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.
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