100 Banned Books by N. J. Karolides, M. Bald and D. B.Sova

Of the many books mentioned in this work, the pieces that I recognized were All Quiet on the Western Front; Animal Farm; Grapes of Wrath; Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl; Arabian Nights or The Thousand and One Nights; To Kill a Mockingbird; One Flew Over a Cuckoo’s Nest; Scarlet Letter; Catcher in the Rye; Catch-22; and Brave New World.

It’s interesting to note that many of these books are now considered ‘classics’ and are studied within the classroom. Maybe these books have become ‘classics’ because they were milestones of human perspective that were once deemed inappropriate and even banned.



Books Of Interest (and that have jumped out at me):

Brave New World contains some extremely explicit motifs that happen as a result of society’s value for promiscuity. The concept of families is obsolete and humans are not born from parents. “Brave New World is a satire in which science, sex and drugs have replaced human reason and human emotion in the ‘perfect’ society in which Huxley gives the name ‘Utopia’. The novel depicts an orderly society in which scientifically sophisticated genetics and pharmacology combines to produce a perfectly controlled population whose entire existence is dedicated to maintaining the stability of society”.

Note: The title captured my attention because of a teacher who mentioned it while discussing the reason why people decide to have children despite the uncontrollable population growth of humans. This teacher had recently passed away, which to me, further lends emotional ties to this title. I think I’ll go read it.



Arabian Nights or The Thousand and One Nights

Summary:

A sultan orders the beheading of his queen and 10 concubines who have cheated on him. He then marries a new wife each night of the year—the strangling of his bride ensues at daybreak. The depletion of pretty brides occurs over 3 years, until he marries Shahrazad. Instead of the other brides, she survives by telling a story, though she stops narrating before day break. Because the sultan wishes to know the ending, he spares her life. Shahrazad’s strategy works for 1001 Arabian nights, in which she had bore him 3 sons and won his trust and love. (He didn't kill her).