Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Banned Books Week
The American Library Association has designated September 29th through October 5th as "Banned Books Week" for 2007. Stop by the library and take a look at our "Banned Books" display. Or, visit www.ala.org/bbooks for a list of the most frequently challenged books and authors. Have you read any of these books? Feel free to leave comments here.
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16 comments:
Ive read A wrinkle in time and Harry Potter and thought they were good books.
Brynn P.
Looks like I've only read 20 books on the list of the 100 Most Challenged Books, 1990-2000! I'd better get cracking.
Many of the titles are recent children's books, which are the ones I'm most likely to not have read. However, I do have very fond memories of A Wrinkle in Time, which I read about twice a year when I was school! Thanks to Brynn for mentioning this book in her previous post!
I'm teaching an American Lit class this semester focusing on banned books, and many of the titles from our course are on the list. I'm hoping my students might say something about one or more of them soon.
The most interesting book I read preparing for the class, of the ones that I didn't put on the syllabus, was Brett Easton Ellis's American Psycho. I found the book to be a profound indictment of materialism and greed, and absolutely hilarious at the same time (though the humor is the dryest and darkest humor imaginable). Due to pre-publication protests about the violence in the book, the book was almost not published. I'm glad it was, though. It's a tough read, but really interesting and powerful (if you have a strong stomach, or are willing to skip some parts, like I did.)
I am also a huge fan of George Orwell (whose books I didn't include in the class, because, alas, he's British).
Elizabeth Starr
In 2003 when I was seventeen my mom was part of a book hearing committee. The book was Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison, a young adult novel written in journal style about the life of a fourteen year old girl in England trying to get a boyfriend. The book had been challenged by the father of a middle school female student of my mother’s. He felt that there was too much language and sexual content for his eighth grade daughter. The book had not been in the curriculum but was in the library and his daughter chose to use it for an independent reading assignment. A committee was formed to decide if the book should remain in the library. This committee consisted of the student’s six teachers, the principal, another English teacher, a counselor or social worker from the school, a minister, an education professor from IU, a public librarian, and two eighth grade students. All were given a copy of the book to read and asked to make notes of what they found appropriate or inappropriate. After a few weeks the committee met to discuss the book. They did not feel banning the book was appropriate. They discussed but did not implement a policy of marking books with a new symbol that would require parental permission for the student to check the book out. I also read the book during the hearing, though I was not on the committee. I thought it was a cute young adult book written in the style of Bridget Jones’s Diary but with less risqué content and appealing to a younger audience. It was not a book I would ever place on a class curriculum but I would allow it at that level for independent reading projects.
Sarah Townsend
When I saw the banned books list I was shocked to see books like Harry Potter, Huckleberry Finn, and Fahrenheit 451. I recently read both Fahrenheit 451 and Huckleberry Finn (again) and I’m still not convinced that either of these books have story lines or texts that are worthy of being banned or censored. In Huck Finn, the repeated use of the “N” word was an apparent cause of controversy (and still is), but it was used in a way to give historical reference. The book was written in the late 1800’s, in no way do I think it reflects the authors “unconscious racism.” In Fahrenheit 451 it seems the idea of burning a bible and saying “damn” or “hell” was enough to spark outrage in the 1950’s. How sad to think that the pseudo- sci –fi-futuristic depiction of a society that has been offended so much that they opt to diminish any objective idea that may be provoked by a book, could be actually closer to our reality than we think.
Jaime O
I am in Elizabeth Starr's English class, which is reading banned books, and it has really opened my eyes. I didn't realize so many books were challenged and banned in America. Also it is interesting to learn that many books have been edited to take out the objectionable content. I have read many of the top 100 most challenged books. It seems that many of them are really great books that are interpreted the wrong way, or have material that people find inappropriate for our “politically correct” society. After reading Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and arguments against the book, I must say it seems a little absurd. Claims are made that the book portrays Blacks in a negative light and is offensive because of the use of the “N word”. Without the use of the word though, the book looses its authenticity. Also, the book is clearly anti-slavery and makes Whites look bad, not Blacks. I learned that one of my favorite books of all-time, A Clockwork Orange, was originally published with the last chapter omitted. This completely ruined the story and it alters the art form created by the author. Rather than ban books and sweep controversial issues under the rug, we should embrace these books for bringing them to the forefront. -John Pulliam
While I’m opposed to censorship in the media in nearly any form, I’m particularly irritated with censoring literature. While I can somewhat sympathize with a parent complaining about not being able to control what their children see on TV, despite the V Chip, or what games they play, despite parental warnings on the packaging, I find it hard to understand why parents are so vehemently opposed to most of the books on the 100 Most Challenged Books list. Most of these books seem fairly benign to me. I would imagine that the benefit gained from having your child actually read, instead of playing those games or watching TV, would far outweigh the “consequences” involved in reading potentially objective material. And by potentially objective I mean reading about Harry Potter learning magic or looking for Waldo.
Rikh Mikac
I've been trough the list of banned books and the only ones I've read are Huckleberry Finn, Fahrenheit 451, and the Harry Potter series, and I have to say that even when I see the reasons why the two first books would be banned (I don't agree with them), I still don't understand why people would want to add the Harry Potter series to that list. After all, isn't it just a series whose main readers are expected to be children? Or does it has a hidden meaning from which I'm not aware? If so, I'd really like to hear it so I can change my point of view (or not) when I read the last one. However, I have to say that I've heard some differences between the American copies and the British copies, and even if that's due just to differences in the language, it can be also a way to take away the parts they don't like and make it politically correct.
Juan C.
Oh my, I am glad that someone decided to mention A Wrinkle in Time! I have just read a very interesting article about Madeleine L'Engle that energized my spirit to write about it.
With her recent passing many scholars have been buzzing about the great contribution that this book has had on children and the public school system itself. I feel that it still today causes a stir among many challengers in the school systems.
The book itself, as seen through my eyes as a child reader in sixth grade, is about a young girl, Meg, and her brother who are helped by three magical beings to rescue Meg's father from IT. IT is a disembodied brain on a distant planet that is in league with a black cloud to destroy the universe.
The book , famously, was rebuffed by 26 publishers before finding a benefactor in 1962! After that it won the Newbery award and secured it's place in the pantheon of children's literature. I mean a book that starts out with talk of quantum physics and ends with a child's love overcoming the vast powers of evil, that's worth some praise!
In my American Literature class we have had talk about reading a book as a child and as an adult and the meanings that may come later in life than when first read at 12. I never got the biblical references as a child, the significant mention of Jesus and the way a loving God's sovereignty over the universe is understood even as the character's battle an expanding evil. Meg's father even tells her at one point to be courageous in confronting IT , "we were sent here for something," echoing Romans 8:28. "And we know that all things work together for the good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose."
And clearly a society 40 some years ago wasn't as uptight about a Judeo-Christian book. However, today this could cause some stir. Many parent's in today's society might not feel that their child should be forced to read a book that could deposit bits of "God" or "Good" in their child's life. Not that they wouldn't want their child to be good, but that they may not want the school system imposing religion or Jesus onto them.
With such books as "The Lion, Witch and The Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis joining it's company it was a great discovery to learn that both Mr. Lewis and Miss. L'Engle didn't start out to write a book about God and overcoming the evil in this world. They both had an evolution through the process and at the books conclusion saw what a journey they had taken themselves on as well.
It is very sad that so many books are being banned today with such whim, because many of them do have great substance to offer our children. I can only hope that in an ever "progressive" world we might still be able to challenge the "challenged books lists" of tomorrow.
Catey Gibbs
I couldn't agree more with Rikh about parents allowing their children to watch all kind of violent programs or cartoons on TV and complaining for things like the word "N" in Huckleberry Finn, which I understand that, although offensive, is completely neccesary to give the book the crude point of view that makes it so realistic. Also, we've been reading some other books in Elizabeth Starr's class such "As I Lay Dying" and I think that the whole "banned books thing" is just the act of some people with a lot of time to waste because there is no way that people now would find offensive anything of what happens in those stories. These books are just the result of some intelligent people who knew how to hide what they wanted to say in a way that is enjoyable to read, and it's only unsatisfied people the ones that are looking for "politically uncorrect" themes in the books or any other form af art.
Sorry, I forgot to sign my comment, it's the one that starts "I couldn't agree more with Rikh..."
Juan C.
This is my post in response to the one that starts with "I am in Elizabeth Starr's English class, which is reading banned books, and it has really opened my eyes." I was also very unaware of how many books have been banned and challenged. What shocked me though was the ones that people chose to attack. It amazed me that someone would make a fuss over relatively minor issues. I think it's particularly ridiculous with the Harry Potter series considering that it has actually got kids to read. Are parents actually concerned that their kids will want to practice witch craft? Am I completely out of touch with reality in my assertion that witch craft does not exist and if these kids did attempt to practice witch craft nothing would even happen?
My response is to Sarah's on the committee board. I really believe that most of the parents in the community who challenge these books (in public school libraries or class activities) are completely unaware of the books contents and are going off of hear-say or titles alone. In a brief discussion in class the other day, we discussed how some challengers of books may not have even erad the book themselves and are going off of a few key elements within a story. I argue that if a person is to even be able to challenge a book in the community that they themselves should be involved in a group discussion and asked to raed the book themselves. This might help shed some light on what the real problem is.That is, that parents need to focus on engaging in real discussions with their children on these books at home. Then the moral boundaries can be set and real growth can occur. Of course I am a wishful, fantasy minded person. In the real world people are to stubborn to change their ways or structures.
Catey Gibbs
Hello everyone, I'm currently in Professor Starr's Banned Literature class and if you haven't taken this course you truly should. Well I was looking through some of the banned books from the google link and I was truly surprised to see George Orwell's 1984 on the list. For me personally it doesn't get much better than Orwell. I'm a true fanatic. Of course the first book I read of his was the infamous Animal Farm; 1984 was the second Orwell book that I read. The only reason that I can imagine it would be banned is for would be its eerie portrayal of the future. The book was written in 1949 about what the future may hold. Just recently I read about cameras being installed on street corners in major U.S. cities. I'm not really one for conspiracy theories, but can you say Big Brother is watching. I also saw that William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying was on the list. I just read this timeless novel this semester. I'm honestly not one for American literature (I hated The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, sorry Professor Starr) but As I Lay Dying completely changed my views on American authors. It reminded me of an Amercianized version of Candide by Voltaire. As I Lay Dying was written with multiple narrators and thus it's one of those mind teasers. At first I found myself reading and re-reading chapters over again. It wasn't until a couple chapters in that I realized it's somewhat of a mystery novel in it's own sense; you have to keep reading forward to understand what you have already read. It's kind of hard to explain, but the point is that I recommend it. Also, if you like George Orwell, or want a good starting place, I would recommend the following: 1. Keep the Aspidistra Flying (my all time favorite book) 2. Down and Out in Paris and London, or if you just want a good essay then I would recommend 3. Shooting an Elephant. Okay, so that's all I have to say about that. Keep on reading guys! -Nathan J
I'm jumping on the bandwagon with Nathan J. as far as recommending Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying.
This was a book we read in our American Literature II class and I have to say that it was my absolute FAVORITE book.
Aside from the general reasons for its banning, coarse language, question of God's existence, use of Southern dialect, talk of masturbation an abortion, I feel that a good reason people would give to ban this book is simply the fact that it is a very modern way of writing and may make a person uncomfortable when reading it. Not everyone likes trying to keep track of many different thoughts while reading and that is certainly what you get in this book.
I'll admit it was a chore to try and keep straight which narrator was speaking and what events had already happened, etc., but that is what made it so exciting and mysterious!
I know everyone has their opinions, and to each his/her own, but if you’re looking for a challenging read that is some what out of the ordinary, give As I Lay Dying a try.
-Laurel C.-
I love seeing the Faulkner fans coming out of the woodwork here. Nathan and Laurel, thanks for your posts.
I am going to be changing up some of the books when I teach this class again next fall, but As I Lay Dying will be one of the keepers. It's a great example of modernist fiction, so as such it merits a place in the class, but I also enjoy the subtle "mystery" challenges the other posters have mentioned. It's a mystery that keeps on revealing itself with repeated readings. Every time I reread it, I see more in it and understand it more deeply, and that keeps it exciting for me.
I recently read The Color Purple, which was on the syllabus for the American Literature class I’m taking. Although this novel frequently has been challenged for its inclusion of rape, incest, and illegitimate children, among other themes, I believe that it is important for today’s adolescents and adults to read. Many of The Color Purple’s themes are still seen as taboo in society, but they are issues that exist and change people’s lives, so they need to be discussed.
The Color Purple opens with protagonist Celie telling the readers that she is pregnant with her second child who has been conceived as a result of her father raping her. Celie says that the children were fathered by God, because she knows no man other than her father, and she believes that she is a bad person because she is pregnant. Celie doesn’t understand that she had no control over what happened to her. As a powerless black woman in 1930s America, she was not physically strong enough to stop her father from raping her, and she had no one to talk to about his sexual abuse, so it continued. Many women who are raped today feel just as Celie felt in 1930. Victims of rape are often ashamed of what has happened to them, so they hide the truth. Other people are unsure whether their sexual experience qualifies as rape, because they feel that they did not try hard enough to stop the rape from happening. People would be more likely to report their abusers and to get help dealing with the trauma they suffer if these topics were discussed in everyday life. The truth of the matter is that rape and incest are mentioned in health classes in middle school and high school, but not outside of them. In the time one spends outside of these classes, it is more likely for one to learn about rape and incest from literature than from a teacher or a parent, who are the people who are supposed to be teaching adolescents about the world they live in. Because it is still so uncommon for these topics to be discussed in everyday life, it is vital that books such as The Color Purple are not banned from library bookshelves or educational reading lists, because in the present day novels are the best places to learn about topics that adolescents need to learn about, but for an unknown reason are still restricted in the outside world.
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