It is alleged the book is “racially insensitive,” “oppressive,” and “perpetuates racism.”
Native Son by Richard Wright
The book has been challenged or removed in at least eight different states because of objections to “violent and sexually graphic” content.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Banned for obscene language, other complaints have said the book went against objectors religious beliefs.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Kern County, California has the great honor both of being the setting of Steinbeck’s novel and being the first place where it was banned (1939). Objections to profanity—especially goddamn and the like—and sexual references continued from then into the 1990s.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Challenged for racism, homosexuality, sexual content, offensive language and unsuited to age group.
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Among a list of books banned in Arizona because they advocate the overthrow of the United States, promote racial resentment, or emphasize students’ ethnicity rather than their individuality.
Frequently Challenged Books
CLASSIC BOOKS PEOPLE OFTEN TRY TO BAN
Banned and Challenged Classics
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
It was challenged at the Baptist College in South Carolina because of the book’s language and mere references to sex.
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Frequently removed from classrooms and school libraries because it is “unacceptable,” “obscene,” “blasphemous,” “negative,” “foul,” “filthy,” and “undermines morality.”
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Parents of students in Advanced English classes in a Virginia high school objected to language and sexual content in this book.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Critics have called it a degrading, profane and racist work that “promotes white supremacy.”
Banned and Challenged Classics
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Parental complaints are lodged against the book because of its violence, sexual content and discussion of bestiality.
Howl, and Other Poems by Allen S. Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg’s boundary-pushing poetic works were challenged because of descriptions of homosexual acts.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Banned because of racism, insensitivity, nudity and religious viewpoint.
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
The book was criticized for being immoral and scandalous.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
It was rejected or removed because of its “profanity and sexual references.”
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The book was banned because it contains inappropriate/vulgar language and behavior by young boys--including violent tendencies.