The Concept of Banning bOoks
In the current political and economic climate that society is living through, it is not a shock to anyone that books, of all things, are on the chopping block. There are hundreds and thousands of books being banned or challenged in the U.S. specifically, but also all around the world. The U.S. is the biggest threat to the literacy of the U.S. citizens, not only in the sense of reading skills but also in comprehension of complex ideas and the empathy and understanding that knowledge creates. Books are being banned for containing violent, graphic, uncomfortable subjects; but why would we need to censor things based in reality? The important messages and themes of authors of oppressed minority groups are being silenced.
We are stuck in a constant backward motion in which our regular everyday freedoms such as reading and even CREATING are being monitored or taken away from us altogether. We need to actively combat what is being stripped from us and also encourage people to read complex stories to further their literacy.
Before you move into the books I have chosen to spotlight, please remember that each of these recommendations include material that be harmful to the mental health of some readers. Please do not interact with these books if you know it will not be good for your mental health.
1. The bluest eye by Toni morrison
The Bluest Eye is a fictional novel written by Toni Morrison who is a Black woman author who writes about the Black experience and beautifully conveys deeply emotional meaning in her work. In the novel, we follow a young dark-skinned Black girl named Pecola who is navigating the outright racism of the 1940s. She also must navigate poverty and abuse while at the same time dealing with the things coming at her as well as the hatred from within herself.
I found this book to be incredibly eye-opening, even as a Black woman myself. Stories about systemic racism and hatred have been done many times, but what makes this one stand out is the introspection it brings to you. One of the main plots is that Pecola must learn to cope with the beauty standard which favors the exact opposite of who she is physically. The way Morrison writes and develops this plotline is incredibly real and raw. After reading it, I found myself finally being able to identify with someone else who was feeling what I had been feeling for the longest time. This is an amazing read for those who wish to understand the Black experience or find representation within it.
2. The things they carried by tim o’Brien
The Things They Carried is a book that holds a very special place in my heart. The book is split not by chapters but by short stories that sometimes connect and others which stand alone, but all together they paint one large picture of the Vietnam War. O’Brien makes it a point to introduce the concept of “happening truth” and “story truth.” By this he means that there obviously is a difference between the real truth and fictional happenings, but he uses those fictional parts to get the visceral feelings of the story across in a more impactful way. The major themes of this book center around death, war, tradition, fear, faith, love, and so much more.
The title of the book is an incredible nod to the contents of the stories and also to the real Vietnam War experience. “The Things They Carried” references not only the pounds and pounds of physical weight they carried in the form of gear, equipment, weapons, rations, and entertainment but also the emotional baggage that weighed they down throughout the war and even after it was over. O’Brien does an insane job at making the reader truly feel the emotions of the characters in his stories to a point where you can genuinely imagine yourself in the scenes he paints with his words.
3. A thousand splendid suns by khaled hosseini
A Thousand Splendid Suns is a story that stretches over three decades and follows the lives of two women in Afghanistan named Mariam and Laila. The two women must hold onto each other through the trials and tribulations of being a woman in Afghanistan during the Taliban takeover. The two meet as they have both been married off to an older, abusive man who they must obey and serve under the law of Islam. This book is a crucial read that can really help to put the struggle of women in a developing country into perspective.
This book taught me to have gratitude for the things that I am allowed to do and the freedoms that I have today, that a lot of women would kill for. (Literally, ifykyk…) Although it is important to acknowledge privilege, it is also crucial to remember that it is not permanent. In the words of Sheryl Lee Ralph, famous Black woman activist, “Just because you have rights today does not mean that you will have rights tomorrow.” The book serves to shine a light on the injustice that women around the world are suffering through. It touches on terrible topics, like abuse, abandonment, child marriage, and many others.
4. To kill a mockingbird by harper lee
To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most popular banned books of the 20th century. A majority of American students were probably made to read this book in middle school or high school. To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel set in a small town in rural Alabama during the height of the Great Depression and the Jim Crow Era. It follows Atticus Finch, a lawyer, who must defend a falsely accused Black man in court as the systemic racism of the town is stacked against him. Atticus’ children, Scout and Jem, are also witnessing this as they learn hard lessons about morality and prejudice.
This book is an incredible snapshot of the Black experience since the beginning of time. Harper Lee wrote this book with a parallel from the main story to a side story within it, and both of them are an amazing depiction of prejudice. Lee is also a very talented writer in the way she makes the reader question their own thinking while also feeling the emotional weight of the actions the characters take in the story. This is a great tale of morality and integrity as well as racial prejudice.
5. Night by elie wiesel
Night is a book about Elie’s own experience living through the holocaust beginning when he was a teenager. This is another one of those books that children are made to read in either middle school or high school. This book is such a hard read not because it is bad, but because it is so real. It gives a first-hand account of what it was like to live through the atrocities done to the Jewish community during the Holocaust. It also delves into religion as Elie struggles with his faith in God as he is made to suffer.
This book is a great introduction to the concept of systematic cruelty and genocide. Unlike The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, this book is not centered around the Nazis themselves, and it is not over-sensationalized in the way that movie was. This book gives a true retelling of the events of the Holocaust from the perspective of a young Jewish boy as they impacted him, his family, and his community. Night serves the purpose of informing yet also drawing emotion and empathy from the reader.
Thank you for reading through my list of my top five favorite banned/challenged books. I hope you learned about a new book that you will go read and research about! I also hope that you will join in the fight against banned books and promote your favorite ones, so we do not lose the ancient texts of complex writing and emotion.