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Even when it comes to well-written literature, it seems there's always room for controversy to arise. In fact, it's arguable that often the most controversial literature is among the best of the best, and this list of classic banned books only reinforces that notion. Though it may be easier to understand why some books were banned than others, every selection on this list has been deemed inappropriate for the general population for one reason or another, at some point in time somewhere in the world. So, with Banned Books Week coming up, let's delve into this list of shocking, surprising, and insightful novels that stunned readers around the globe...
Likely the most understandably controversial novel on this list, Lolita is famous for going where few novels have gone before. Positioning the reader with a morally questionable protagonist is one thing - positioning them with a middle-aged professor pursuing a sexual relationship with a 12-year-old girl is quite another. As expected, this novel is hated by some and adored by others, but the tale told was questionable enough for the book to be banned in the UK and France for a couple of years shortly after its release. Unsurprisingly, the novel continues to generate controversy today.
A moving novel, truly ahead of its time, and undoubtedly a classic by today's standards - but has To Kill a Mockingbird always been so universally acclaimed by everyone? Though the majority of the population would agree that this novel is both moving and insightful in many ways, it seems some parts of the world are still not quite prepared to address the societal and racial issues that are addressed within the novel. Even to date, To Kill A Mockingbird is banned in select schools in the US, most recently in 2017 in a Mississippi school after parents complained the novel made them feel "uncomfortable". Though the decision has since been overturned, the fact that this book still warrants such a reaction in some places definitely raises questions about the progression of our society.
The history of the censorship of this literary classic begins in 1960, when a teacher from Oklahoma was fired - yes, fired - for assigning this novel to her students. Though she was later reinstated, this was only the beginning for The Catcher in the Rye. Over the course of the following decades, this classic novel enjoyed a reputation of being both one of the most challenged and one of the most taught books not only in the US, but in the whole world. On one instance in 1978, a school in Washington even banned for book for supposedly being part of an "overall communist plot", which truly speaks for how much this book still warrants discussion and analysis.
Taking influence from the dystopian works of the wonderful H.G. Wells, Aldoux Huxley wrote his own classic dystopian novel, Brave New World, in 1931. Published the following year, this is another novel that has had a rocky history of censorship for decades after its publication and release; this includes accusations of plagiarism, being banned in multiple countries (including Ireland and India), and a teacher getting fired for assigning the novel to students. Unfortunately this particular teacher wasn't so lucky to be reinstated, and their attempts to sue for violations of their rights ultimately led nowhere.
Written in the 19th century and beginning in Missouri, it's not hard to see why The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn garnered controversy upon its release. With the outcome of the American Civil War having only been determined twenty years prior, racism was evidently still a great issue across the country and this book serves as an example of that to many. Though there is much debate that Mark Twain was ahead of his time and attempted to make the book as anti-racist as possible by having the central characters expose the errors of racism throughout the story, there is still a great deal of racial language used within the novel, which has ultimately led to the book being banned in multiple schools across the US.
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