Banned and Challenged Books

Censorship is a sensitive topic that occurs in many different countries around the world and can be found within movies, books and pop culture. The word censorship is defined as an obstruction of harsh or raw subject matter that may be seen as offensive or inappropriate to a certain group of people. Censorship is most common within books; area and school districts around the world will purposely challenge or ban books purely based on the contents of the literature or the ideologies being promoted through the book. The difference between challenging a book and banning a book is that when one decides to challenge a book, the book will still be available to read, however, it will often receive a negative backlash from a group of people and will be tried against, as individuals will promote the restriction of these books in schools. Banning a book is the complete prohibition of anything and everything the book has to offer based purely on the content of the piece. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is a great example of censorship as it was challenged in a handful of different school districts in the United States. To Kill a Mockingbird is an extremely raw and meticulous piece of literature that addresses the hardships and suffering that African American’s were put through during the Great Depression in Alabama. The book uses racial slurs and profanity throughout the story and gives the reader a personal standpoint within the book. The use of derogatory language and the blunt racism found throughout the book is what got To Kill a Mockingbird challenged in a variety of states. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, contains censorship itself within the book and has a subject matter based on technology becoming uncontrolled and the obvious consumerism taking over their society. Fahrenheit 451, is a feasible book to be banned or challenged due to the references made of modern day society and how it applies to many individuals who are consumerists of technology and almost mocks the current government as it discusses how people live with very little knowledge as a result of books being banned. The use of censorship within books, movies and pop culture are all an attempt of protecting the public eye from seeing or feeling something that may persuade them to think in a negative or unacceptable way.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/brief-history-book-burning-printing-press-internet-archives-180964697/