Having researched my article last week on Ten Books You Must Read I was struck by how many of them had appeared on the banned books list.
This started me thinking about who decides which books should be banned. Although not directly banned in England, many books have fallen out of favour on the exam list.
Books such as To Kill a Mockingbird and 1984 have been banned in other countries. To Kill a Mockingbird was banned in some schools and libraries due to its depiction of racial issues, strong language, and discussions of rape.
1984 has been banned in several countries for its critique of totalitarianism and political censorship. The novel's portrayal of a dystopian society where the government controls information and suppresses dissent has been considered subversive and threatening by some authorities.
It is not just classic books that receive this treatment. The 1988 book The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie was banned in several countries due to its perceived blasphemy against Islam.
It appears the common theme here is that books are banned by authorities that think they speak for the majority and have decided certain books are dangerous or harmful to the younger generation.
These people clearly do not know teenagers. The best way to ensure a teenager wants to do something is to tell them they are not allowed. By banning these books, they are advertising them to this age group.
John Steinbeck used this to his advantage with his children. His son tells a story of his father locking books away in a cupboard and banning his children from reading anything from there, hiding the key from his boys.
Every night, his sons would creep downstairs, unlock the cupboard, and devour its contents.
His son now says that three things should have occurred to him. The first was why there were always new books in there; the second was why the torches always had full batteries, and the third was why his father went to all the trouble of locking the cupboard and hiding the key where his sons could see it.
Banning books proves the saying there is no such thing as bad publicity. If you want people to be interested in a book and want to read it, tell them it is banned. Proving just how pointless book bans are.
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Until next week, stay safe
Sam 😊
Quote of the week
Censorship reflects a society's lack of confidence in itself. ― Potter Stewart