Blog Post: Banned Books

Hi everyone--sorry for the lack of quality blog posts and reviews lately....school's been quite hectic with quarter tests coming up and all. Don't worry--I have a review planned for tomorrow and should be posting daily once more in about a week (when all the tests are over...honestly, I feel like I study more than I sleep.)

Well, I in school we're reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, one of the most controversial books out there. In fact, it's one of the most banned books of all time (ie. The Concord Library banned this book as did many public schools.) Twain, being the humorist he is, wrote to Webster saying "That will sell 25,000 copies for us sure." in response to the Concord Library kicking Huck Finn off its shelves.

So the major question is: Should books be banned and should The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn be banned in schools?

Many people claim that Twain's novel is offensive to many people. For example, the n-word is used 219 times. Yep--you heard that right--219 times alone in a relatively short novel! Also, the southern society in the novel is portrayed as having no morality. Also, improper/crass usage of words were seen as a big no-no. I personally found this rather silly. The Brooklyn Public Library banned this novel because Twain used the word "sweat" instead of "perspiration." Because we all know we can't have kids going around saying "sweat coated my arms" instead of "perspiration coated my arms", right? (<--insert sarcasm)

On the other hand, other people don't think The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be banned. After all, our right to freedom of speech is protected in the 1st amendment, is it not? Second of all, if you don't want to read the book, simply don't read it. Just because you don't want to read it doesn't mean other people can't. In regards to offensive language used in the writing, I'm sure that there are plenty of TV shows out there that use a lot more swears and racial slurs. Last but not least, Huck Finn is an American Classic and is part of our history.

So no, I don't think Huck Finn should be banned. But this brings us to the next question: should any books be banned? For example, should a book about how to murder someone/make a bomb/create meth be banned?

Often times, prevention is the best cure. If potential criminals couldn't get info on how to make drugs/weapons/what-ever-other-crimes-there-are, then perhaps the crimes would've never happened. But then again, would banning such books be violating the first amendment?

I think I need to ponder this question out a bit more...

What are your thoughts? Should books be banned?