Okay, I understand why a book like A Clockwork Orange would be high up on any banned book list. Despite the brilliantly developed characters and language, its world is polluted by the ultra-violent youth and thus, as anyone could guess, contains highly explicit words and imagery. But because people don’t like to look underneath the surface, the entire theme and moral is ignored and worse, it is lost. If A Clockwork Orange is going to be banned for being “socially offensive,” then they might as well ban: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, or The Scarlet Letter, or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Brave New World, Gone With the Wind, Of Mice and Men, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, The Catcher in the Rye, Fahrenheit 451, To Kill A Mockingbird, James and the Giant Peach, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Cujo, The Color Purple…oh that’s right, they already did! for being “socially offensive!”
What I don’t understand is how these classic and historic pieces of literature could ever be banned…who would ever allow such a thing? Apparently it is the “communities” across the nation who is committing these outrageous acts of censorship. It is also said that books such as Fahrenheit 451 were “sanitized” without anyone’s knowing, not even the author himself, and the “sanitized” version is what was taught in school. But what strikes me is the word “sanitized.” The author probably spent many, many, many grueling hours creating his work, and then someone just comes along and decides that it’s too offensive and therefore not socially acceptable…so they “sanitize” it; they sterilize and clean it up, probably without understanding the devastation the book is now left with. God help me if they ever decide to “sanitize” A Clockwork Orange.
I can’t even imagine what kinds of books are being taught to today’s American youth…if it’s anything to do with a Stephanie Meyer’s book, I’m moving to a different country.
The banning of these books demonstrates control—whoever is determining what is banned is ultimately controlling what is being taught, which only means that a certain freedom is being extinguished. That freedom is the freedom of expression and free thought. Literature is art; it is an escapism; a creative outlet…put a restriction on that and you get suppression.
Ultimately, the literature medium is facing CENSORSHIP. Art is supposed to be free, but it never really is. Artists constantly face criticism for conveying “offensive” messages. Are we only supposed to write or paint or draw or sing about ponies and gumdrops?
I say bring on the offensive; bring on the weird; bring on the original. Nothing brilliant ever comes from safe and clichéd nonsense.
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For the list of banned books (although not the complete list), CLICK HERE!
Categories include: Too Political, Too Much Sex, Irreligious, Socially Offensive.
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I completely agree with you! I think I have made it clear how much I love books, so when I see stuff like this, it just makes me angry. People write about life and personal experiences and it's never all butterflies and rainbows. These critics should get their heads out of the sand and take a good, hard look at reality and the world around them.
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