Skip to main content

Reasons behind banning or censoring of controversial Books

On account of certain content  within the pages of book, some book were stumbled in controversies or banned or censored. The common reasons behind banning or censoring certain books are:
Racial Theme or Dialogues:

The books with a story or dialogue that can encourage racism towards one or more group of people.

Example: The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Encouragement to Destruct Lifestyle:

Some books encourage lifestyle choices that are not standard or could be threatening or destructive. This include Drug use, Co-habitation without marriage or Homosexuality.

Example: The Perks of being Wallflower by Stephen chboski.
Blasphemous Subject:

The book, with subject that is sacrilegious against god or sacred things, had often attracted controversies.

Example: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Mobi Dick by Herman Melville, The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie.
Intimacy Issues:

Many Books with content of sexual situation or dialog were banned or censored.

Example: Fifty Shades series by E.L. James.
Violence of Negativity:

Book with the theme of brutality and sadism were frequently banned. Some books have also been deemed too negative or depressing and have been banned or censored as well.

Example: American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
Presence of Witchcraft:

Books that include sorcery or witchcraft themes were banned or censored.

Example: Harry Potter Series by J K Rowling.
Political favoritism or partiality:

The Books that brace or questions extreme Political groups or philosophies like fascism, communism, anarchism etc.

Example: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinback, Invisible man by Ralph Ellison.
Inappropriate Age:

These books have been banned or censored for their content and the age level at which they are targeted. In some cases children's books are viewed to have "inappropriate" themes for the age level at which they are written for.

Example: The Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger.

Comments

  1. Very informative! I guess this must change from country to country. In Australia, public libraries and bookshops do not censor books. They are providers, censorship is not their role. However, schools and private institutions use their own discretion. Most books you mention are old now and no longer controversial. The Fifty Shades series was not well-written but like all provocative works it created greater interest. Harry Potter is a flash in the pan like Lord Of The Rings series when it first emerged. A banned book is really intolerance towards those who hold different opinions from oneself.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Informative post. It really doesn't sound as though things are very different in the US vs Australia as mentioned in the previous post. The books you mentioned are considered "classics" e.g. Huckleberry Finn, Gone With The Wind and many of Kurt Vonnegut's books, all of which are still banned in certain schools. When a book makes the "banned books" list, it generally has been banned by SCHOOL libraries. Very seldom in today's society are books banned by public libraries or university libraries. Although, given the current climate sweeping Europe, Australia and the US toward intolerance, religious zealotry, and anti-science bias, the rate at which books are protested in schools AND universities is rapidly increasing. That is what happens when ignorance is allowed to go unchecked. The point is to read these banned books, share them with others and make everyone aware than censorship does exist in EVERY country.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

GEORGE ORWELL

English novelist, essayist, journalist and critic. Born: 25 June 1903 Motihari, Bengal Presidency, British India. Died: 21 January 1950, University College Hospital, London, England. Birth Name: Eric Arthur Blair Pen Name: George Orwell Early Life Born on June 25, 1903, Eric Arthur Blair who later decided on George Orwell as his pen name was the second child of British parents Richard Walmesly Blair and Ida Mabel Limonzin who then resided in Indian Bengal where Richard was an employee of the British Civil Services. George Orwell created some of the sharpest satirical fiction of the 20th century with such works as Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. He was a man of strong opinions who addressed some of the major political movements of his times, including imperialism, fascism and communism. The son of a British civil servant, George Orwell spent his initial days in India, where his father was stationed. His mother brought him and his older sister, Marjorie, to England about a year aft...

10 Controversial Books that became bestseller Classic

J K Rowling, George Orwell, Vladimir Nabokov , E L James, Salman Rushdie or Arundhati Roy, There is a myriad list of the authors who landed in trouble or created controversies and banned, at the time of Book launch or after release, for writing down their unorthodox and free-spirited thoughts and stories which were far advanced of their time. Here is a list of books, you must add to your reading pile, which were declared scandalous or were banned either for talking about intimacy or portraying women as strong character or blasphemy and religious affiliation, but later they were embraced and announced as path-breaking literature. 1. The Harry Potter Series by J K Rowling J K Rowling’s fantasy world of witchcraft and wizardry for children, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone - The first book of The Harry Potter Series, was landed in a controversy and criticized by many religious groups and parents for inspiring kids to try occult and witchcraft, taking them deep in the unwanted and ...

The Most Challenging books I've ever read.

Here is a small list of the most challenging books which gave me hard time to reach last page of the book. No matter how hard your heart wants to read these books till the end but at certain point your mind will take over the will of your heart and convince it to drop the book once and for all. These books will test your patience and control over your mind. Give yourself a round of applause if you’ve also made it through any of these books. And if you get it what was written or what you’ve read then you deserve a standing ovation. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (1967) What makes it challenging: Few family sagas stretch as wide as that of the Buendía clan - there are seven generations depicted here. As if that's not confusing enough, names are frequently repeated (basically ever character is named Aureliano). And oh yeah, try reading it in Spanish. Excerpt: "He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of...