There’s a certain book you’ve heard of; one all your friends have read; one others really recommend. So you decide to go over to your local library and check out the book. Except there’s only one problem, they don’t have it. You ask them if they have it and they say “we don’t carry that book because it is offensive to our readers”. What makes a book so offensive that it leads to censorship or bans? Now, let’s get the elephant out of the room first, subject matter is the main reason for a book being shelved. There is certain subject matter in certain books that others may find too sacred for younger readers to experience; examples include “Of Mice and Men” for its portrayal of mental disabilities and racism, “Fifty Shades of Grey” for
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What would originally be just fine by the publishers could now be the riskiest book you could ever write. It all boils down to the subject matter and how it changes from generation to generation. The aforementioned “Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain, at one point labeled “The Great American Novel”, is one of the most controversial books for this reason, regardless of its reputation as a classic book. Its racial slurs, stereotypes, scathing satire, and frequent drops of the N-word are the main reasons for the book’s controversy in many areas. “Huckleberry Finn” was censored multiple times by editors, banned in many school districts, and claimed by the American Library Association as the 5th most challenged book in the United States. If one of the country’s most acclaimed books was allowed to meet such criticism, it didn’t fare well for much other …show more content…
Due to their writers’ infamy, it can be seen why modern publishers don’t want these books on the shelves. Some books also don’t treat adult subject matter with care and incorporates them either at the expense of the characters or real people or having subject matter for the sake of subject matter. A particularly infamous example is “Mein Kampf” written by none other than the Führer himself, Adolf Hitler. Written while he was in prison, Hitler recaps his life up until his imprisonment and is controversial for not just its author himself but also the anti-Semitic themes he
What would originally be just fine by the publishers could now be the riskiest book you could ever write. It all boils down to the subject matter and how it changes from generation to generation. The aforementioned “Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain, at one point labeled “The Great American Novel”, is one of the most controversial books for this reason, regardless of its reputation as a classic book. Its racial slurs, stereotypes, scathing satire, and frequent drops of the N-word are the main reasons for the book’s controversy in many areas. “Huckleberry Finn” was censored multiple times by editors, banned in many school districts, and claimed by the American Library Association as the 5th most challenged book in the United States. If one of the country’s most acclaimed books was allowed to meet such criticism, it didn’t fare well for much other …show more content…
Due to their writers’ infamy, it can be seen why modern publishers don’t want these books on the shelves. Some books also don’t treat adult subject matter with care and incorporates them either at the expense of the characters or real people or having subject matter for the sake of subject matter. A particularly infamous example is “Mein Kampf” written by none other than the Führer himself, Adolf Hitler. Written while he was in prison, Hitler recaps his life up until his imprisonment and is controversial for not just its author himself but also the anti-Semitic themes he