Banned Books Week 2018
It’s easy to take your freedoms for granted when you’ve never known any other way of living.
But for many people in the world choosing to read what you wish, view what you
wish or speak what you wish is not an option. Yet here in America, there is
always someone who doesn’t want you to read something. Of course, in America,
saying you shouldn’t read something usually means everyone will rush out to
read it. Such was the case with Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita. Charges of obscenity and banning in France and English
ensured that sales in America would get off to a good start. The same was true
of the Satanic Verses, which hit best
seller lists on its release even though many western readers found it
unfathomable.
The most common forms of book banning here in the United States are localized challenges which lead to a title being removed from reading lists or from library shelves. The most shocking aspect of some of these cases are not the books contents, but that teachers and librarians are often the source of the challenge. Of course, banning books has been going on since the invention of the printing press, and rationals to ban this or that title are still common place. Often the issue is the difference between a parental control or preventing someone else from reading a title altogether.
A common parental objection is the appropriateness of the material for
their children. This was the issue behind the challenge to The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brian. Many parents felt the
language and descriptions of battle too graphic. Another group attempted to ban
Fahrenheit 451, a book about book
banning, because one of the books burned in the novel was the Bible. Conversely,
To Kill a Mockingbird came under challenge
because of racial slurs and its portrayal of a mentally disabled person as not representative of current values.
Every year
the American Library Association designates the last week of September as Banned Books Week, in order to draw
attention to the many classics of American and world literature which have been
considered too vile or too inflammatory to be read. It's hard to imagine the American cultural landscape without Hemingway, Flannery O'Conner or Steinbeck, yet at some point someone tried to prevent others from reading their work.
So, exercise your freedom. Read a book, any book, it's your choice!
So, exercise your freedom. Read a book, any book, it's your choice!
Notable Banned Books
Sophie's Choice
The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye
The Color Purple
Lord of the Flies
The Kite Runner
The Hobbit
Naked Lunch
Grendel
The Giver
Brave New World
Howl
1984 Of Mice and Men
Harry Potter Series Slaughterhouse-Five
The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter
