Examples Of Censorship In American Public Schools

Table of Contents Censorship in American Public Schools; Two Examples: The Catcher in the Rye and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn I. II. Purpose Introduction a. A Brief History of Censorship b. First occurrence of censorship in America III. Censors a. Teachers as Censors b. Parents as Censors c. Librarians as Censors d. Effects of Censorship on Students IV. Censorship a. Reasons Books are Censored b. First Amendment and Free Speech V. VI. Censoring Two Classics Censorship of The Catcher in the Rye a. Language b. Sexuality c. Reasons to Teach VII. Censorship of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn a. Language 1 1 2 3 3 5 7 8 9 12 13 13 15 17 18 20 22 23 25

b. Racism c. Reasons to Teach VIII. IX. Conclusion Recommendations

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Instead of “perspiring,” Huck “sweats.” Also, Huck insisted that he “scratched” rather than “itched” (Karolides 336). Most adults considered all of Huck’s terminology impolite and inappropriate for children at the time. Huck seemed like a poor influence for the youngsters who were reading his tale. The character 's attitude in the novel showed a blatant disrespect for authority figures. Novels at that time were supposed to portray higher values. Literature was supposed to be strictly educational and hardly entertaining (Culture Shock). Yet after the uproar at the turn of the century, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn became an American classic and was seldom challenged until the 1950s. It was not until 1957 that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) began protesting the novel’s "racist aspects" (Karolides 336). Interestingly enough, it was not the word “nigger” that the organization opposed; instead, they objected to the way Jim [the slave] was portrayed as an equal to a small immature white boy. It seemed as though Huck were "superior to the adult Jim in decision-making capability" (Karolides 336). Around the time of this confrontation with the novel, Americans were fighting for their own civil rights, and Twain 's novel seemed to infringe upon the advancement. Carey-Webb writes, “Despite the novel’s sanctified place and
Moreover, Jim was accused of being an “emasculated man” and also not a “true hero to African-American children because he does not resist slavery” (Schulten 57). Jim is an African-American figure to whom others in the same ethnic group may not relate well. In 1969 in Miami Dade [Florida] Junior College, African-American students claimed to have an "emotional block" against the novel. The book was removed from the required reading list (Karolides 336-337). Jim is indeed an interesting figure, but often he is the reason for censorship. Censors claim that Mark Twain mixes and confuses the traditional gender roles. What type of man is Jim? And why are he and Huckleberry Finn so friendly? Censors ask, when they suggest the novel has homosexual undertones between the two main characters. In Graff’s forward to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he writes that censors have insinuated that, “Jim and Huck’s camaraderie on the raft involves homosexual desire” (Graff 4). Yet, another view may be Jim’s fatherly devotion to Huck Finn. During the novel, Jim decides to stay with Huck in order to guide and help the orphan child. Sometimes it may be difficult for a reader to notice this from Jim’s point of view. One suggestion is the reader can only see Jim as Huck, the narrator, views him. Indeed, Twain uses humor and satire to shame people into realizing the horror of racism (Culture Shock). Language The main objection is often cited as the