Forever: An Overly Sexual Abomination or Coming of Age Novel?
January 2, 2013
Forever: An Overly Sexual Abomination or Coming of Age Novel?
The first amendment of the Constitution has given every American citizen the right practice freedom of speech. Yet and still, it seems that literary censorship, which is “the act of changing or suppressing speech or writing that is considered subversive of the common good,” (Merriam-Webster, 2012) has been more prevalent in the past 100 years than ever before. People all around the country have been affected by the parameters of censorship. Author Judy Blume once said when asked her opinion about it the topic, “It’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.” (NMSU Library, n.d.). Blume, herself, is no stranger to censorship. Several of her writings have made ALA’s list of 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books. Her 1975 novel Forever was both challenged and banned in over 10 different states because of its descriptively sexual content, disobedience to parents, “lack of moral tone,” and use of profanity (Censorship & Judy Blume, n.d.).
Forever is the story of two high school seniors, Katherine and Michael, and their journey throughout their relationship. The teens meet at a party and fall in love from there. Eventually, Katherine loses her virginity to Michael and they promise each other that they will last “forever.” They managed to keep this promise for a while until they were forced apart for a summer because Katherine’s parents made her get an out of town job. Judy Blume created a typical teenage love story.
In 1983, schools in Akron, Ohio decided to make a change to their libraries. Forever had been available for kids to take out at any time. However, after going through the book, school administrators found multiple reasons why, in their opinions, it was not appropriate for their young students to read. At
Forever: An Overly Sexual Abomination or Coming of Age Novel?
The first amendment of the Constitution has given every American citizen the right practice freedom of speech. Yet and still, it seems that literary censorship, which is “the act of changing or suppressing speech or writing that is considered subversive of the common good,” (Merriam-Webster, 2012) has been more prevalent in the past 100 years than ever before. People all around the country have been affected by the parameters of censorship. Author Judy Blume once said when asked her opinion about it the topic, “It’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.” (NMSU Library, n.d.). Blume, herself, is no stranger to censorship. Several of her writings have made ALA’s list of 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books. Her 1975 novel Forever was both challenged and banned in over 10 different states because of its descriptively sexual content, disobedience to parents, “lack of moral tone,” and use of profanity (Censorship & Judy Blume, n.d.).
Forever is the story of two high school seniors, Katherine and Michael, and their journey throughout their relationship. The teens meet at a party and fall in love from there. Eventually, Katherine loses her virginity to Michael and they promise each other that they will last “forever.” They managed to keep this promise for a while until they were forced apart for a summer because Katherine’s parents made her get an out of town job. Judy Blume created a typical teenage love story.
In 1983, schools in Akron, Ohio decided to make a change to their libraries. Forever had been available for kids to take out at any time. However, after going through the book, school administrators found multiple reasons why, in their opinions, it was not appropriate for their young students to read. At
Cited: Blume, Judy. Forever. New York: Bradbury, 1975. Print. Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books. 1st. Chicago: American Library Association, 2007. 27-28. Print. "Forever - Banned." Free Republic ""Forever" - Censorship & Judy Blume." Censorship & Judy Blume. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Dec. 2012 "Forever by Judy Blume." Staff Picks RSS. Iowa City Public Library, 10 Sept. 2007. Web. 26 Dec "Judy Blume Forever Censored?" Pelham Public Library, 28 Sept. 2006. Web. 26 Dec. 2012. . Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 28 Dec. 2012. . "My Banned Book." - The Hero 's Journey. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Dec. 2012. . "So What Did Judy Blume Do?" Censorshipisadvertising. N.p., 19 Mar. 2012. Web. 28 Dec. 2012 Web. 28 Dec. 2012.