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Banning the Written Word
Banning the Written Word
Sienna Chitwood
Books have been a conflict of interest ever since 1637, and now as of 2025 the banned book numbers are well into the 1000's. Books are banned if they are perceived to question or point out what are considered societal wrongs. According to PEN America, “nearly 23,000 books were banned in public schools nationwide since 2021.” The commonality of these banned books is their message about LGBTQ+, diverse racial ethnicity and violence. Some bans of classical titles consist of: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Lord of the Flies by William Golding and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The common factors of these classics are the depiction of race, the facade of society and government. In the classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, the racial segregation is clear the book is set in the 1930s’ and it follows a court case of a white woman claiming that a black man has raped her with no evidence. The man was still convicted of his crime. This shows an example of the prejudice against people of color in the court systems. According History.com, “challenges to the book over the decades have usually cited the book’s strong language, discussion of sexuality and rape, and use of the n-word.”
Another classic that has been banned is the Lord of the Flies. The Lord of the Flies follows this group of preparatory boys that were in a plane wreck on a desert island relying on each other. As commonly seen throughout human history the boys diverge into two groups and chaos erupts ending enviably in bloodshed. This story challenges the service that humans are not inherently good but they are naturally more savage and eviler. According to Bartley.com, “Golding’s belief of human nature is that humans are naturally evil and savage. However, law and civility keep humans from turning into this natural state of evil.” This example showed the overall systematic lie that humans are inherently calm and gentle creatures but in fact when we are out placed in society cut off from the facade that we developed around ourselves we return back to our natural instincts that are slowly tearing our world apart today.
Another classic book that is on the banned list is The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games uses a book that revolves around the idea that the government overall watches as the public crumbles and that’s it like a game as people are starving and struggling to stay alive the rich watch from above and this causes the people to revolt leading into war. Even the main antagonist is called “President Snow” The Hunger Games highlights how the people in power will do anything to stay in power and the false sense of democracy following it. According to smart.dhgate.com, “The Hunger Games contains underlying political and social commentary, addressing themes of totalitarianism, inequality, and resistance, which some authorities or parents find controversial.” Totalitarianism means that there is one person or party in power and they have total control over the people's public and private life. This can cause people, especially young readers to question what is happening in our country today which can lead to protests and revolts to new laws. This can also lead people to question rather than falling blindly in what they are told by the government.
The common trend in the ever-growing list of banned books is this: they challenge what the government is built on the foundation of our past as a country and even the shameful parts of our country’s past. If questioned it is important to remember that we as a country have killed innocent people and have treated people of color with prejudice just because of their skin. This changes the outlook of how this country is ‘free’ for all and as the rich sit drinking their martinis and the poor starve and struggle to pay rent, they dare point this out challenge that.