Feel the Burn

One of my favorite books is Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. The futuristic dystopian novel features firefighters who burn books in a world where structures -- homes, businesses -- have been made permanently fire proof. Books are burned so they -- the ubiquitous they -- can control what people read and therefore think. They burn banned books.

We in America don't generally burn books, but books can be banned nonetheless.

The last week of September every year is designated Banned Book Week, an awareness campaign that celebrates the right to read, the freedom to read what we want, and, I daresay, the responsibility to read.

Here are five books that have been banned at some point in American history:

Ulysses by James Joyce

Joyce retold Homer's The Odyssey as a one day journey in Dublin, Ireland. Published as a serial in 1922, the book was banned for obscene content. It was burned in the U.S. during the 1920s, and the magazine that published it as a serial was shut down as well. In 1933, there was a court case, U.S. vs. One Book Called Ulysses, and the book was exonerated. Have you read it?

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Published in 1951, Catcher in the Rye was an instant hit. The reasons teens love the book are the same reasons some people find it offensive: foul language, sexual references, and blasphemy. The book was burned and banned from high schools, and at least one teacher lost his job because he assigned the book. It's no longer burned, but remains one of the American Library Association's most challenged books.

I have to admit I started reading it, and I never finished it. It couldn't hold my attention. What did you think of it?

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Steinbeck wrote the Great American Novel, set during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. It follows the Joad family as they travel from the Midwest to California. Steinbeck describes one of the hardest times in our country's history, and for this reason the book has been burned and banned. People have claimed it is untrue, Communist propaganda. It remains one of the American Library Association's most challenged books of all time.

I have read this one, and I disliked it immensely. The teacher claimed the ending was optimistic and an affirmation of life. I felt it was depressing. But, hey, if you want to read it, I won't stop you!

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Another novel set in the Great Depression, Steinbeck explores the themes of poverty and the plight of the working class. The book has been banned because of profanity and references to sexual activity, not only in the U.S. but also around the world.

Again, I found this book depressing, but the time period was, I guess. I won't read it, but, of course, you can!

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Harper Lee's book set in the Jim Crow South won a Pulitzer Prize after it was published in 1961. The book follows the trial of a black man who has been accused of raping a white woman. Many people don't condone its frank discussion of race, or its profanity and adult themes.

Nevertheless, I've read this one several times, all at the behest of my high school English teachers. Strangely, although Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird both end with unnecessary death, I think there is more hope at the end of Lee's work. Would you agree?

Banned or not, what was your favorite read in high school?