Okay, I know this post is now a little outdated, but I have to say something important.
I hate banned books. Or, better yet, the idea of banning books. I think it is one of the dumbest things a person can do. And sorry to say, I won't agree with anyone who says otherwise, no matter how good of an argument they give me. I will never, never advocate banning books. Or burning them either, but that's a different topic.
Last week, I felt like I was totally sticking it to the MSU professor who wanted to ban Kurt Vonnegut's
Slaughterhouse-Five and two other books from Republic's school district's libraries. It was sad, really, how defiant I felt for reading
Slaughterhouse-Five for my Theory and Practice class that same week.
Not to mention last week was the American Library Association's Banned Books Week. So in a little-late tribute to the 28th Banned Books Week, I've made up two lists: a) Books that Never Should be Banned, and b) Banned/Challenged Books that Shouldn't Have Been. List (a) is mainly for laughs, but List (b) will be my serious attempt at arguing against the banning of books.
So here it goes...
Books that Never Should be Banned
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
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This journalism/fiction work (don't even ask how that works--it's too complicated to go into now) is a shining example of why you should never combine a trip to Vegas and an entire arsenal of illegal drugs. (The movie is also a great example of why Johnny Depp should never be bald or wear a dinosaur tail; also too complicated to explain...)
2666 by Roberto Bolaño
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The middle third of this book in particular is a gruesome example of how truly twisted, evil, and sadistic some people can be. The world isn't all sunshine and candy.
The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
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If this series is banned from school libraries, how else are American kids supposed to learn what "snogging" is?
American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis
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Just like
2666, this book shows us how messed-up some people are. But be warned: If you're looking for the same message with a lot less gore and violence, just watch the movie. It's still pretty bad but nowhere as horrifying as the book, which managed to make this list of
The 10 Most Disturbing Books of All Time.
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
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Come on, now, shouldn't everyone have access to the road map of Hell and Purgatory just in case they need to know how to get out?
Shutter Island by Denis Lehane
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Trust me, the book is even better than the movie (which was pretty hard to top, in my opinion). And everyone needs a good look at a twisted insane asylum, especially one of which Leonardo DiCaprio was given free range.
Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
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I'm nowhere near close to even finishing this book for Theory and Practice, and already I can see why some people would probably want to ban this book. Nevertheless, students need a good book to pick up and read...and reread...and reread...and still be confused.
Banned/Challenged Books that Shouldn't Have Been
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
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This American classic is often banned for profanity and racial slurs, but the often-overlooked fact is that the profanity and racial slurs were common to the era and region in which the story takes place. Besides, it's more of a growing-up story rather than a story that, according to the Warren, Indiana, school district which banned it in 1981, "represents institutionalized racism under the guise of good literature."
The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
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One of the most infamous banned books of all time, The Catcher in the Rye is almost always banned for its use of gratuitous profanity and because some parents consider Holden Caulfield a bad influence. But truthfully, most of the music and artists these days use more profanity and are worse role models than Holden ever did or was.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
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Fahrenheit 451, regardless of the profanity and graphic language used, is banned because eventually the Christian Bible is burned. But
one of my favorite blog posts ever points out something important about
Fahrenheit 451: "It's an entire novel about the future government banning (and burning) books because they could inspire critical thought." Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is what you call ironic.
The Adeventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
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Even though they're technically two books, Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn got mashed together in this list because they are usually banned for the same reasons: the use of the much-frowned-upon "n" word (you know which one I mean), and Tom and Huck aren't proper role models for youngsters. Never mind that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is considered one of the best examples of anti-racism literature ever written.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
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This one is also commonly banned or challenged because of profanity as well as racial and religious slurs. Again, though, none of those seem a legitimate reason for banning a book.
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
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There are so many reasons people argue this book should be banned that I don't even know where to begin. So I'm not even going to attempt listing them all. The MSU professor, however, recently claimed that the book "contains so much profane language, it would make a sailor blush with shame." (You can read Professor Scroggins's original Letter to the Editor
here.)
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According to this
list from the ALA,
1984 was challenged in 1981 because it was considered "pro-communist and contained explicit sexual matter." But it also provides an excellent insight to the future of what the world might become if we let Big Brother take over.
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
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This one is challenged more than it is banned, but most under claims that it contains too many sexual references and that it is too depressing for young adults to read. But I, and plenty of other people, believe that the book is an important depiction of the desperation faced by hundreds of thousands of the Nazis' victims.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
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In 1980, Brave New World was actually banned from a school district right here in Missouri because some parents believed "it made promiscuous sex look like fun" (also from ALA's list of commonly banned/challenged books). But this book is similar to 1984; both books offer disturbing views of what could happen thanks to an oppressive government.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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This one is also commonly banned for profanity and sexual references. Still not legitimate reasons to ban a book, especially an American classic like this one (And one of my all-time favorites).
Reviewing this list, I find it entertaining that some of my very favorite books make the second list: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, and The Catcher in the Rye. Maybe I just like being a troublemaker, at least in the eyes of people dumb enough to attempt to ban books.
But at the same time, I find I have to agree with Dr. Fuller's
response to Scroggins's Letter to the Editor.
So go on, be a troublemaker and check out a banned book. Even if it's not Banned Books Week anymore.
