I’ve always been fascinated with why novels are banned – to me it suggests a huge power in books, one so frightening to political leaders that they see no other choice than to eliminate them. Of course, this rarely works and there are always people who keep those forbidden books, a rather romantic notion and one explored in the novel Fahrenheit 451 which I thoroughly recommend!
Since I work with the Compton Collection on American History I thought it might be interesting to see how books have been banned in America in the past for a whole host of reasons. See if any surprise you!
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. A seemingly harmless, but incredibly wacky, children’s story that was banned because it was thought to promote the use of hallucinogenic drugs.
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. Despite being a classic play, by one of the greatest writers we have seen this was banned in Texas because of its use of cross dressing.
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis was banned for its sadistic contents. Its twisting of the American Dream was clearly deemed too unpatriotic.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck which is a frequently studied book in English A Levels was banned on suspicion of being communist. Ironically, it was also banned in the Soviet Union… go figure.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is one of those books that you’re told you’ve got to read before you die, but it was banned in schools for its too thorough exploration of female oppression.
On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin is a foundational work for modern science due to promoting the idea of evolution through natural selection. However, because it contradicted religious authority and beliefs, there was a law passed in Tennessee that stopped it from being taught in schools.
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum is another children’s book that seems fairly harmless with its clearly fantastic storyline. But its inclusion of a female protagonist, talking animals, magic, and socialist values were enough to get it banned for fear of corrupting children.
These is by no means an exhaustive list, just some that I found the most interesting. Clearly book banning is not a new phenomenon to the US (or anywhere else for that matter), and even from this short list it is clear that very few genres are safe whether it’s classics, children’s books, or scientific theories. Hopefully we can see this change in the future, but until then I encourage you to read some of these books and see how corrupting you think they are…
