In Response to Darkness Too Visible

Response to Darkness Too Visible

Lars Asmundsson 803

In Darkness Too Visible, author Megan Cox Gurdon talks about young adult literature not being fit for teens. She believes that books meant for teens are  too dark, hence the title “Darkness Too Visible”. She also notes the drastic spike in obscenity over the past few decades in the genre. Throughout the article, she tries to convince readers that young adult literature is detrimental to the minds of teen readers.
 
Gurdon uses imagery to paint a horrid picture of young adult books in the minds of readers. For example, she uses forceful language like “ bulldoze coarseness or misery into their childrens lives” to close her article. Also, she uses voice to connect to the reader by saying “How dark is contemporary fiction for teens? Darker than when you were a child, my dear”. I think that she she successfully uses craft to enhance her argument.

 
Personally, I believe that young adults should be able to decide for themselves if the genre is appropriate for them. It isn't up to some out of touch adults to decide what teens can read and what they can’t. Earlier in history, elder people were considered wise, but certain adults these days are so conceited that they believe that they know what is best for children even though many themes that come up in YA literature are legitimate issues that many children face. These certain adults may have come from privileged families where they didn't face many serious roadblocks in their development as kids, but bad things happen, and writers of young adult literature have the guts to address these issues head on.