Banned Books

While reading the Toni Morrison piece about Huck Finn, her mention of the book being banned, I wondered what are some of the books that have been banned from schools today?

Here is a list of commonly banned books from 2000-2009.

After looking through this list, I realized, I've read the majority of these books.  Some of these books I can totally see why people would want to ban them.  One of my favorite books from middle school was a book called Go Ask Alice.  This book takes the reader into the life of a girl who is being introduced to drug usage and adult activities.  The book was basically the diary of a girl overdosing on drugs every night. This book ranks at #18 on this list.  I personally believe it could be higher.

Some of these books don't deserve the rankings the got.  #1 is the Harry Potter series.

I think butter beer is the only reference to alcohol or drugs I have seen in these books.

Why is an innocent book the most banned book in American schools?

There is nothing I see wrong with this book series.  It may just be me, but I think that adults are banning this book in an attempt to take away our creativity.  Some of the other books on this list are written in a way to make the reader feel uncomfortable about the subject.  An example of this is The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.  We've started reading this book in class and after the first two pages, I felt awkward.  This book ranks at #15 on the list.  After reading the book, I might be able say why it belongs there or why it doesn't.

Social Event or National Holiday?

After reading Fredrick Douglas's piece "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" I noticed that everyone celebrated the 4th of July differently but there was always something similar: no one was really remembering why we are having this holiday. Frederick Douglas states in his piece that the July the fourth was a day of sadness for African Americans since they did not have full freedom.

Should we treat the Fourth of July like Frederick Douglass?

Most people exercise their rights on the 4th of July; maybe a little excessively with  the drinking and fireworks, but they legally have the right to if they are of the correct age. I myself am a huge fan of fireworks. The 4th of July is supposed to be a time of celebrating our independence, but I think it's become a competition between girls to see how many likes they can get on a picture of them in high waisted American flag shorts.

 A national holiday has been turned into an extreme social event. This can so be seen with Christmas. People spend thousands of dollars on material gifts all while forgetting that Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ. For the people who don't celebrate Christmas, it's the season of buying MEANINGFUL gifts for their loved ones.

In response to my question above, maybe we shouldn't treat national holidays as a day of sadness, but maybe we should try to make them less of a social event.

Witches in Puritan Society

The mention of witches in Chapter 8 of The Scarlet Letter got me wondering: what were witches actually like in Puritan societies?

 "As they descended the steps, it is averted that the lattice of a chamber window was thrown open, and forth into the sunny day was thrust the face of Mistress Hibbins, Governor Bellingham's bitter-tempered sister, and the same who, a few years later, was executed as a witch." (Hawthorne 113) 

The only thing I really know about witches came from the music I listen to (not a good idea) and from APUSH (but did I ever really understand anything in that class?). The music that I listen to gave me a really bad impression that witches were burned at the stake and basically went on to burn in hell.

After doing some research I found a few facts.

• Everyone in Puritan society believed in witchcraft and the Devil.
• Most accused women were either poor, elderly, widowed, or a combination of all of them.
• A failed crop or a sick newborn were signs of witchcraft in a community
• Accused witches were tried and then hung if found guilty-most were.
• Witch hunts began in Salem, and then spread to other colonies.

"'Wilt thou go with us tonight?  There will be a merry company in the forest; and I well-nigh promised the Black Man that comely Hester Prynne should make one.'" (113)

Mistress Hibbins in The Scarlet Letter was openly a witch, but she doesn't have the standard characteristics of most witches.  Should Mistress Hibbins have been tried and hung too? This shows how people see what they want to see. Since Mistress Hibbins lived in a nice house with her brother the governor people assumed that she was a good person. 

Clothing Based Steryotypes

After reading There Is No Unmarked Woman by Deborah Tannen, I noticed that the way she described the three women was very stereotypical. One was classic and beautiful.  The next was older and more modest.  The third had an edgy and youthful style.  These seem like three styles that I see in magazines and are easily noticeable.  Everyone has a unique style, but some people are marked a certain way because of clothing choices.

Our school has 3 clothing types (according to my parents):

The Normal

The I Don't Even Have A Clue What Your T-shirt Says and How Did Your Parents Let You Dye Your Hair That Color

The Please Put Some Clothes On and Take Off Your Parka, It's Not That Cold Outside

These styles are pretty easy to describe and I can find myself fitting into all of these.  I know people who tend to judge others on what they're wearing and then treat them differently. I, myself, have gone through this.  I simply wore a shirt that was difficult to read with big red pointy letters that advertised a band my friend had gone to see. A girl in one of my classes looked at my shirt, squinting her eyes as if she was having a hard time seeing me.  When she asked what my shirt said, I told her the band name and who got the shirt for me, The girl quickly turned and walked away after whispering "oh."  She didn't talk to me that much after that.

I don't think that clothing marking will end anytime soon because no one is the same.  We all have different likes and dislikes when it comes to how we express ourselves.