Since the time books were introduced in the western world by Gutenberg in 1455 they were challenged for their content. The first-ever printed book was The Bible and while we cannot account for the publisher’s taste, it was censored for its “religious viewpoint”.
We’re in the 21st century and one would think that freedom of speech is a sure thing. Well, guess what? Approximately 350 books are challenged or banned from libraries and schools in America every year. And I’m not just talking about oldies and classic literature but books that are popular within the reading community today and have even been adapted to films or series. To name a few, ’13 Reasons Why’ and ‘The Handmaiden’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood. After a quick research on the net, I summarized that two of the most frequently banned books are Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ for “language and sexual references” along with ‘Catch-22’.
Not all arguable books are banned, some are just challenged and censored. According to the American Library Association, banned means that a book has been removed from the shelf of a library or school. A challenged or censored one is reading material that some people think should be removed but hasn’t been. Top reasons for this are offensive language, sexual content and violence, subsections include homosexuality, racism, drugs and anti-family content.
So, does this mean that just because some books deal with controversial social issues, we should exclude them from our shelves? Personally, when I hear that a book has been banned or challenged from somewhere in the world, I want to read it even more. Because usually, censored books deal with realistic subjects that may help individuals manage their inner feelings and by extent make them emotionally independent. Ralph Waldo Emerson has once said, “Some books leave us free and some books make us free.”.
There are many reasons one should pick up a book to read, whether challenged or not and I’m going to mention a few just for you. A primary reason for reading is that it stimulates our brain along with imagination. New research by UC Berkeley psychologists suggests that creativity generally tends to decline as we age. As do the hours we spend on reading fiction, I may add. Also, reading can lead to tranquility and peace of mind, as focusing on written text relieves one’s mind of stress.
Challenged books from my shelves, Andriana Bartziou
I’d like to recommend a few of the greatest banned books out there. For instance, I loved the dystopian genre after reading Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’. A novel ahead of its time, placed in a futuristic world that takes on consumerism, the media, genetic engineering, recreational drugs, religion, herd mentality, individualism, and lots of other socially relevant topics, weaving them into a science fiction setting that our world resembles more every day. Chilling, is it? Other options include ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee, ‘Catcher in the Rye’ by J.D. Salinger, ‘Lolita’ by Vladimir Nabokov, and pretty much anything written by John Steinbeck.
Books can be dangerous. They are dangerous. Because they contain ideas. Ideas that can’t and won’t be jailed in the long run. I’ll leave you with a quote from Stephen Chbosky, author of ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ another critically challenged book, “Banning books gives us silence when we need speech. It closes our ears when we need to listen. It makes us blind when we need sight”. So, are we banning books or ideas?
Ήρθα σε αυτόν τον κόσμο την πέμπτη μέρα του δεύτερου καλοκαιρινού μήνα ενός χρόνου πριν την αλλαγή της δεκαετίας στην συμπρωτεύουσα. Σπουδάζω Ποιμαντική και Κοινωνική θεολογία στο ΑΠΘ. Λατρεύω την αγγλική κουλτούρα. Χορεύω swing και κάνω αμέτρητα ταξίδια με βάρκα το βιβλίο! Ξέρω μονάχα ότι δε ξέρω και πολλά. Ο κόσμος είναι ο καμβάς μας και εμείς οι ζωγράφοι. Πιστεύω στην ατομική πρωτοβουλία και ότι όλοι μαζί μπορούμε να κάνουμε αυτόν τον κόσμο καλύτερο!
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