War of Words Wednesday: Censorship
So here’s a twist on the War of Words Wednesday. Since we’ve been talking about censorship this week, I am interested to see which, of any, of these banned books you think should be removed from school libraries. This is a list of books subjected to banning in the US and UK which I compiled using information from the library at the University of Pennsylvania, The File Room Project and the American Library Association. The list includes books which have been deemed inappropriate for minors or students over time.
Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Twelfth Night (use of adult language, sex, violence) - Shakespeare
Little Red Riding Hood (alcohol reference) - Brothers Grimm
Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn (racial slur) - Mark Twain
Forever (sexuality) - Judy Blume
Of Mice and Men (inappropriate language) - John Steinbeck
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (sexuality, adult language) - Maya Angelou
Harry Potter series (magic, witchcraft) - J.K. Rowling
The Great Gatsby (sexuality) - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Catcher in the Rye (adult language) - J.D. Salinger
The Color Purple (sexuality, violence, racism) - Alice Walker
Gossip Girl series (sexuality, drug use, adult language) - Cecily von Ziegesar
Charlotte’s Web (death, potentially offensive to Muslims) - E.B. White
Do you agree with any of these books being banned? If you don’t believe that banning is appropriate, should there be an age restriction on any of them?
Are any books missing from the list?
censorship, banned books, Catcher in the Rye, Gossip Girl, Charlotte’s Web, The Color Purple, Harry Potter, Shakespeare, Little Red Riding Hood, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain, Judy Blume, Of Mice and Men, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, The Great Gatsby
August 15th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
Wow I have read almost all the books on this list. Many of them when I was young. Huckleberry Finn was one of my favorite books when I was little. I loved Catcher in the Rye in high school. I just can’t believe that some many classics are up for being banned many of these have been read for years and years. Many of the same books were required reading in school. I am pretty sure I am came out as a normal person who loves to read much to some of these stories. My children and I are in the process of reading Tom Sawyer this summer. I am reading it to them if I think anything in it is questionable I stop and explain about when it was written what the world was like then how the world is different now and how if we aren’t aware of what was done wrong in the past we can’t know not to make the same mistakes in the future. It is just like when a child makes a mistake they learn from it and know that it won’t be tolerated again. My children so far are great children, great students, respectful to others, and have a great thrist for reading and knowledge so even if these books get banned I will continue what I am doing because I will always be aware of what they are reading. Why ban books if you think a book may offend you then don’t read it.
August 15th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
I have read all of those except the Gossip Girl series and Forever. My mother spent her 35-year teaching career reading Macbeth and Hamlet to high school students. The only one I might pause at would be The Color Purple for teens younger than high school. It does have some disturbing imagery of abuse and mistreatment. The reason I say that, though, is that I work for a child psychologist who treats child and teen victims of abuse. Maybe I am just more sensitive to it. However, I think once a child reaches high school level they need to begin learning about and coping with the very real reality represented in the book.
August 17th, 2007 at 3:37 am
[...] over at Tiny Treasury has been debating censorship this week. Why not stop by and weigh in on this controversial [...]