I chose Eleanor and Park because I loved the unique story and how the characters who told that story are completely different than what is normally portrayed in literature (especially for this age group). This story is told understanding that readers at this level not only understand, but relate to the simple graphic nature of life already– examples being the language used, the intensity of emotion, and the issues the characters face. I loved how both characters are so odd and have unique, tangible hobbies that are considered weird. I think the portrayal of the gender roles in this book is amazing, too. There isn’t one party taking advantage of the other, nor is there a constant need for weakness. Instead, these characters are remarkably human, and as such I am completely grateful. I wish I had something like this when I was younger at my fingertips, so I was interested in investigating why this story has been challenged as well as what following it has.

I chose to write about the Goosebumps series because this was one of my favorite book series to read growing up as a child. I enjoyed the creepy mystery that was presented in most of the stories. Also, this series was different and made me imagine the world if these things really could happened. I wanted to understand why parents felt the way they did about this series and stopping their kids from reading. Parents are influential in books being banned or challenged for their kids. This paper will allow me to understand censorship and why parents felt that Goosebumps should be banned.

The book I picked is The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. The story starting in the 1970s, right before the fall of Afghanistan’s monarchy. The story follows a boy named Amir, who lived in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Amir is friends with Hassan, a servant boy in Amir’s house. A lot of the conflict in the first part of the book stems from the fact that Hassan is of the ethnic minority Hazara. Later the book has Amir and his father flee to the United States only for Amir to return as an adult with the intent to help Hassan.

The reason this book is challenged lies in the language and violence in the book. The book is an account of the dangers in Afghanistan during this time period. There are two characters that I remember who attempt suicide (one suicides), but this isn’t the main thing that is contested about this book. Pretty early in the book, Hassan gets raped by another boy his age. Most complaints about the text revolve around the fact that it was a homosexual rape, not that there was the rape of a child. One challenge presented to the book was that a school informed the parents of the rape but not the homosexual nature of it.

The Adventures of Huck Finn embodies one of the most common characteristics of banned novels: racial tension and controversy. Although Huck Finn wasn’t written as an obstructive attack on slavery, the obscene mention of the N-word used over 200 times throughout the novel has caused the biggest uproar among teachers, students, and parents for several years now. In fact, the N-word was suggested to be changed to the word “slave” in order for the novel to still be taught in schools. What if Twain used the N-word to intentionally create discomfort among races? Would altering or changing the word in Twain’s novel change the author’s intended meaning? I choose this particular text because I’d like to consider why the N-word even causes a discomfort to the degree that several schools are banning this novel. The issue that needs to be considered here is the larger conversation behind the banned novel. There is a good reason for Twain’s language. Young adults shouldn’t be robbed of the opportunity to learn and benefit from the themes of this novel because of a controversial word that causes a growing undefined discomfort among educators in today’s school systems. Because I’ve experienced the aura of discomfort in my classroom when assigned this novel, I want to explore how other schools approach or react to Twain’s work.

by Dav Pilkey

The banned book I chose for my censorship paper is the Captain Underpants Series by Dav Pilkey. This series is a long-lived debate amongst educators and parents for its toilet humor and disdainful attitude.  Captain Underpants has been my favorite book since the second grade. I was not aware of the severity that educators and parents had on regarding to the content of the book. I too can relate that one reason why it is my favorite because of the underlying message of potty training “toilet humor”.  This quote from Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People states “It’s been said that adults spend the first two years of their children’s lives trying to make them walk and talk, and the next sixteen years trying to get them to sit down and shut up.” This quote represents the difference in the humor of  adults and young children that is found within the series.

The book relies on two main characters: George and Harold. George likes to write and Harold likes to draw. With their capabilities of being creative, this is when Captain Underpants the superhero is born. One main reason for banning the series is for the insensitivity and chiefly being unsuited for specific age groups to read. This series also advocate anti-bully themes for young readers to acknowledge. As a future educator and experiencing both sides of the spectrum, reading is fundamental. If a book or comic book encourages children to read, why not support the positivity it possesses.

Ironically, Nick and I seem to be doing the same novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I chose to write about this novel because it had a heavy influence on me as a reader when I first read this as a teen. Many of the things that the characters went through were things that I could relate with, and I felt that Chbosky did a phenomenal job of creating those characters and relaying their experiences. What made me particularly interested in writing on this for the censorship paper was that it was banned for its homosexual content. This book was first published in 1999, a time when the gay rights movement was beginning to receive mainstream acknowledgement. We can see that as the gay rights movement progresses, more and more people want to push back against the “gay agenda” and prevent books/films/media like this from receiving exposure, particularly exposure to children. For this reason, I want to focus on how the gay rights movement inadvertently caused more push back against young adult novels like Perks to be banned in schools and libraries.

The book I’m choosing to focus on is The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I’m picking this book because I’ve read it before and was surprised to learn that it’s been banned by some schools in the United States. Perks of Being a Wallflower contains some adult material like drug usage, sex, suicidal thoughts, among other things but it’s all handled subtlety and carefully. The novel focuses on Charlie, a freshmen whose having trouble navigating his new high school life while trying to move past the deaths of his aunt and a close friend. Charlie later befriends a group of seniors, led by a pair of step-siblings that take him under his wing as he begins to experience and enjoy his life as he never had before. The book has been banned since it’s been viewed as a negative influence on teens that are still impressionable during these times but it’s what essentially makes Chbosky’s novel such a special work. He’s not writing about them instead choosing to write for them. We know, are friends with, and used to be (or maybe we still are) these characters. I knew because of this, it would make a great choice for my censorship paper.

The banned or challenged children’s book I chose is Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. This book was banned because people considered aspects of the book witchcraft and supernatural. The story is about a young boy named Max. After dressing in his wolf costume, he causes problems around his household. He is sent to bed without his supper. Max’s bedroom turns into a jungle environment. He ends up sailing to an island inhabited by malicious beasts known as the “Wild Things.” After intimidating the creatures, Max is hailed as the king of the Wild Things. This book has been challenged since it became published in 1963 up until now. I figured that it was a great choice for my censorship paper since it’s extremely influential in children’s literature.

And Tango Makes Three is very interesting to me because it is introduced to children at an early age and is a very much a banned book. I also did not think about the book is targeted towards young children, so I decided to change to a popular book called The House on Mango Street. The book was written by a Latino American, and it was about a little girl named Esperanza. It outlines the hardships of growing up Mexican in America and trying to hide her race to fit and conform to what the world sees as “perfect.” She idealizes the “American Dream,” and living on Mango Street was not what she envisioned. Esperanza also noticed how hard women have it living on Mango Street. There is violence and hardship throughout the book, but it ends on a good note in the end. Esperanza realized she would never be able to leave the women behind and she decides to stay.  

I chose the storybook “King & King” for two specific reasons: I knew it would be controversial (it will most certainly add length to my censorship essay) and I was mildly curious to how same-sex fairy tales were constructed. I was not disappointed on both accounts as this book is as notorious as it is a game-changer for future same-sex fairy tales in the future. The book articulates the romance between two characters just as any other children’s book, expect that at the end, the prince falls for another prince, rather than a princess. The small yet enormous change caused trouble for teachers in various states as parents caused a political uprising to put an end to what their children are being taught in schools. Reports date back a few months ago suggest that parents are not alright with their children being taught about what now is a legal right for same sex relationships i.e. the right to marry. This book is one of the many steps that is aiding the vast movement in accepting a different kind of sexuality and treating it as equality.