Nidhi Sinha
Numerous works of literature have faced bans and censorship, often for reasons that may seem shocking. From controversial themes to challenging societal norms, the reasons behind the ban can be as intriguing as the stories themselves.
1. HARRY POTTER
Harry Potter, which is one of the most loved books across ages, has had its own share of controversies. The series has a fantastical plot, with readers loving its wizards, witches, the magical castle, and the mind-boggling characters. However, the magical series was banned for being magical.
The books faced criticism for promoting witchcraft. It is alleged that the series has “satanic’ elements. In China, the books were banned in 2003 over concerns that they might promote the occult and Satanism. A Christian group called the series a “doorway that will put untold millions of kids into hell”. St Edward Catholic School in U.S.A’s Nashville banned the series from its library, saying, “The curses and spells used in the books are actual curses and spells; which when read by a human being risk conjuring evil spirits into the presence of the person reading the text.”
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In 2007, the United Arab Emirates also banned the series over concerns that they might be anti-Islamic.
2. LORD OF THE RINGS
J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy has been banned many times by schools and churches for several reasons. One of the reasons was that its characters frequently used smoking pipes. It was feared that children might start smoking after reading the books.
Churches also condemned the trilogy for promoting witchcraft. The books were deemed ‘satanic’ and it was believed that they were destroying people in ‘satanic ways’.
Similar reasons were given for challenging The Hobbit trilogy, which is a prequel to the The Lord of the Rings series.
In 2001, a book burning event was held in New Mexico’s Alamagordo. A Christian rights group burned both the fantasy book series for having ‘satanic’ themes.
3. FAULT IN OUR STARS
John Green’s hit book The Fault in Our Stars, which comes under the genre of YA fiction, was banned from library shelves at California’s Frank Augustus Miller Middle School as it was deemed inappropriate for teenagers.
A parent named Karen Krueger made the case against young people reading a book on death, illness and sex. She said, “I just didn’t think it was appropriate for an 11-, 12-, 13-year-old to read. I was really shocked it was in a middle school.” Some committee members who voted against the book argued that teens would struggle with the book’s themes of mortality.
The book is about two teenagers fighting a battle against cancer.
Reacting to the ban, author Green said, “I am happy because apparently young people in Riverside, California will never witness or experience mortality since they won’t be reading my book, which is great for them…But I am also sad because I was really hoping I would be able to introduce the idea that human beings die to the children of Riverside, California and thereby crush their dreams of immortality.”
4. ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND
The Chinese government had banned Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in 1931 because animals in the story could talk like humans.
The censor General Ho Chien was of the view that the attribution of human language to animals was an insult to humans. He feared that by reading the book, kids may believe that humans and animals were on the same level, which would be “disastrous” for the society.
Further, the book was also banned in the USA in the 1960s for promoting the use of drugs like LSD and Mushrooms. There is a scene in the book where Alice meets a philosophic caterpillar sitting on a mushroom, smoking hookah. He also gives Alice a piece of mushroom, that made her grow in size.
It was also speculated that Lewis Carroll wrote the book while he was on drugs. However, there are no evidence to prove this. Parents were of the view that the book promoted drugs due to its “overt” allusions to hallucinogenic drug (which causes hallucinations) use. This was backed by the fact that the whole story about talking animals was a part of Alice’s dream.
Further, a U.S. school banned the book from its curriculum in 1990. It claimed that the book alluded to masturbation and other sexual fantasies.
5. TWILIGHT
The Twilight saga, which enjoys a place in the young adult section, was banned in Australia for primary school students for being too sexual. Notably, children were even prohibited from bringing their personal copies of the series to school. However, it is to be noted that Twilight books have no sex scenes or explicit sexual content.
Further, a local minister in USA’s Cleveland appealed for the “occult and demonic room to be shut”. He requested such books to be “purged” from public library shelves.
6. LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
Little Red Riding Hood is a famous fairy tale about a girl and a sly wolf. While there are many controversies regarding this story over rape connotations, two school districts in California banned a version of this tale for a shocking reason. The version was banned as one of its illustrations depicted Little Red Riding Hood carrying a bottle of wine in her basket, along with bread and butter, to her grandmother. School officials argued that the inclusion of wine in the illustration might promote the use of alcohol among kids.
7. WHERE’S WALDO?
Where’s Waldo? (also known as Where’s Wally?) is a series of puzzle books meant for children. The books contain illustrations of numerous people doing different-different things at a place. The readers are meant to find Waldo (or Wally) and his friends among theses numerous people.
This book was banned since a reader noticed that in a picture of an enormous crowd at a beach, there was a woman who was topless and the side profile of her breasts were visible. The woman was a tiny part of the illustration and would not be visible unless anyone scrutinised it hard. The book was only re-sold again after the illustration was fixed to show the woman wearing a bikini top.
8. THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ
The Wizard of Oz was banned by public libraries in 1928 because the book was deemed ungodly for ‘depicting women in strong leadership roles’.
A Fundamentalist Christians from Tennessee called for the removal of the book from school syllabus in 1986. They also filed a lawsuit, criticising the novel for promoting the belief that essential human attributes were individually developed rather than God given. Since the novel depicted Glinda the Good Witch, they argued that all witches are bad, therefore it is “theologically impossible” for good witches to exist. It was also argued that the Oz series promoted self-reliance rather than dependency on God for salvation.
9. CHARLOTTE’S WEB
Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White’s classic kid’s tale about a shy pig befriending a spider named Charlotte, has also faced challenges. A school is U.S.A’s Kansas was of the view that depicting talking animals was unnatural. Talking animals were deemed “blasphemous as humans are the highest level of God’s creation and are the only creatures that can communicate vocally”. Parents’ group said showing “lower life forms with human abilities is sacrilegious and disrespectful to God”.
Further, a school in England’s West Yorkshire banned all books featuring pigs, like Charlotte’s Web, Winnie-the-Pooh and Three Little Pigs, because the head teacher believed that the book might be offensive to Muslim students. The incident took place in 2003. As per reports, Muslim community leaders had to formally ask the school to end the ban.
10. DICTIONARY
Yes, the dictionary has been banned as well.
A school district in California banned Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary after a parent complained that the definition of ‘oral sex’ in the dictionary was too explicit. The phrase was defined as ‘oral stimulation of the genitals: cunnilingus, fellatio‘.
A Florida school district also banned some dictionaries for having sexual content.
