There have always been those books that I wanted to read but never quite picked up that had been challenged in some arena. This month I chose to see what all the fuss was about when it came to three books; A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, and A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. All three of these books have been challenged based mostly on objectionable language. With the risk of this turning into a dreadfully boring post where the English major in me decides to analyze the rhetoric, the syntax, the themes, and all the other English-y things, I promise I won't do that. So I'll begin and we'll see where this goes.
First of all (and I know, that's a very English paper thing to say), I did enjoy all three of the books. A Brave New World has been one I wanted to read since I was 16 and finally picked it up. It's an interesting look at what happens when the stability of a society is governed by the fact that emotions, parents, and the arts are all carefully stowed away and manipulated by the people in charge. There was a bit of sexual content which is part of the reason the book was banned/challenged. But it's definitely worth a read. In many ways, it serves as a warning that if we begin to challenge and ban literary works, soon enough to find ourselves in a Brave New World where emotion, relationships, and ultimately happiness is suppressed to a sense of sterileness. Although many of the characters claim they are in want of nothing because of the conditioning they have received throughout their lives, it's the few that break free from that mould who find themselves at the crossroads of trying to come to grips with how they're feeling and what the world has taught them.
This book was also challenged to some degree due to how Native Americans were portrayed. All I can say on that subject is that within the context of the story, they provide the perfect antithesis to the rest of the characters and the supposed Utopian society that the government or the "controller" has created. Therefore, portraying them any other way would not have fit.
Give the book a read if you like the more science fiction, Utopian/dystopian novels. It was a really good read and I found it really interesting.
Catch-22 is a novel that I remember a group of guys reading in my AP Lit class and most of them had sparked noted the novel, none of them seemed to like it and most of them seemed to be confused. That being said, I understand why they might have been to some degree. But the "in your face", sarcastic and comical tone that the book is written in certainly engaged me in the story. However, it doesn't go in order, I never trusted the narrator as to whether or not half the things he was saying were truth or not. But I'm glad I finally picked it up. It's another book that has been challenged based on objectionable content and again, most of it centers around the sexual content that is rather explicit in parts. Without giving away the Catch-22, as Yossarian and his comrades go through the paces, the idea of the Catch-22 is inherent even in the way the story is told. I won't say much more than that other than to give it a read and see what you think. I'm interested to read some of Joseph Heller's other novels someday. This story did go around in circles and did lend itself to some of the confusion the guys in my AP Lit classed faced. But it's a modern classic that needs to be read.
A Clockwork Orange was a bit of an impulsive and random choice for me. I had heard of the movie but hadn't realized it was book originally. What I didn't realize until afterwards was that it was the movie and not the novel that caused such an uproar with the portrayal of the violence. I have not yet seen the movie but I would like to because I did enjoy the book. As I was encouraged to do by a friend, a glossary of terms should be close at hand when reading this novel. Anthony Burgress brilliantly created his own set of slang in a futuristic world. The main characters do engage in a lot of violent activities but it's such an interestingly well written book that for me, the violence took a backseat to the style of story. It's a work of pure imagintorium that I really enjoyed. It's one of the books that I feel like you just have to read to understand the weight of the book, the tone, and the themes that play within the story. Google a glossary of terms and give it a go.
I know there's reasons why books are challenged and consequently banned. Do I believe in that? Not really. Keeping a work of imaginatorium for those who want to read it is ridiculous. It's up to us to choose what we want to read. If any of these books had been banned, it would be doing the literary world a disservice, same as trying to ban novels such as Huck Finn and To Kill Mockingbird just to name a few. So the challenge has been set. Pick a few books from the challenged or banned list and see what you think. My experience has been that they will be worth the time.
Banned novels behind us . . . June, here we come. A bit of summer reading despite the clouds in the sky. A look at modern day fairy tales, retellings of classics, and a perhaps a back story or two from some of my favorite books. A little lighter, a little easier, but isn't that what summer's for? Stay tuned!
A Brave New World- Aldous Huxley
Catch 22- Joseph Heller
A Clockwork Orange- Anthony Burgess
