Probably before the ancient scribe lifted his stylus from the clay tablet, the ancient keeper of community standards was ready to demand that authorities shield the public from his work. Books have been challenged and subsequently banned throughout the centuries for reasons of language, morality, religion, protection of the government and even on the grounds that they contained pictures of pigs.
We need to understand the difference between challenging a book and banning it. A challenge is not merely an outcry against a certain work of literature; it is a demand that it not be dispensed to the public. Most challenges today involve requests to remove books from school libraries or school curriculums. Banning is the actual removal and prohibition. Protecting young people from unhealthy influences is the most often-cited reason for book challenges in 21st-century America, but in the past, challengers often sought to keep anyone of any age from having access to these works. In many other nations, this is still the case today, where many books remain forbidden for political and religious reasons.
In this article, we'll take a look at 10 classic works of literature that are commonly challenged. In a few cases, it's obvious what could raise a moral watchdog's hackles, while other offenders seem rather innocuous. Still, many of these works have withstood the challenges and remain perennial items on high school reading lists.
Is danger lurking on these library shelves? Throughout the years, parents, teachers and community leaders have challenged the place of many revered works of literature in libraries and classrooms.
Image Credit: Ryan McVay/Photodisc/Thinkstock
10. Slaughterhouse Five
Kurt Vonnegut's 1969 tale of Billy Pilgrim, an American World War II prisoner who becomes unstuck in time and is able to see his past and future, has often been challenged -- usually because of its sex scenes, violence and profane language. For example, "Slaughterhouse Five" was challenged in an Owensboro, Ky., high school library for, among other things, a reference to the "magic fingers" on the hero's bed that help lull him to sleep.
The book survived a 2006 challenge to the Northwest Suburban High School District 214 reading list in Arlington Heights, Ill. A school board member there, elected after she pledged to apply Christian values to all her decisions, challenged nine books on the list. She did not read them, but said she based her decisions on passages she read on the Internet. She was not successful in removing the book.
The Livingston Organization for Values in Education, or LOVE, in Howell, Mich., challenged the book because of its sexual content. A county law enforcement official read it and judged that the sexual content did not threaten to violate any criminal law on the books [source: Time]. "Slaughterhouse Five" stayed on the list. However, in 1973, "Slaughterhouse Five" was successfully challenged in Rochester, Mich., because it made reference to religion and therefore breached the restrictions that separate church and state [source: ALA].
Kurt Vonnegut is the author of the classic but sometimes controversial American novel "Slaughterhouse Five."
Image Credit: Mickey Adair/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
9. The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck's Depression-era classic seems to have faced more challenges than the fictional Joads did on their way from the Dust Bowl to the golden land of California. Shortly after its publication in 1939, a library in East St. Louis, Mo., burned copies of the book -- and this wasn't the only protest of this kind. Copies of the book were also put to the flames in Kern County, Calif., which was the county where the book's protagonists sought refuge at the end of their journey [source: Neary]. The Buffalo, N.Y., library banned it because of "vulgar language" [source: ALA]. Indeed, language has been the major reason for challenges to this book -- most specifically, profanities that use God's name in vain. In 1981, "The Grapes of Wrath" was challenged as part of the Richford, Vt., high school required reading list because of language and because of a story the character named Rev. Jim Casy tells of taking advantage of young women after leading revival meetings.
Objections to "The Grapes of Wrath" aren't confined to the United States. Eight Turkish booksellers were tried in Istanbul in 1973 for possessing and selling books the government deemed "unfavorable to the state," and "The Grapes of Wrath" was among them.
8. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
This classic, often called the greatest American novel ever written, has been challenged on a variety of grounds: foul language, vulgarity and, most recently, racial epithets. But like Huck and his faithful friend Jim, Mark Twain's classic tale of morality on the Mississippi can't be contained. Starting in 1885, the year the book was published, challenges began. Louisa May Alcott, author of "Little Women," said Twain should stop writing if he could do no better for "our pure-minded lads and lasses" [source: Time]. The Brooklyn Public Library in New York removed the book from the children's section in 1905 because the title character said "sweat" instead of "perspiration."
In recent years, Huck has come under attack for something that did not raise an eyebrow at the time the book was published -- frequent use of the "N word." A parent in Tempe, Ariz., unsuccessfully sued the school district in 1997, saying the use of the word had caused psychological damage to her daughter and other black children who had to read "Huckleberry Finn" in class [source: FindLaw]. In February 2011, Twain scholar Allen Gribben published a combined "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," in which he replaces the offensive epithet with the more neutral "slave." The character known as Injun Joe also gets a new name -- Indian Joe -- and is referred to as a "half-blood" rather than a "half-breed." For all Gribben's good intentions, many people did not respond well to his attempt to alter a classic work of literature [source: CS Monitor].
7. The Color Purple
No one would argue that Alice Walker's "The Color Purple" doesn't deal with mature themes. The main character is raped by her stepfather, several males in the book are abusive to women, and two characters are involved in a lesbian relationship. The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel has been challenged dozens of times over the past 25 years in high schools around the country.
In 1992, "The Color Purple" was banned in the Souderton, Pa., Area School District for 10th graders on the grounds that it was "smut" [source: ALA]. The battle over "The Color Purple" raged for months in Junction City, Ore., after the book's "inappropriate language, graphic sexual scenes and negative image of black men" made it the object of a challenge, even though the students did not have to read the book and could choose an alternative [source: ALA]. At Ferguson High in Newport News, Va., students can only borrow the book from the library with parental permission. Parents Against Bad Books in Schools challenged "The Color Purple" and 17 other titles in school libraries in 2002. They cited incidents of drug abuse, sexual activity, torture and violence as their objections. In 2009, a proposed Alabama law would have removed "The Color Purple" -- along with many other works of literature -- from public school libraries, on the basis that it has characters who engage in homosexual acts. Though many members of the community were alarmed by the proposal, the bill ultimately failed to pass the state legislature [source: Holguin].
Alice Walker, author of "The Color Purple," attends a stage adaptation of her celebrated novel in New York.
Image Credit: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic/Getty Images
6. To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee's 1961 Pulitzer Prize-winning book has been the subject of many challenges. Some are because of the mild profanity -- the Eden Valley, Minn., schools temporarily banned the book in 1977 because of language, and it was challenged as late as 2001 in Glynn County, Ga., because of profanity. But most often, the book's content and themes provoke the challenges. "To Kill a Mockingbird" deals with race relations in a small Alabama town during the 1930s. At the center of the story is a trial of a black man for the rape of a white woman. Put all these factors together, and you've got a recipe for controversy. In 2006, the book was challenged at a Brentwood, Tenn., middle school for profanity and adult themes, but also because complainants alleged that the book promotes white supremacy. A similar challenge was launched in 2007 in Cherry Hill, N.J. A resident there said the book would upset black children [source: ALA].
5. Brave New World
A favorite among book challengers for nearly 80 years, Aldous Huxley's 1932 novel was banned in Ireland shortly after publication. With its themes of sexual promiscuity, drug use and suicide, "Brave New World" tells a story in a bleak future where the populace is manipulated and controlled by the state. Schools in Miller, Mo., banned "Brave New World" in 1980 because of its characters' acceptance of promiscuous sex [source: ALA].
The book was challenged as required reading in the Corona-Norco, Calif., Unified School District in 1993 because it "centered around negative activity" [source: Time]. The challengers cited the school's health curriculum, which taught sexual abstinence, and said the characters of "Brave New World" went against those teachings [source: ALA]. A challenge in Mercedes, Texas, on the basis of adult content, resulted in the school board's ruling that school principals must offer alternate reading selections if parents challenge a book on a reading list [source: ALA].
Next, we'll look at another work of social criticism that, like "Brave New World," has endured decades of challenges.
4. Animal Farm
You might think American moralists would never have challenged a Cold War-era novel that is a thinly veiled criticism of the evils and absurdities of Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union, but you would be wrong. George Orwell's "Animal Farm," published at the end of World War II in 1945, has been challenged for many reasons -- most often for its politics, or at least for what the challengers interpreted as its politics. The right-wing John Birch Society challenged the novel's use in Wisconsin schools in 1963, due to the words "masses will revolt." The book also faced trouble because, despite the author's criticism of the Soviet Union, Orwell was known to harbor socialist political values. Specifically, the New York State English Council’s Committee on Defenses Against Censorship said that the book faced challenges in the state of New York primarily because "Orwell was a communist" [source: Karolides].
In an interesting twist on the usual book challenge scenario, it took a lawsuit from parents to get "Animal Farm" and 64 other books back in the Bay County, Fla., school system in 1987, after the school superintendent had banned them. "Animal Farm" (along with 125 other books) was banned from schools in the United Arab Emirates in 2002, but not for political reasons. The Ministry of Education said "Animal Farm" contained writing and illustrations -- specifically, pictures of alcoholic beverages and swine -- that contradicted Arab and Islamic principles [source: ALA].
For all of the biting satirical value of George Orwell's "Animal Farm," some of the most serious objections have centered on the depiction of pigs.
Image Credit: Joern Pollex/Getty Images
3. Beloved
In 2005, the New York Times conducted a poll of writers and literary experts, asking them to choose the greatest works of American fiction from the past quarter century. Toni Morrison's "Beloved" achieved the top spot on the list [source: New York Times]. This story of former slave Sethe and her love for her children has been challenged on the basis of sex and violence in many school districts. After being on the Madawaska, Maine, required advanced placement reading list for six years, "Beloved" was unsuccessfully challenged in 1997 by a member of the school committee for language. In 2007, school administrators in Louisville, Ky., removed the book from senior advanced placement English classes after two parents complained about what they termed "inappropriate topics" -- namely bestiality, racism and sex. The principal at that school told teachers to teach "The Scarlet Letter" instead [source: ALA]. "Beloved," which won a 1987 Pulitzer Prize, was also part of the previously mentioned Arlington Heights, Ill., school board member's battle to use her Christian faith to get books banned, based on summaries and passages she had read on the Internet.
2. Lolita
It's not surprising that Vladimir Nabokov's novel of forbidden love has been challenged and subsequently banned in countries around the world. "Lolita," the story of Humbert Humbert and his attraction to the 12-year-old daughter of his landlady, caused a stir from the time it was printed in 1955. The book was banned for obscenity in England, France, Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa and has been the subject of many challenges in the United States. In fact, at one point, Nabokov was so concerned about the content of his novel that he attempted to burn his own manuscript. It was only the intervention of his wife, Vera, that saved the text [source: PBS].
The book was challenged in 2006 at the Marion-Levy Public Library System in Ocala, Fla. The county commissioners asked the county attorney to review "Lolita" and see if its themes of incest and pedophilia made it unsuitable for minors [source: WESH].
1. Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger's classic 1951 tale of the confused and angst-ridden amblings of a young Holden Caulfield has been challenged for everything from language to racism. Language is probably the most common complaint, and challenges have been mounted specifically for the use of God's name and the "F word." Though the book endures these contests to this day, some early reactions were particularly harsh. In 1960, a Tulsa, Okla., high school English teacher assigned Salinger's novel to his 11th-graders. In response, the school attempted to terminate his employment [source: Time].
Statements that were derogatory to women, minorities, the disabled and to God were cited in 1992 challenges in both Duval County, Fla., and Waterloo, Iowa. Students are allowed to select an alternate choice of reading material after a challenge in the Corona Norco, Calif., Unified School District. In Georgia, a Glynn Academy student complained about sexual references and profanity in 1997, but the book was retained. A community near Columbus, Ohio, called the book "anti-white" and unsuccessfully tried to have it removed from the library. Probably the comment that best summarizes all the challenges came from a Summerville, S.C., school board member who pulled "Catcher in the Rye" from schools, saying, "it is a filthy, filthy book" [source: ALA].
For more on challenged and banned books, review the links on the following page.
J. D. Salinger, author of the both infamous and beloved novel "Catcher in the Rye," reads a copy of his book in this photo.
Image Credit: Antony Di Gesu/San Diego Historical Society/Hulton Archive Collection/Getty Images
American Library Association. "Banned and/or Challenged Books from the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century." 2011. (June 6, 2011) http://tinyurl.com/n6w3et
American Library Association. "Banned and Challenged Classics." 2011. (June 6, 2011) http://tinyurl.com/kwxwdz
American Library Association. "Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read." 2011. (June 6, 2011) http://tinyurl.com/oc5cgv
American Library Association. " Most frequently challenged authors of the 21st century." 2011. (June 6, 2011) http://tinyurl.com/3q458n2
Holguin, Jaime. "Alabama Bill Targets Gay Authors." CBS News. Feb. 11, 2009. (June 22, 2011). http://tinyurl.com/b7sdl
Karolides, Nicholas J. "Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Political Grounds." New York: Facts on File, Inc. 2006. (June 22, 2011) http://tinyurl.com/6ha4eos
Neary, Lynn. "'Grapes Of Wrath' And The Politics of Book Burning." NPR. Sept. 30, 2008. (June 22, 2011) http://tinyurl.com/4cp5lm
New York Times. "What Is the Best Work of American Fiction of the Last 25 Years?" (June 22, 2011) http://tinyurl.com/2nvetn
Rawls, Philip. "Huck Finn: Controversy over removing the 'N word' from Mark Twain novel." The Christian Science Monitor. Jan. 5, 2011. (June 6, 2011) http://tinyurl.com/2bt57kl
Time.com. "Removing the N Word from Huck Finn: Top 10 Censored Books." Jan. 7, 2011. (June 6, 2011) http://tinyurl.com/56z7pg
Time.com. "Too Controversial for Bookshelves?" (June 23, 2011) http://tinyurl.com/oymknq
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. "Monteiro v. the Tempe Union High School District." (June 6, 2011) http://tinyurl.com/67k6m55
University of Pennsylvania. "The Online Books Page Presents Banned Books Online." (June 6, 2011) http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/banned-books.html
Webster's New World College Dictionary. "Bowdlerize." Wiley Publishing Inc. 2010.
WESH Orlando. "'Lolita' Could Be Pulled From Library's Shelves." Jan. 24, 2006. (June 22, 2011) http://www.wesh.com/r/6251817/detail.html
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