Banned Books week - yes it really is an annual event and I’ve only just stumbled upon an article about it today. Celebrated the last week of every September, this week is set aside to honor one’s right to choose or express one's opinion even if that opinion might be considered “unorthodox” or “unpopular”. So in light of Banned Books week, I did a bit of research on the top censored books of the last century. They are as follows:
1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell - Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Sexism, Homosexuality, Anti-Family, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group
2. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier -
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Violence
3. Ocean, by Kevin Henkes
- Reasons: Sexually Explicit and Offensive Language
4. The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman
- Reasons: Religious Viewpoint
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12 comments:
For starters, LOVE the title of your post. Really caught my attention to want to read what you had to say. Personally, I have never read any of these books, so my opinion may be somewhat jaded, aside from that I think that books should not be banned for any reason. People have the freedom of speech, so why not abide freedom of the press?
I understand that people want to protect their children, or censor everything, but The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? Banning of these books I think is a stretch too. I think that no books should be banned based on one person not agreeing with what that author has to say. It is only fair that everyone has to right to publish what they want. If someonethings a book has too crude of humor, or racism or what it may be, then don't pick up that book and read it. Maybe that is a harsh opinion, but it's my opinion.
Elizabeth :-)
One of my favorite things about literature is that is encompasses such a broad range of ideas and beliefs. One of the best aspects of reading is viewing the beliefs of others. I believe that this challenges what you believe while either strengthening it or potentially broadening your horizons to new ones.
Personally, the only story on this list I have read was The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. While I am not an advocate for censorship for the general public, I can understand why some parents are uncomfortable with this piece of classic literature. With a book like this, I feel its not what you teach, but the way you teach it.
I agree with Elizabeth when she said that you don't have to read a book if you don't like the subject matter, this is certainly true when reading for leisure. However, a student does not have this option when the book is embedded in the curriculum.
I think that censorship is a tricky subject matter. While we don't want to go into the dark days o censorship as depicted in the novel "Fahrenheit 451" we shouldn't allow everything to be in the curriculum simply because its a classic.
Wow, this was a really interesting post! Thanks for sharing this. I haven't read all of the books on that list, but I have read two of them and I am surprised. I know there are some books out there that do not have the best content, but should they be banned? And who is going to decide what should be banned and what should not be? For example, "The Golden Compass." As part of that "evangelical Christian" group, I have heard many things about this book and the controversy when the movie came out. I don't know exactly what the problem with the book in it-- besides something about being able to kill God?-- and while I may not agree with differing viewpoints in the realm of religion, I would not condone banning such a book! Everyone should be able to express their beliefs so long as they are not actively causing harm to another human being. We would never be able to have a fair and completely unbias judge so it would not be possible to ban books that everyone agrees should be banned. Bottom line, I think that if a book is offensive to you and you don't want your children to read it, then don't buy it.
This is really interesting! I have only read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but I don't necessarily think that the book should be banned. I don't think that any book should be banned really. I found the reasons that the books were banned interesting. Anti-ethnic? Unsuited to age? What do those even mean? Offensive Language? These reasons seem to be a little ridiculous to me. Who gets to decide which books are banned and which are not?
This is really interesting! I have only read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but I don't necessarily think that the book should be banned. I don't think that any book should be banned really. I found the reasons that the books were banned interesting. Anti-ethnic? Unsuited to age? What do those even mean? Offensive Language? These reasons seem to be a little ridiculous to me. Who gets to decide which books are banned and which are not?
I found your blog very interesting, and I was really surprised to find that they hold a day designed to ban books. I was only familiar with one of the books on this list, Huck Finn. So I decided to research some of the others, to get a better understanding of what they were.
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell is a story about two male penguins who look after an egg and end up raising it. I can see why this book would be so controversial dealing with the issue of homosexuality and raising a child but at the same time I think we need to commend the authors for portraying a difficult subject that not only can be hard to grasp as an adult, but for sure as a child. I think the use of the Penguins make the issue seem more accepting and less threatening. I do not believe this book should be censored, children should be exposed to the differences of people in society. This also leads me into the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which although portrays racism, is a book that is used in many schools.
In class we have been talking about Contemporary Realistic Fiction, and Historic Fiction. These books listed are just doing that. They are to some degree taking real life issues/events that have happened and putting them into perspective for young children to understand. I really do not think people should be having banning celebrations, because literature is a freedom of speech, and without books we would never learn the things we know today.
As with the first comment, I really like the title! Although I’m not personally familiar with the first four books, I have read Huck Finn and really don’t see the problem with it! I don’t however think that it is particularly a children’s book. There are elements of it in that insubordinate other races but the actually of it is that its a fact of life that people are racist and those views will be expressed whether it be through the media, in books, or other medium. I took some time to look into the banning of Huck Finn and it was actually first banned in 1885 (http://www.thefileroom.org/documents/dyn/DisplayCase.cfm/id/314) when it was first released in public libraries across the country.
The thing that bothers me about the banning of books is where and when it takes place. Twain specifically states in the same article as above that he “wrote the book for adults exclusively,” and that he was “bothered to find that boys and girls had been allowed access to them.” So to ban a book from a public library completely is really not necessary to me and I feel violates one of the basic rights we have as Americans. I can understand the banning of the book from the children’s section as has happened in the Brooklyn Public Library in 1905. I really struggle to justify the banning of a book in a classroom if it can provide intellectual discussion and response. Sometimes I think that we are too concerned that our kids don’t need to be exposed to these types of things and the controversy it can create, but I feel that a degree of controversy can open up a new viewpoint that was never seen before and in the end actually make people more accepting. Would you rather have an ignorant society that like to avoid the situation, or a society in which we can learn from controversy and become more accepting?
I agree that everyone should have the right to publish whatever they want. It is part of our freedom as American citizens. People should also be able to read whatever they want to, regardless of language, violence, or religious viewpoints contained in the books. The problem comes about when certain books are used in the classroom and students don’t have the freedom to decide whether to read them or not.
When I was in high school, I took a couple of English classes in which I had to read books that contained a lot of sexually explicit scenes in them. When I read, I tend to imagine the events happening in my mind. Usually this makes the book more enjoyable for me, as I can escape into the book and really become part of the story. When the book contains a lot of sexual content, however, I still see the events happening in my mind. I am a Christian, and as part of my religion I am to keep my thoughts pure. How am I supposed to do that when I am forced to read things that put sexual, impure images in my head? So what should I do? Should I refuse to read the book and fail the class? Or should I keep reading, knowing that it’s killing me spiritually?
In high school, I ended up talking to one of the teachers about it and doing an alternate assignment for one of the books. I read a different book than the rest of the class. I did more work than the rest of my peers, but I enjoyed it a lot more and my teacher was really impressed with the final product. I strongly encourage future teachers to allow students to do alternate assignments and read alternate books if they have internal conflicts with the ones that you have chosen. This gives students a choice in the matter so that they are not forced to do something that seems immoral to them.
In my college English class, I was faced with the most sexually graphic book that I have ever even heard of in my life and was unable to do an alternate assignment or get out of the reading. I seriously considered failing the class because of it, but I did not want to have to retake it. I think it’s silly that a student could fail a class simply because they refuse to read something that seems immoral to them. Classes are supposed to help you learn and measure your knowledge, not your willingness to read pornography. This is why I believe that some books should be banned, because students should not be forced to read them.
I would like to comment about what Jamie S. said. I agree with a lot of what you said and I think that it is great that your teacher allowed you to do an alternate assignment. I have felt the same way about books that we read in college and I do not feel that people should be forced to read anything if they feel that reading it is a moral dilemma for them. However I do not think the answer is banning the offensive books because everyone does not have the same convictions. Also when some books are banned such as those that are racist or sexist, we run the risk of forgetting our history and I believe this opens us up to repeating the mistakes of the past. When I read racist books I do not think,Man that is racist, I never want to read a racist book again. Instead I think about how terrible it would have been to live in that time and being the one persecuted and I try not to persecute others. Some things I refuse to read when I see that the content bothers my spirit and I am not growing from reading the book. All knowledge is not good knowledge. I wish professors would allow students to do alternate assignments after they have explained their objection to the reading assignment.
I have never heard of this Banned Books week, but personally I think it's a great idea, to get books out there that have been banned. Just because one group of people might not agree with a book doesn't mean that everyone can't read it. I understand their our some controversial topics, but these books aren't non-fiction. I believe every single one of these are fiction.
The only book I have read here is "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." I didn't find this controversial, and we were required to read it for my 9th grade class, so how can some people take it away while others, are requiring students to read it. What I realized now is that we never talked about why it was controversial. I think if you are teaching any of these books, or others that might have been banned in the past, then you need to discuss as a class why people find it bad, and how their idea can be changed. By bringing this up in a classroom setting you can get everyone's thoughts on it, but still show them that it is fiction and doesn't necessarily speak the truth.
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