Weekend Writing: Why Books Were Banned

On Wednesday, I wrote about Banned Books Week. I discussed why books are banned (language, sex, culture, racism, violence, etc.), and I provided a list of the most frequently banned or challenged books.

However, I want to dig a little deeper into this subject. In this post, you will learn exactly why each book was banned or challenged, how many times, and finally my reason for why the book should never be banned. You may notice your favorite books on this list, and it's true; the best books of all time were once banned or challenged.

And isn't that so sad?

Below are the reasons why these books were banned or challenged. As you'll notice, they weren't banned just once; they were banned multiple times.

J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye

J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye"
(photo/Amazon.com).

Salinger published his famous novel in 1951. Since then, the book has been banned and challenged 30 times. Thirty times! Can you believe that? Many parents oppose Holden Caulfield's perception of society. But, in my opinion, that's exactly why Salinger wrote the novel. He was critiquing society--the "fake people" who exist among us.

The Catcher in the Rye is one of the most banned and challenges novels of the 20th century, for reasons including:

• In 1960, a teacher in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was fired for assigning the book to her 11th grade English literature class. The teacher managed to get her job back, but the book was banned from the school's library and curriculum. 
• In 1975, the novel was banned from a school corporation in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, for the language and content expressed in the book. 
• The book was banned from school reading lists in multiple corporations in the late 1970s and early 1980s for "excess vulgar language, sexual scenes, things concerning moral issues, excessive violence," and more. 
• In 1988, the book was challenged at Linton-Stockton High School (Indiana), because the book is "blasphemous and undermines morality." 
• The book was challenged from school districts throughout the 1990s for similar reasons--containing vulgar language, violence, premarital sex, etc. 
• In 2001, the novel was banned from a school district in Summerville, South Carolina, because parents complained that it was a "filthy, filthy book." 
• In 2009, the book was last challenged at Big Sky High School in Missoula, Montana. 

John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath"
(photo/Wikipedia).

Steinbeck published his famous novel in 1939. The realist novel is set during the Great Depression and depicts a poor family's move from Oklahoma to California after the Dust Bowl. The book is celebrated for its historical context. When I read it in high school, it was my first experience reading a book about the Dust Bowl. 

But that doesn't mean the book hasn't been banned or challenged--a total of 13 times since its publication. The book is banned or challenged for many reasons, including: 

• In 1939, the book was actually burned (BURNED!) by the East St. Louis, Illinois Public Library for its use of vulgar language. 
• Also in 1939, the book was banned in Kern County, California, one of the settings of the novel. 
• In 1953, the book was banned from the country of Ireland. 
• In 1973, eleven Turkish book publishers were on trial before an Istanbul martial law tribunal for publishing, possessing, and selling the book. They faced up to six months in jail...for selling a book. 
• In the 1980s, the book was banned and challenged from multiple school districts across the country because the book is "full of filth." One parent said, "My son is being raised in a Christian home and this book takes the Lord's name in vain and has all kinds of profanity in it." 
• The book was last challenged in 1993 at Union City (Tennessee) High School. 

Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird"
(photo/Amazon.com).

Lee published her famous novel in 1964. The novel discusses race in the United States, with a white man (Atticus Finch) defending an African-American man in a court trial. The book is one of the most beloved novels of all time, but not everyone agrees it should be read.

The novel has been banned or challenged 13 times since its publication, for many reasons, including:

• In 1977, the book was challenged in Eden Valley, Minnesota for its use of vulgar language. 
• In 1980, the novel was challenged from a school district in Vernon Verona Sherill, New York, because it is a "filthy, trashy novel."
• In 1981, the book was challenged at a school district in Warren, Indiana, because the book does "psychological damage to the positive integration process" and "represents institutionalized racism under the guise of good literature." 
• Throughout the 1980s and '90s, the novel was challenged at multiple school districts for its language and racial themes. 
• In 2007, the book was banned from the school district in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, because of the "depiction of how blacks are treated by members of a racist white community in an Alabama town during the Depression." 
• Most recently, the novel was last banned in 2009 from the St. Edmund Campion Secondary School in Ontario, Canada, because of its vulgar language. 

John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men"
(photo/Wikipedia).

People like to ban Steinbeck's work, don't they? Steinbeck published his famous novel in 1937. The novel tells the story of two displaced ranch workers who must move from place to place to find work during the Great Depression. What could possibly be wrong with that? 

Well, to many, a lot of things. The book has been banned or challenged 44 times. Can you even believe that? It has been ridiculed for many reasons, including: 

• The novel was banned in Ireland; Syracuse, Indiana; Oil City, Pennsylvania; Grand Blanc, Michigan; Continental, Ohio; and others. 
• The novel was challenged throughout the 1980s due to its vulgar language. 
• The book was challenged and removed from reading lists in Chattanooga, Tennessee, because Steinbeck "was very questionable as to his patriotism." 
• In 1991, the book was banned from a library in Suwannee, Florida, because it is "indecent." 
• The novel was challenged and removed from a variety of school districts and libraries in the 1990s because of its vulgar language, moral statements, and sex. 
• In 2006, the novel was banned from a school district in Greencastle-Antrim, Pennsylvania, even though the book had been a part of the curriculum for 30 years. A parent in 2006 had a problem with the book's racial slurs, so it was banned. 
• The book was last challenged in 2007 in Olathe, Kansas, because a parent called it a "worthless, profanity-riddled book." 

Alice Walker's The Color Purple

Alice Walker's "The Color Purple"
(photo/Amazon UK).

Walker published her famous novel in 1982. It tells the story of African-American women in the South in the 1930s. Not only has the novel been censored, but it also been banned or challenged 14 times. 

It has been critiqued for several reasons, including: 

• In 1984, the novel was challenged from a honors class at Oakland High School (California) because of the work's "sexual and social explicitness" and its "troubling ideas about race relations, man's relationship to God, African history, and human sexuality." 
• In 1985, the book was banned in Hayward, California, because of its "rough language" and "explicit sex scenes."
• Throughout the 1980s and '90s, the novel was banned and challenged from multiple school districts, libraries, and public libraries because of its language and "explicitness." 
• The book was last challenged in 2008 in the school district in Morganton, North Carolina, because parents were concerned about the homosexuality, rape, and incest expressed in the book. 

Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five

Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five"
(photo/Amazon.com).

Vonnegut published his famous novel in 1969. It's a science fiction anti-war novel about WWII, told through the perspective of an American soldier and chaplain's assistant. 

The novel has been banned or challenged 14 times for many reasons, including: 

• In 1973, the novel was burned (BURNED!) in Drake, North Dakota. 
• The book was banned in Rochester, Michigan, because the novel contains religious matters. 
• The novel has been banned in multiple cities across the United States because of the book's "explicit sex scenes, violence, and obscene language." 
• The book was banned and challenged from multiple school districts throughout the 1980s and '90s because of its "language, depiction of torture, ethnic slurs, and negative portrayals of women." 
• The novel was last challenged in 2007 at Howell High School (Michigan) because of its strong sexual content. 

Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Ken Kesey's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's
Nest" (photo/Amazon.com).

Kesey published his famous novel in 1962. The novel is a study of institutional processes and the human mind, as well as a critique of behaviorism set in a mental institution. The novel has been praised by many but ridiculed by others. 

The novel has been banned or challenged eight times for many reasons, including: 

• In 1971, the novel was challenged by the school district in Greeley, Colorado, because it is a non-required American culture reading. 
• In the 1970s, the book was banned from multiple school districts and libraries because it is "pornographic" and "glorifies criminal activity." 
• In 1978, the novel was banned from St. Anthony High School (Idaho) and the teacher was fired for teaching it in her classroom. 
• The book was last challenged in 2000 at a school district in Placentia-Yorba Linda, California, because, according to parents, "teachers can choose the best books, but they keep choosing this garbage over and over again." 

George Orwell's Animal Farm

George Orwell's "Animal Farm"
(photo/Amazon.com).

Orwell published his famous novel in 1945, four years before he wrote his even more famous (and also banned) novel, 1984. Animal Farm reflects events leading up to the Russian Revolution in 1917. The novel discusses Joseph Stalin and his era of reign over the Soviet Union. 

You can probably guess that some readers didn't like Orwell's depiction of history, even though that's what he was trying to accomplish. The novel has been banned or challenged five times for many reasons, including: 

• In 1963, the novel was challenged in Wisconsin and censored. 
• In 1977, the book was banned from being displayed at a Moscow, Russia International Book Fair. 
• In 1979, the novel was censored in many public school districts for its political theories. 
• In 1987, the book was banned from the school district in Panama City, Florida. However, 44 parents united to fight against the school board to reinstate Orwell's work in the district's curriculum. 
• In 2002, the novel was banned in the United Arab Emirates because it contains pictures of alcoholic drinks, pigs (because pigs are now bad?), and other "indecent images." 

--- 

The list goes on and on...This would be a very long and detailed blog post if I were to include every book that has banned, challenged, or censored. More books are banned than what you think, and it breaks my heart that there are some school districts across the world that ban books from their curriculums and libraries. 

(photo/KUAR)

It also breaks my heart that someone would even burn a book...just because they didn't like it. 

As I was reviewing the list while writing this post, I am puzzled by the reasons why these books are banned. Yes, many of these books contain vulgar language. Yes, they might contain a reference to sex. Yes, they might have a religious theme or highlight racism. 

But, parents, there are worse things your children could be doing than...reading. Your child is home and he/she is reading--reading a book! Your child is learning about something new. He/she is learning about history, cultures, relationships, good morals, and more. With every book your child reads, there is a valuable life lesson written between the lines. 

(photo/BookBub)

Don't just focus on the occasional use of a "bad word." Don't just focus on the mention of sex or violence. Instead, focus on the big picture: What is the book really talking about? What is the book really saying and expressing? Chances are that the author is teaching an important lesson, and if books are banned, readers aren't going to have the opportunity--the freedom--to learn that important lesson.

Don't ban books. Instead, embrace them. Love them. 

And most importantly, read them. 

-KJL-

Thank you to the American Library Association for the information used in this blog post.