When it comes to an aesthetic subject like literature, and especially the teaching of literature to children, not everyone is going to agree on what is best. Many times, members of the community question books in school libraries or on classroom reading lists, saying they are unsuitable for young people. These objections are called challenges. While a challenge doesn't mean a book is automatically removed from circulation, it does mean that school officials must give it a careful look and make a determination.
In the two decades between 1990 and 2010, more than 10,000 challenges were filed on books in the United States [source: ALA]. By far the largest number of these protests came from parents, but library patrons also filed a few challenges, as did school administrators and members of various pressure groups. Most of the challenges involved school classes and school libraries, with public libraries coming in third. No library is immune, however: In as many as 10 cases, the contents of prison libraries underwent challenges [source: ALA].
Reasons for the challenges vary greatly, from sexually explicit content to the mention of suicide to the general complaint that the book is unsuitable for a particular age group. It is rare that only one objection is raised in a challenge -- most challenges cite several reasons. In this article, we'll take a look at reasons for challenges and at various books that have been challenged and why. While we'll deal primarily with the most common reasons behind the challenges, we'll learn about some unusual ones as well -- such as the accusation that one popular book encouraged children to shatter their families' dishes.
There are many ways a work of literature can cause moral outrage in readers.
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10. Anti-Family
Of the more than 10,000 challenges mounted to books between 1990 and 2010, only 328 mentioned that the book was "anti-family," making this charge the 10th most common reason books are challenged [source: ALA]. Accusations of being "anti-family" was just one of the reasons author Stephen Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" made the most challenged list in 2008 and 2009. Even J.K. Rowling's wildly popular "Harry Potter" series has encountered the charge of promoting anti-family themes [source: Yates].
The "Brave New World" in Aldous Huxley's book of the same name is a futuristic but dystopian society where there are no conventional families, just promiscuous sexual relationships and the state-regulated administration of drugs and pleasure. Babies are mass-produced in a sterile, factory-like setting. Obviously, these ideas don't sit well with some parents and community leaders. "Brave New World" was removed from an Alabama school system in 2000, with lack of respect for the family unit cited as one of the major reasons for the ban.
9. Drugs
Drug abuse ranks ninth on the American Library Association's list of most common reasons for book challenges. The United States Congress has attempted to make it illegal to disseminate instructions for making illegal drugs through books, but it has never gone so far as to outlaw the discussion of drug use in fiction [source: University of Pennsylvania].
That hasn't stopped challengers from trying to ban those books. Drug use is another one of the reasons that the previously-mentioned "Brave New World" and "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" have been challenged. In "Brave New World," for example, the government uses a pleasure-inducing drug called "soma" to placate and stupefy the masses. Many challengers through the years have taken issue with this plot device. The accusation of inappropriate drug use also figures into a 2002 challenge of "The Color Purple." In that case, a Fairfax, Va., parent group called Parents Against Bad Books in Schools challenged 18 books on various grounds. In 1990, two California school districts banned an edition of "Little Red Riding Hood" because an illustration showed the title character placing a bottle of wine in the basket she was taking to grandmother's house.
Aldous Huxley's dystopian novel "Brave New World" has often faced challenged based on its characters' consumption of drugs.
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8. Nudity
It's kind of hard to see how nudity could be one of the reasons to challenge a book without illustrations, but some people were bothered enough by the mere mention of nudity to make it the seventh most common reason for book challenges from 1990 to 2010 [source: ALA]. In 2009, nudity was among the complaints filed against the most challenged book of that year, "ttyl" by Lauren Myracle, a popular series told entirely in instant messaging format. Robert Cormier's "The Chocolate War" also had nudity mentioned in 2009 challenges. Nudity is also implied in challenges to a number of perennially contested books including "Lolita," "The Color Purple" and "Brave New World."
7. Religious Viewpoint
Nothing can divide people like religion, so it should not surprise us that "religious viewpoint" would be high on the list of reasons for book challenges. In 1989, Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" sparked riots throughout the world for what some called a disrespectful representation of Islam. Several countries banned Rushdie's book, and, on Feb. 14, 1989, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran charged all of his coreligionists with the task of assassinating Rushdie and his publishers [source: Rule].
In America, public libraries are often challenged for using public money to purchase materials that deal with religious matters. In 1991, an Oregon library patron challenged "Evangelical Commentary on the Bible" because of this reason. On the other hand, several parents have challenged school systems that have forbidden the reading of the Bible aloud in public classrooms. Schools have to walk a fine line in deciding what readings on religion are allowed. In Colorado, students staged a protest after a book called "Bless Me, Ultima" was removed from the classroom because of a challenge. The basis of the challenge was "pagan content," even though this book appears on former First Lady (and librarian) Laura Bush's recommended reading list for all ages.
Salman Rushdie, the author of "The Satanic Verses," was forced to go into hiding after his novel drew condemnation and a death sentence from Iranian clerical authorities.
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6. Homosexuality
From the children's story "Heather Has Two Mommies" to the adult classic "Brideshead Revisited," many books have been challenged for reasons of homosexuality. A group in Arkansas -- Parents Protecting the Minds of Children -- has challenged 55 books, many because of homosexual content. Targeted books include "Rainbow High," "My Father's Scar" and "The Homo Handbook." Library Patrons of Texas unsuccessfully challenged "Dance on My Grave," which tells the story of a 14-year-old boy who is gay. "And Tango Makes Three," the true story of two male zoo penguins who adopted a chick, was the subject of unsuccessful challenges in Virginia and Iowa. In 2005, the Oklahoma legislature passed a law requiring public libraries to remove children's books with gay characters. In response, gay rights supporters donated books on gay history, such as a book about the Stonewall Riots of 1969, to local high school libraries. This donation, in turn, sparked its own controversy [source: KOCO Oklahoma].
5. Occult
Books that depict magic or the occult are prone to irritate Christians and other religious people in the United States. Harry Potter levitated near the tops of both the bestseller lists and the most-challenged book lists for much of the first decade of the 21st century. J.K. Rowling's hero not only had to overcome Lord Voldemort -- he has had to endure numerous battles that attempted to get the wildly popular series removed from libraries around the world. In general, the challengers' main objection was occult content -- not surprising in a story that focused on the adventures of young wizards. During an early challenge to Harry Potter, firefighters in Maine stepped in to prevent a public book-burning. The protesters then mutilated the book with scissors. "The Lord of the Rings" was successfully burned outside a church in New Mexico in 2001. Occult content has figured into challenges of many recent bestsellers. Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series was subject to similar challenges, as was Alvin Schwartz's "Scary Stories" series.
On Dec. 30, 2001, members of Christ Community Church in Alamogordo, N.M., burned (among other things) Ouija boards and copies of the Harry Potter novels and other supposedly occult items.
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4. Unsuited to Age Group
The charge of "unsuited to age group" is vague enough to encompass a variety of objections by book challengers. "Unsuited to age group" is cited in more than a fifth of all book challenges [source: ALA]. Even William Shakespeare's works have been challenged in any number of school libraries and in classroom reading assignments on the basis that their adult themes -- such as the doomed central character's murder conspiracy in "Macbeth," or the frank discussion of suicide in "Hamlet" -- are not suitable for young students.
Toni Morrison's works "Beloved" and "Song of Solomon," both considered modern classics by many critics and readers, have been challenged as unsuitable to teenagers, as has "Of Mice and Men" for its depiction of rape, racial themes and profanity. In 1991, the Mobile, Ala., school system, responding to a request from a community group, formed a committee to "weed out objectionable things" in textbooks. "Of Mice and Men" was the first target, in part because of "morbid and depressing themes" [source: ALA].
3. Violence
Violence is the third most often cited reason for a book to be challenged, mentioned in more than a quarter of all complaints [source: ALA]. In 2005, a Kansas parents' group challenged "The Giver" by Lois Lowry, winner of the Newbery Medal in 1994, mentioning its depiction of infanticide. Alice Walker's "The Color Purple" is another work that is often challenged for its violence -- in this case for descriptions of the abuse of women. "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding has been challenged for violence, as have "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison and "Native Son" by Richard Wright. In 1974, a citizens' group challenged "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey, saying it contained "bizarre violence."
Probably an obvious choice for a book to be challenged for violence is Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood," which is based on the true story of the brutal slaughter of a Midwestern family. A 1999 challenge to the inclusion of "In Cold Blood" on a Georgia high school's Advanced Placement reading list was originally successful in banning the book, but authorities reconsidered and retracted their ban shortly after voting in favor [source: Marino].
Though certainly quite violent, "In Cold Blood" earned Truman Capote popularity and critical acclaim.
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2. Offensive Language
Offensive language, usually meaning profanity, is second on the list of most common reasons for a book to be challenged, with 2,658 challenges on record from 1990 to 2010 [source: ALA]. Profanity is the usual reason cited in challenges of "Catcher in the Rye" and figures into challenges of "The Grapes of Wrath," "Slaughterhouse Five" and "A Clockwork Orange." Offensive language doesn't necessarily have to mean profanity, however. Many times, racially charged words are cited as reasons for challenges. "To Kill a Mockingbird" is sometimes challenged on these grounds, and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," which uses the "N word" more than 200 times, has come under fire. But that's nothing new; the Concord, Mass., Public Library banned Mark Twain's masterwork in 1885 for "coarse language" [source: Time].
1. Sexually Explicit
More than one-third of the challenges to books filed from 1990 to 2010 mention sexually explicit themes, plots and language [source: ALA]. Sexual content is one of the oldest reasons for banning books -- "Fanny Hill" by John Cleland, which features a prostitute as the title character, was frequently challenged from the time of its publication in 1749. Law forbidding the mailing of "obscene" materials kept a number of novels out of the United States for years, including James Joyce's "Ulysses" and Voltaire's "Candide." Explicit sexual content has been cited, among the many other complaints, in most challenges to Alice Walker's "The Color Purple," and some of these challenges have been successful. An unsuccessful challenge to the novel by parents in Lima, Ohio, in 1999 described Walker's novel as "vulgar and X-rated." D.H. Lawrence's "Sons and Lovers" was one of the books exhibited in the infamous "smutmobile" by Mothers United for Decency in 1961.
Still curious about challenged and banned books? Check out the links on the next page.
American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. "Banned Books Week Handbook Online." 2011. (June 13, 2011) http://www.abffe.com/bbw-booklist-detailed.htm
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://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedclassics/reasonsbanned/index.cfm
American Library Association. "Banned and Challenged Classics." 2011. (June 6, 2011) http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedclassics/index.cfm
American Library Association. "Most frequently challenged authors of the 21st century." 2011. (June 6, 2011) http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedauthors/index.cfm
American Library Association. "Number of Challenges by Year, Reason, Initiator & Institution (1990 - 2010)." 2011. (June 6, 2011) http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengesbytype/index.cfm
American Library Association. "Top ten far-fetched reasons to challenge a book." 2011. (June 12, 2011) http://www.atyourlibrary.org/top-ten-far-fetched-reasons-challenge-book
Boston University Libraries. "Boston and Its Neighborhoods. Banned in Boston: selected sources."(June, 12 2011) http://www.bu.edu/library/guides/boston/banned.html
Freedom to Read. "Bannings and Burnings in History." 2009. (June 22, 2011) http://www.freedomtoread.ca/links_and_resources/bannings_and_burnings.asp
KOCO Oklahoma. "Potential Battle Brews Over Gay History Books In Schools." June 6, 2005. (June 22, 2011) http://www.koco.com/r/4575725/detail.html
Marino, Jennifer Rose. "Doctor fails to get books banned." Savannah Morning News. (June 22, 2011) http://savannahnow.com/stories/111600/LOCbookban.shtml
Rule, Sheila. "Khomeini Urges Muslims to Kill Author of Novel." The New York Times. Feb. 14, 1989. (June 22, 2011) http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/04/18/specials/rushdie-khomeini.html
School Library Journal. "Myracle and ttyl: Series tops ALA's most challenged books list." April 14, 2010. (June 13, 2011) http://www.libraryjournal.com/slj/articlescensorship/884830-341/myracleaposs_aposttylapos_series_tops_alaaposs.html.csp
Time.com. "Removing the N Word from Huck Finn: Top 10 Censored Books." Jan. 07, 2011. (June 6, 2011) http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1842832_1842838_1844945,00.html
University of Pennsylvania. "The Online Books Page Presents Banned Books Online." (June 6, 2011) http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/banned-books.html
Yates, Emma. "Harry Potter tops US 'complaint' chart." The Guardian. Jan. 10, 2002. (June 22, 2011) http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2002/jan/10/harrypotter.jkjoannekathleenrowling
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