Huckleberry Finn, Of Mice and Men, The Great Gatsby: all cherished American classics; however, all of these novels have been banned in at least one public high school library in America. Those are not the only novels that have been banned, though. Approximately 11,300 novels have been banned, or challenged, in public high schools and libraries since 1982 (About Banned Books). These novels have been banned for numerous reasons, such as racism, offensive language, and current controversial subjects such as homosexuality and rape. Over 50% of these novels were banned by parents wishing to shield their children from content they deemed inappropriate. However, according to the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, parents only have …show more content…
An example of this is Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, which has been banned in multiple high school libraries for the use of the word “nigger,” which is considered as both offensive language and racist (PBS). However, some people do not understand that racism was a normal part of life during the time period in which this novel was written. Twain published Huckleberry Finn in 1885, only twenty years after the end of the civil war. This means that this novel was written during a time when African Americans were severely discriminated against. Furthermore, many people argue that in this novel, Huck was actually showing affection for Jim when he used the word “nigger.” If one reads the novel, he or she would see that the relationship between Huck and Jim speaks louder than an inappropriate word. Therefore, by banning this novel and countless others like it, schools are depriving students of learning about history, and reading about what life, and literature, was like in times before their own. This shows that novels shouldn’t be banned from public high schools because some novels that are considered unsuitable for teenagers to read contain information about