Book Censorship

The most interesting college supplement I have written:

• The list of works banned throughout history is long and sometimes surprising. Examples include the Bible, King Lear, The Origin of Species, Mein Kampf, Lolita, The Diary of Anne Frank, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Isaac Asimov wrote: “Any book worth banning is a book worth reading.” Do you agree? Is such censorship ever justified? If so, who or what should determine which books are read and which are forbidden?

The supplement above was for Boston University's Trustee Scholarship. I am in the final editing stages of my essay but thought I would share it here.

Curiosity is a fundamental part of human nature. A mystery novel captivates the reader by leaving all the questions for the end. That single instance, when curiosity is satisfied, drives the entire story. To be human is to retreat from the darkness of ignorance. Throughout history, books have divulged information, ideas, art, and narratives. They supply new perspectives. However, when threatened by divergent opinions humans may react defensively, banning publications to keep the masses uninformed. As stated by Isaac Asimov: “Any book worth banning is a book worth reading.” Asimov’s words ring true for such books expand the reader’s innate curiosity and open their minds. Exotic opinions, good or bad, allow society to progress without the callous mistakes of the past.

The contemporary culture influences literature. As books spread their words, they generate questions. These can be insightful, joining new ideas with preconceived notions, or they can incite denial when people fear the differences presented and the potential corruption to their society they pose. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, brought the story of a white child and an enslaved black man he helped free to paper. Huckleberry Finn has continuously been banned for different reasons: from its crude and racist language to its depictions of white southerners and black slaves. In 1905, the Brooklyn Public Library banned it for using “sweat” instead of a more seemly synonym like perspiration. In modern debates, its blatant racist language and use of the n-word place it outside of what is acceptable. For a book to be banned, it must create a divide where the reader disagrees with it vehemently. It pulls the reader outside their comfort zone and makes them rethink right and wrong. Works like Huckleberry Finn continue to make readers uncomfortable. In the late 1800s, people disliked the humanization of the enslaved person Jim, while today the outcry is over the continuation of stereotypes and racism. A banned book goes against the status quo, and any status quo which is worth having should be open to debate.

Books are subjective, allowing readers to garner their own views of the work. The notion that books can be restricted in a just manner is as false as the idea that society is perfect. Those with authority to ban books do so to maintain existing conditions. The 1924 work, Mein Kampf, which promoted hatred of non-Aryan races, flourished in its original setting because that is how a portion of the German population felt: angry and wanting someone to blame after the losses from the Great War. After World War One, Mein Kampf was banned in many European nations. It went from a viable book to something seen as repugnant. Comparatively, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin was banned by the Confederate States, but unrestricted once the country was reunified. A group with the power to ban literature does not follow a morally enlightened view, only being beholden to what is acceptable within their society. Worse, when a choice is made to bury past injustices what is forgotten can rise again. By banning Mein Kampf after World War Two, a new better world was not created, only a world which chose to forgo parts of its past. A past it should recognize. History repeats, and once again groups outside the power structure such as refugees and religious minorities face criticism from those within. As the world faces increased xenophobia, people blame economic, social, and safety problems not on their true wide-ranging reasons, but solely on cultural differences. Books, no matter how terrible they are in the eyes of the modern day, must be kept free so that we can learn from past mistakes.