• A reminder that Forum Moderator applications are currently still open! If you're interested in joining an active team of moderators for one of the biggest Pokémon forums on the internet, click here for info.
  • Due to the recent changes with Twitter's API, it is no longer possible for Bulbagarden forum users to login via their Twitter account. If you signed up to Bulbagarden via Twitter and do not have another way to login, please contact us here with your Twitter username so that we can get you sorted.

Banned Books Week -

Status
Not open for further replies.
Barb

Barb

Java Girl
Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 30, 2003
Messages
6,014
Reaction score
13
Pronouns
  1. She/Her
It's that time again. The week of September 24 through October 1 has been designated as Banned Books Week by the ALA (American Library Association).

I found this list on the website. It's 2004's most challenged books:

Three of the 10 books on the "Ten Most Challenged Books of 2004" were cited for homosexual themes - which is the highest number in a decade. Sexual content and offensive language remain the most frequent reasons for seeking removal of books from schools and public libraries. The books, in order of most frequently challenged, are:

"The Chocolate War" for sexual content, offensive language, religious viewpoint, being unsuited to age group and violence

"Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers, for racism, offensive language and violence

"Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture" by Michael A. Bellesiles, for inaccuracy and political viewpoint

Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey, for offensive language and modeling bad behavior

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky, for homosexuality, sexual content and offensive language

"What My Mother Doesn't Know" by Sonya Sones, for sexual content and offensive language

"In the Night Kitchen" by Maurice Sendak, for nudity and offensive language

"King & King" by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland, for homosexuality

"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou, for racism, homosexuality, sexual content, offensive language and unsuited to age group

"Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck, for racism, offensive language and violence

Off the list this year, but on the list for several years past, are the Alice series of books by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, "Go Ask Alice" by Anonymous, "It's Perfectly Normal" by Robie Harris and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain.

"Go Ask Alice" is a brilliant first-person narrative of an adolescent's descent into heroin addiction. "Of Mice and Men" is a literary classic, as is "Huck Finn." I don't get the point of challenging or banning a book. If the subject matter doesn't interest me or I find it offensive, I happily ignore it. The same goes for my kids, who are allowed to choose their own reading material. So my question for discussion here is why are some people apparently threatened by intellectual freedom?
 
Most people would not find Huck Finn offensive if they actually took the time to read the whole thing. They scream, "It's racist! It uses the N-word!" However, it's obviously used in a historical contest. Mark Twain nor Huck Finn is racist; in fact, the book is sympathetic to slaves of the time.
 
That's true. It's also interesting to note that J.K. Rowling has been on the top ten challenged authors list since 2000.
 
People underestimate kids. Kids can handle a lot more stuff than adults--especially their parents, the people who should know them the best but never do--give them credit for.
 
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou, for racism, homosexuality, sexual content, offensive language and unsuited to age group
Click to expand...
WTF! That was one of the books we were assigned to read in school a few years back.
Homosexuality?! It's a problem?! STFU you homophobes and go play with Pres Bush.
 
Barb said:
"Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck, for racism, offensive language and violence
Click to expand...

It's my literature coursework text...
 
Barb said:
"The Chocolate War" for sexual content, offensive language, religious viewpoint, being unsuited to age group and violence

"Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers, for racism, offensive language and violence

"Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture" by Michael A. Bellesiles, for inaccuracy and political viewpoint

Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey, for offensive language and modeling bad behavior

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky, for homosexuality, sexual content and offensive language

"What My Mother Doesn't Know" by Sonya Sones, for sexual content and offensive language

"In the Night Kitchen" by Maurice Sendak, for nudity and offensive language

"King & King" by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland, for homosexuality

"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou, for racism, homosexuality, sexual content, offensive language and unsuited to age group

"Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck, for racism, offensive language and violence
Click to expand...
The ones I've bolded are the ones I've read.
I wish Pride and Prejudice was on that list, though. That book was a PAIN to read in my senior year.
 
Captain Underpants? I read those books when I was in fourth grade and there's really nothing too offensive about those. Nothing worse than what you'd find in the average Saturday morning cartoon. Geez, people these days.
And "In the Night Kitchen"? I know about the nudity, but you only see the kid's ass, and where's the offensive language? I mean, my mom read that book to me when I was little!
 
Crystal Clair said:
WTF! That was one of the books we were assigned to read in school a few years back.
Homosexuality?! It's a problem?! STFU you homophobes and go play with Pres Bush.
Click to expand...
The people who are challenging the book think it's a problem; not everyone agrees with them.

nekusagi-chan said:
And "In the Night Kitchen"? I know about the nudity, but you only see the kid's ass, and where's the offensive language? I mean, my mom read that book to me when I was little!
Click to expand...
Some people are offended by any kind of nudity, and especially when it concerns children.

What I find so amazing is what isn't banned. Bret Easton Ellis wrote "American Psycho," which was about a serial killer and featured some violent scenes that turned my stomach. I also remember getting to page 70 of what was ostensibly a romance novel and reading about a woman being gang-raped to death. I threw the book away. Violence against women is a very real social problem in many nations, yet books such as these are published and nobody challenges them?
 
Crystal Clair said:
WTF! That was one of the books we were assigned to read in school a few years back.
Click to expand...

Our "pick one of these books to read" list in english class last year had Of Mice and Men and Go Ask Alice on it.

Just wait, soon the ERSB will start rating books as well, and kids under 15 won't be able to read anything.
 
Wait a minute, wait a minute. You want a book to be banned simply because you had a hard time with it? That's absurd!
Click to expand...

Uh, I think it was a joke.
 
Barb said:
"Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck, for racism, offensive language and violence
Click to expand...

WHAT?

Okay, they are really taking it too far. I read "Jaws" when I was eleven, and that includes offensive language, sexual themes, and, you know, a shark tearing people into bit-sized pieces. I could handle it. This is just ridiculous.
 
...okay, then, that makes you a jackass. Just because I despise PokeShipping doesn't mean I try to prevent others from supporting it.
 
I hope people realize that books can also be "banned" because perhaps 10 year olds shouldn't be reading about certain topics just yet.

Regardless, this thread is on my must read list for the hilarity :)
 
Oooooh, book banning annoys me so much. X_x I agree with Barb - if you find it offensive, just ignore it. Not everybody has the same standards, and they NEVER will. I wish everyone would realize that, and stop trying to push their own standards on others. This really goes back to an essay E.M. Forster (I believe) wrote, the basic gist of which is that it is not love but tolerance that the world needs more of.
 
People in America are too stupid to realize that, though. They seem to assume that if they don't like it, nobody else should. (See also: My "Double Standard?" thread.)
 
Ketsuban said:
...okay, then, that makes you a jackass. Just because I despise PokeShipping doesn't mean I try to prevent others from supporting it.
Click to expand...
I WILL admit that last statement was overexaggerating (as well as it was rather stupid to say), but it's just my opinion. If you or anyone else like the book, that's just fine with me. I just got sick of it when I was reading it when I was at high school, that's all. I REALLY don't want to get into an argument here, so I had to clear that up.
 
nekusagi-chan said:
People in America are too stupid to realize that, though. They seem to assume that if they don't like it, nobody else should. (See also: My "Double Standard?" thread.)
Click to expand...
I love people like you, who are so much smarter than us. I need to learn more from you. Teach me your ways. :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom