Book banning and burning have existed since the earliest days of written text. It's not a new practice, and it didn't die out with history. The earliest example of banned books occurred between 259 and 210 BC In China, the then Emperor Shi Huangdi is said to have killed 460 scholars to control the narrative of history in his time. In 212 BCE, he began burning all the books in his kingdom, leaving only one copy of each for the Royal Library. Eventually, these too were destroyed.
Much has changed since then, but that doesn't mean books are invulnerable. Quite the contrary, in fact. One of the most famous examples of book banning and burning occurred in Nazi Germany, when Hitler ordered the destruction of all books, written by Jews, communists and others whom Hitler considered a threat to the regime and its ideology.
But, of course, this isn't the only time books have faced the threat of banning or burning. In fact, even today, efforts are being made to remove books from schools for a variety of reasons, most of them sociopolitical in nature. It remains to be seen how successful these efforts will be, but if history has taught us anything on this issue, it's that usually, when books are banned, there's simply no compelling reason to explain why. Such as...
10. Bridge to Terabithia
Children's book by Katherine Paterson "« Bridge to Terabithia» has been consistently criticized since its release in 1977. The beloved children's book follows Jess Aaron as he befriends his neighbor, Leslie Burke. The two build an imaginary kingdom in the woods near their home.
The first case of a book being challenged occurred in In 1986 In Nebraska. The reason? Profanities like "Oh, my God" and the word "Jesus" are used as swear words. In 1990, in Burlington, Connecticut, a children's book was challenged for similar reasons, also for promoting a negative view of children's lives. Things really took off from there, and the book began to be challenged at least once a year.
In the period from 1992 to 2002 It has been challenged multiple times in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Kansas, Maine, California, and Texas. While usually for profanity, it has sometimes extended to more outrageous matters, such as one case in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, where it was accused of referencing witchcraft. Another Pennsylvania town, Pulaski, complained that the book showed disrespect for adults and a complex fantasy world that could confuse children.
Over time, the problem with Bridge to Terabithia The controversy has died down. However, from time to time, the book returns to the spotlight. This was especially true in 2007, when Disney released a film adaptation of the famous book.
9. Catch-22
Joseph Heller's World War II novel «Catch-22, Published in 1961, it is an undisputed classic. The novel tells the story of Captain John Yossarian, a U.S. Air Force bombardier who refuses to die. However, there's no escaping service, evoking the call of duty experienced in various wars throughout history.
Catch-22 became such a controversial book because of how much She received love and praise from the younger generation in 1961 and later. When the Vietnam War began, the book's themes and ideas became intertwined with anti-war sentiment. On the other side of the spectrum, people were outraged by the book's disrespectful treatment of war as a topic.
Over time, the book has received more praise than when it debuted in the early 1960s, but it has also attracted negative attention. Despite the fact that on «Catch-22» not many problems fell out , like some other books that have been constantly attacked, it has still caused some high-profile fights. In In 1972 In Strongsville, Ohio, the book was removed from libraries due to its profanity. This escalated into a full-blown legal battle between students and teachers. Further attempts to ban it were made in 1974 in Dallas, Texas, and Snoqualmie, Washington, for its offensive depiction of women.
8. Purple color
Color Purple , published in 1982, continues to be subject to deadly attacks. One of the most recent known attempts was in North Carolina in 2013, though it escaped a ban. But this is far from the only instance since the first attempt at a high school in Oakland, California, in 1984. The book has been the target of attacks, controversy, and bans for over four decades.
Alice Walker's tragic story, written in letter form, takes place in rural Georgia, as young Celia writes letters to God, documenting the traumas and triumphs of growing up. The book is an intense account of sexism, racism, and poverty, with scenes that the average reader can relate to.
С 1984 to 2002 The book has been challenged in California, Wyoming, Virginia, Michigan, Tennessee, North Carolina, Connecticut, Florida, Texas, West Virginia, and Ohio. Many grounds range from depictions of sexual violence, homosexuality, incest, drug abuse, race relations, and negative portrayals of black men. Walker several reacted She resists bans, saying she's used to them. However, she believes that banning books means depriving teenagers of the opportunity to learn new things that might be useful to them when they become adults.
7. 451 degrees Fahrenheit
«Fahrenheit 451» Ray Bradbury — is a case laced with irony. The 1953 classic is set in a dystopian future where books are banned, and the irony doesn't stop there. Technology is a major part of society in 2047, and firefighters start more fires than they put out, typically confiscating and burning books. It follows Guy Montag, a firefighter who wonders why books were banned in the first place. The reason is eerily similar to where we find ourselves today. It's about control of the narrative and reducing differences of opinion by creating consensus.
Topics «Fahrenheit 451» are quite simple. It's a story about technology and its ability to create more problems than it solves. The book is primarily about dissatisfaction and knowledge, not ignorance; a civilization numbed and consumed by technology.
«Fahrenheit 451» began to be contested on every corner under the guise of profanity and discussion of drugs. However, much more attention was paid to the fact that the book discusses restrictions freedom of speech and the idea of censorship . For a country that promotes the First Amendment, banning books runs counter to the very idea of free speech. The book has been altered, censored, challenged, and outright banned in various states, counties, and schools for over half a century. It remains banned in many places.
The book envisioned a distant future where information was kept secret and society was misled to protect them from the truth, allowing citizens to exist in ignorance. «Fahrenheit 451» was set in 2049, but here in 2022 we see examples of Bradbury's book coming to life.
6. The Catcher in the Rye
Everyone has at least heard of the scandalous book. «The Catcher in the Rye» , written J.D. Salinger 1961 to 1982 Salinger's infamous novel was the most heavily censored book in US schools and libraries.
«The Catcher in the Rye» follows Holden Caulfield, who struggles to grow up in mid-20th-century New York City. The book is told from his bed in a mental hospital, as Holden recounts his experiences with expulsion, clashes with other students, dropping out, living in Manhattan, and the struggles of growing up, focusing on themes like the loss of innocence. A key theme in this novel is the idea that children are innocent and genuine, while adults are deceivers. As you might imagine, this can be controversial. But ultimately, «The Catcher in the Rye» is a tragic story about the isolation and loneliness of teenagers as they become adults.
For the first time «The Catcher in the Rye» challenged in 1960. An 11th-grade teacher in Oklahoma was fired for teaching the book. Although she appealed the decision and got her job back, the book was banned because of the incident. This sparked a frenzy of attempts to ban the 1951 novel. Between 1986 to 2000, After the fever ban was lifted, he was still attacked nine more times.
The book has been consistently criticized for its use of profanity, drug and alcohol abuse, sexual references, and denigration of God. Less common reasons have also been cited, such as it being anti-white, violent, and immoral. The main problem was that it encouraged teenagers to rebel against their parents, schools, and the system. It's a long list of complaints that Salinger never bothered to address. To make matters worse, several shootings, including the infamous the murder of John Lennon , were connected with criminals over catcher in the rye .
«The Hate You Give» — is one of the latest books to face intense rejection and banning attempts. It follows Starr Carter's journey as she rises up against police brutality against minorities in the United States after witnessing her best friend killed at the hands of police. Given how race relations around the world continue to deteriorate, it's no surprise that with The Hate U Give They fight at every turn. Since its release in 2017, there has been a fierce battle in all 50 states to keep this book as far away from children as possible.
Author Angie Thomas was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. She addressed issues of police brutality, racism, classism, and social inequality.In 2018 In Katy, Texas, the book was removed from the entire school district after several parents complained about Thomas's book. This caused an uproar among librarians and local parents, which ultimately led to the book's return to libraries, but only available to students with parental consent. The initial ban was due to its discussions of drug use, sexuality, and race.
В In 2019 At a high school in Springfield, Missouri, the book was challenged and ultimately banned. In Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 3 of the Tri-County Area sought to have the book removed from reading lists at local high schools. Many places wanted to remove the book from schools because of its racial themes. In the case of the police, her accused in "almost fostering distrust of the police, and we have to put an end to that.".
In 2021 The Hate U Give was once again criticized for its implied anti-police message. It was after the summer of 2020, which saw racial reckoning and the George Floyd protests, that the book regained popularity and reached the top spot. New York Times bestsellers , where she spent a total of more than 190 weeks.
4. The Hunger Games
In 2008, Suzanne Collins released her science fiction dystopia,« The Hunger Games, and almost immediately became a worldwide sensation. The book follows Katniss Everdeen, who takes her sister's place in the barbaric game called The Hunger Games, where the only way to win is to survive. Between book and film sales franchise «The Hunger Games» earned billions of dollars.
The book is not without controversy. Collins's world divides the United States into 12 counties and a capital city. Each district essentially serves the capital city. Therefore, they are considered lower-class citizens. The series has been the subject of numerous accusations, including its anti-ethnic, satanic, religious, anti-family, violence, offensive language, and sexuality. Some complaints about «The Hunger Games» They don't stand up to scrutiny, nor does the idea of a religious subtext, since there's no religion in the books at all. Many have argued that "hope" counts as a religion, but that only makes the argument weaker and a little odd.
These are not the biggest problems found in the pages of this famous dystopian series. «The Hunger Games» They are accused of promoting anti-government sentiment because they explore the uprising in three books. The symbolic three-finger salute, which became a sign of resistance to tyranny, was used in real-life situations, which didn't help. In 2020 Students at a school in Thailand used this symbol in front of flagpoles. In 2021 Medical workers in Yangon, Myanmar, did the same to support Aung San Suu Kyi, the ousted civilian leader. These varied themes have made the series the subject of countless attempts and successful bans around the world. Most of the problems was in 2010, 2011 and 2013.
3. Nineteen eighty-four
George Orwell's book «1984» has been the subject of intense international criticism for his book 50s, when Soviet Russia banned and burned book for its anti-communist views. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the book was banned in Jackson County, Florida , in 1981 for its pro-communist slant. But more recently, the book came under fire again in 2017 in Idaho for excessive violence and sexual overtones.
So what about? series «Nineteen eight-four» Orwell's dystopian novel, published in 1949, follows Winston Smith (in what was then a vision of the future in 1984) in a world that has fallen victim to endless wars, omnipresent government surveillance, propaganda, and the whitewashing of history. Themes of political distrust, different political systems, and rebellion are central to the novel.« Nineteen eighty-four"» .
Efforts to ban books typically focus on government themes, and many remove the pro-communist message when the book is anti-communist and anti-government. Themes of rebellion against the system have also been the basis for bans worldwide by governments uneasy about the idea of a Stalin-like uprising in the 1950s.
2. Slaughterhouse-Five
In 1969, Kurt Vonnegut published «Slaughterhouse-Five» , a satirical science fiction novel about Billy Pilgrim being yanked out of time and abducted by aliens. The book explores the horrors of World War II using Pilgrim, a soldier, as a means to illustrate how his life was sacrificed. When he becomes unstuck in time, it's the result of a shell shock from his time as a prisoner of war. It's then that he relives moments from his life.
Nothing is controversial from the start, but many themes in the book explore free will and the cost of war, exploring Billy's relationship with time. It's a compelling book that forces us to acknowledge our own mortality and the fact that time doesn't grant free will because it's impossible to change. So why was it banned?
«Slaughterhouse-Five» — one of the most challenging books of the 20th century. It was the subject of a First Amendment case that reached the Supreme Court in Island Trees School District v. Pico in 1982 . Although the case went the way of the students, resulting in the ban being lifted, it has since been challenged. An earlier example ban «Slaughterhouse-Five» happened in 1972 when The district judge named the book «"depraved, immoral, psychotic, vulgar and anti-Christian.".
Usually problems on «Slaughterhouse-Five» Some argue that anti-war sentiment ruffled feathers back in the 1970s and 1980s, but even after all these years, Vonnegut's classic faces challenges every few years, repeating the same arguments of all those who banned it before.
1. Ulysses
«Ulysses» It was first published as a serial in the American magazine Little Review. In 1922, it was published as a book and is now considered a masterpiece. Set in Dublin, James Joyce tells the story of three central characters in a parallel epic poem by Homer.« Odyssey"» .
As revered as the book became, it was not well received at first. The serialized parts were burned in the USA in 1918 , and the book was burned in Ireland and Canada in 1922. In England, it was burned in 1923, and it was banned entirely in 1929. The case alleged that the serialized episode, titled "« Nausicaa »" contains a scene where the main character pleasures himself, meaning it falls under the category of obscenity. Although many disputed this due to Joyce's frequent use of metaphors, the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice won the case. The serialized version and the future book were effectively banned in the United States.
The US lifted the ban on Ulysses в In 1934 , when obscenity laws were relaxed. Looking back, we saw «Ulysses» as a bold experiment of its time. Controversial? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely. All the more reason why people shouldn't be shielded from books, but instead should be able to embrace them, even if they're a little controversial.