Book Banning And Controversy Over Huck Finn

1. Book Banning And Controversy Over Huck Finn By Jack McGuire

2. The Controversy • Huck Finn has always been a book that could be considered “over the line.” • Many schools have banned the book because Mark Twain, uses the word “nigger” 219 times. • Teachers, Students, and Parents argue that hearing the word “nigger” is inappropriate and not what should be taught. The Christian Science Monitor

3. What Has Been Done? • New South Books, a publishing company noticed the bad effect of the word “nigger” in Huck Finn. • They decided to republish the book by replacing the word “nigger” with the word “slave”. • This was a success but it lost the effect of the book in a way. Wikipedia

4. Earliest Banning Of The Book • Surprisingly the book was not banned for the repetitive use of “nigger” in the 1800’s. • The banning of the book in the late 1800’s was because it showed to much of a relationship between a white boy and a slave. Also, during the book the white boy helps free Huck, which also was a reason for the banning. Bright Hub

5. The Banning Of The Book • In 1957, the New York City Board of Education removed the book from its approved book list. • In 1998, parents in Tempe, Ariz., sued the local high school over the book's inclusion on a required reading list. The case went as far as a federal appeals court; the parents lost. The Christian Science Monitor

6. "Banned in the U.S.A." • "Banned in the U.S.A." by Herbert N. Foerstal, is a book about censorship in schools and libraries. • Herbert claims Huck Finn is the 4th most banned book in the U.S.A.

7. What is the Pico Case of 1982? • The Pico case of 1982 was a case in which the United States Supreme Court held that the First Amendment limits the power of local School Boards to remove library books from junior high schools and high schools. • This was a person fighting against the banning of a book that was seen as “anti-Christian, anti-American, anti-Semitic” was against the rights of the First Amendment. Banned Books

8. The Result • The supreme court voted 5 to 4 in the favor of the student. • Justice William Brennan thought that the 1st Amendment right to express ideas is supported by a right to receive information and ideas. • “…students may not be regarded as closed circuit recipients of only that which the State chooses to communicate.” School officials “cannot suppress expressions of feeling with which they did do not wish to contend”-Justin William Brennan Banned Books

9. Huck Finn is not the only one • Here is a list of most common banned books: • Catcher In The Rye • To Kill A Mockingbird • The Lord Of Lies • Harry Potter Series • Of Mice and Men • The Bluest Eye 712 Educators

10. For The Book Vs. Against It • The word “Nigger” in Huck Finn, is appropriate to the time and essential for students today to understand the character's depth • Without the word “nigger” the book looses its effect on students and the one Twain was looking for. • If you here the word “nigger” in a classroom as much as it is mentioned in the book Huck Finn, then some students may think it is okay to say that word. • It is too much for a middle scholar or a lower grade student in high school

11. Thank You!!!