Essay on Judy Blume: Champion of Modern Literature & Censorship Coalition

Introduction

Judy Blume was a well-known English novel writer in the United States because of her undisputable stylist in modern literature. Judy Blume was born in 1938 in New Jersey. The writer has Due to his expertise in writing, she, has received over 90 awards in literature such as the Edward award in 1996. After the ban on the novel forever, Judy decides to join the censorship coalition, which advocated for the freedom of the press. The main aim of the essay is to show how various literary styles in writing have been embraced by Judy Blume in the novel forever.

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The novel forever by Judy Blume was published in 1975 (Simon and Schuster, 2014). The writers' central theme revolved around teenage sexuality as part of social morals In society. In her novel, ''Forever'' she has been characterized by the use of few adjectives, colloquial language, emotionalism, and simple sentences. The use of discipline and strong tenses approach in her writing has enabled her to be ruled as one of the most dramatic writers, especially on Romance novels in the twentieth century. The writing style enables the reader to follow the narrative with a strong attachment to the emotional humor of the tale (Simon and Schuster, 2014).

Judy has expressed censorship in her writing the novel forever, which is a romantic tale of adolescence's first lover who tries to discover love at a young age. The novel has been profoundly challenged and also banned based on various arguments on the moral story of the book.

Plot of the narative

On the other hand, the plot of the Novel "forever" is straight forward and narrates the story of Katherine and Michael, who have a sexual feeling for each other despite them being teenagers. The straightforwardness of the literature is evident from the beginning of the tale. Katherine, who is the main protagonist character in the play, is believed to have undisputable support from her grandparents and parents in general. The love exposed by Katherine's family is evident since they all want their granddaughter and daughter to have been responsible and knows how to make life decisions on her own (McDermott, 2011).

Throughout the novel, the parents of Katherine play the role of helping her to discover her life by offering useful information and guidance that will help her make wise life decisions. As Katherine goes through the challenges of being a teenager, she meets with Michael, who becomes her first love and ushers her into the life of intimacy and romance. The two love bird begins their life of romance and excitement, which build Katherine confidence before engaging in adulthood life. Throughout their life in romance, Katherine gradually learns how to make her own decisions, accept the consequences of her actions, and take control of her destiny.

Moreover, as the tale continues, Judy has brought about the livery character since Michael is so much into sex sand physical intimacy while here partner Katherine is not sexually active (McDermott, 2011). Therefore, Katherine has to set strict boundaries on physical intimacy since she feels pressured by relationship. In writing, it is evident that Judy Blume has embraced the use of different literary devices such as allusion, foreshadowing, symbolism, and irony to attract audience attention. She has also ensured that the theme of the social structure throughout the narrative.

The novel is set in the present times while the primary audience of the tale is the young people below the age of 16 years old. The author ensured that the book setting was different from other children's books since it focuses on abortion sex and other topics that are not funny but are controversial. In the sting of the books, Judy had narrated the book in a new structure to address elders' teens who create a controversy compared to her previous works. In the book, Judy had clearly stated that the book targeted the children above the age of 12 years old and that they should have someone to either a parent or guardian to share the story with after reading the novel.

Additionally, the efficacy of the narrative could have been more evident in case the novel could not have been banned. However, the argument that led to the banning of the book stated that is was morally wrong to expose children at the age of 6 years old to sex and romance issues (Telford, 2004). On the other hand, Judy argues that it the duty of the parents to monitor what their kids read, and therefore, in case a parent prevents the children from reading such as a book, the kid may not be informed of the world realities.

For instance, in the book, Katherine uses birth control pills and makes sure that also Michael, his friend, uses a condom before engaging in sexual activities (Simon and Schuster, 2014). The section was used by Judy to create a image of humor on how parents should allow their children to know how to stay safe since it has been a challenge for both parents and their kids in having such a discussion. Therefore, the book acted as an education novel to fill the gap that prevents parents from engaging their kids on sex topics.

Consequently, the book not only discusses safe sex but also elaborates and enlightens the teens on the possibilities and outcomes that may follow in case they fall in love. At the same time, it illustrates the effect that falls after one gives herself to someone who fails to respect or acknowledge the respect and boundaries to be kept in a relationship. The positive aspect of the book literature is that it tries to narrate the wonderful and mean full experiences that are associated with sex at the right age and time (Younger, 2003)

The most evident literature form used by Judy in the novel forever is the use of simple and present word structure and curse words. For instance, in the book, there was a pint when Katherine's younger sister Jamie asks, "were you fucking?" (Telford, 2004). The question seemed to have to bother Katherine's response. Jamie tries to argue that the word fucking was not bad comparing it with war and hate. This style of comparing words brainstorms the mind of the reader to start thinking of the impact of the compared words in society.

Although the use of such strong words by children could not be acceptable in society, the evidence is indisputable that the setting style portrays real-life occurrences, especially in the modern generation (Pearson, 2008). Judy uses ironic juxtaposition to defend the use of strong words in the literature by arguing that teenagers are prone to discussing more sex stories than adults despite the fact that it difficult for them to share such stories with older adults. In her arguments, there was a little contradiction since not all adolescents are sexually active.

In the book, Judy quotes, " it is true that we are more open than our parents, but that means we accept sex and talk about it. It does not mean we are all jumping into bed together" The quote illustrates that even though teens talk sex-related issues and topics it their moral duty to know what is best for them and have a clue of what is happening in the real world. Another quote shat illustrates moral responsibility is " Erica lives on the hill. She is always finding used rubbers in the street. I can't understand how someone could throw a thing like that out a car window and forget about it" (Telford, 2004).

Conclusion

Lastly, the emphasis on sex and romance has been dramatically illustrated to enable a clear understanding of the narrative. Drama is evident when Katharine does not want to submit herself to Michael who insists on having sex just as what they had done the previous time. Katherine feels pressured and return on back her necklace. In the novel forever, it is undeniable that Judy Blume used different literature styles to plot and narrate the play while at the same time choosing the write audience and time for the narrative.

Moreover, despite the many critics she faced from pro-abstinence groups that discouraged the use of birth control pill and also the religious groups who condemned sex intercourse for teenagers the author was able to convey her message.

Works cited

Blume, Judy. Forever... Simon and Schuster, 2014.

Younger, Beth. "Pleasure, pain, and the power of being thin: Female sexuality in young adult literature." NWSA journal (2003): 45-56.

McDermott, Jeanne T. "Getting it on: an examination of how contraceptives are portrayed in young adult literature." Young Adult Library Services 9.4 (2011): 47.

Pearson, Lucy. "FROM YOUNG MOTHER TO FOREVER: CHANGING ATTITUDES TO CENSORSHIP." Forbidden Fruit: The Censorship of Literature and Information for Young People: Conference Proceedings. Universal-Publishers, 2008.

Telford, Cee. Judy Blume. The Rosen Publishing Group, 2004.