School Board Bans Novel, Ellison's Classic "Invisible Man"

<p>Really, I think that if I could locate and post the section in question, quite a few of the posters that I recognize from other threads would shift their points of view.</p>

<p>Banning the Invisible Man, winner of the 1953 National Book Award?</p>

<p>Holy Judy Blume, Batman!</p>

<p>We need Captain Underpants to the rescue.</p>

<p>Shakespeare–the Tempest banned in Arizona. Plus why are we allowing our teenagers to read about teenage lust in Romeo and Juliet?</p>

<p>The Grapes of Wrath–adult to adult breast feeding. </p>

<p>Huckleberry Finn–the most objected to book in American history. It’s a story of recognizing the humanity and personhood in all people, but there is that pesky N-word. Gets it from all sides. </p>

<p>Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen–one is too dark and the other has full frontal baby nudity. </p>

<p>The Call of the Wild–the Call of the Wild? Too violent, but also too radical–a fixture of Nazi book burnings.</p>

<p>Fahrenheit 451-- oh, the irony. One district bleeped out all the “hells,” and “damns.”</p>

<p>My spouse and I have sponsored book scholarships for elementary students when the book fair comes to the school, with no restrictions on purchases. A lot of the kids purchased books in the “Captain Underpants” series. The teachers seemed embarrassed by it, but our thought was at that age, just having the students read is the real goal.</p>

<p>None of the other books mentioned by latichever come even remotely close to the section of The Invisible Man that was read aloud to me by QMP when the book was assigned. Could we come back to this issue when we have all read the book?</p>

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I know this and wasn’t suggesting that it is. It DOES allow parents to have complete control over what their children learn in school, though.</p>

<p>QM, just curious–do your kids use the internet? Facebook?</p>

<p>Yes to internet, no to Facebook (QMP’s own decision to take down the Facebook page). </p>

<p>We are probably the only people on the planet whose son/daughter did not see a PG13 movie until age 13.</p>

<p>I didn’t have an interest in “completely controlling” what QMP sees, though–as if that were possible! And none now that QMP is an adult.</p>

<p>However, my general viewpoint is that I would like to rear an effective worker for peace and justice. This requires a moderately delicate balancing act. If the young person does not know about awful things that happen, then he/she is unlikely to get worked up about opposing them. Also, when he/she first discovers that awful things do happen, it may be overwhelming. So some judicious exposure is in order. On the other hand, if the young person becomes convinced that “The world is awful; that’s just the nature of things,” I think that undercuts the element of idealism that helps to make a person effective in opposing injustice.</p>

<p>Seriously, I will try to locate or re-purchase The Invisible Man. I don’t think my recollection of the contents is wrong. Perhaps some of the people whose ID’s I recognize will join me in looking at the book? (At my age, I don’t expect to be traumatized.) Then could we return to this thread?</p>

<p>When I was in the 5th or 6th grade a family came by with a petition to have a book banned. I do not recall the book. Their son was in my class and he was the worst behaved troublemaker in the class. Not very bright either. I thought then and I think now how inappropriate it is to ban books for other people. If you want your kid to opt out of reading a certain book fine- it is easy to find an alternative just leave the rest of us alone.</p>

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<p>QM, this is well said. We have similar goals for our kids, and I share your views on the balancing act. To me, however, reading books with controversial subject matter is not something I worry will get in the way of these goals–especially if there is a knowledgeable teacher to guide them through discussions of the authors’ intentions (if there is indeed class discussion). Invisible Man is an important work of fiction beyond whatever passages in it some might find offensive.</p>

<p>Banning a book whose opening paragraph reads in part, “I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.”? Oh the irony!</p>

<p>Will anyone join me in reading the book and then returning to this discussion?</p>

<p>Here’s a copy of the school board’s report, including the letter from the complainant:</p>

<p><a href=“https://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/documents/798235-invisible-man-parents-complaint.html[/url]”>DocumentCloud;

<p>My 12 year old picked up and read my son’s AP lit book from last year, ‘The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao’. I also had read the book and it definitely has very adult themes. However, I didn’t stop her from reading this book. It is an incredible piece of literature. We had several really good discussions as a result of her reading the book. This is a kid who read my old college level psychology book just for grins this summer.</p>

<p>Having said that, I just started letting her watch PG13 movies (only Harry Potter and The Blindside). In my opinion, most of the movies out there are garbage. IME, there is a huge difference between reading literature and watching a Twilight series movie. </p>

<p>My daughter doesn’t have FB or a smart phone. She does have an email account. </p>

<p>We all make our decisions based on our own values and our children’s natures. I would rather that a discussion about sex be started as a result of reading The Brief Wondrous life of Oscar Wao than watching a Twilight Movie.</p>

<p>I haven’t read it since high school but I never throw a book away so I’m going to try to track it down and reread it. I remember it as graphic, but being more disturbed by other literature I read in HS, such as “Eqquis”. Not sure why, but Richard Wright’s “Black Boy” had a greater impact on me. Perhaps because at that time in my life I could not imagine a world in which an American mother would literally have nothing to feed her hungry child.</p>

<p>The book appeared on the summer reading list for juniors. I’d guess that race and social justice were themes in the junior year because the other two books on the list (students chose one, or two if honors students) were Nellie Larson’s “Passing” and John Howard Griffin’s “Black Like Me”.</p>

<p>As mentioned above, I support keeping the book and all other books in the library. I would not support having it as assigned reading in a high school class.</p>

<p>Thanks for saying that you will try to reread it, Sue22. I read Black Like Me in junior high, and it had a powerful effect on my understanding of racism in America. I am not sure what the current thinking about the book is, though. I believe that some African Americans thought that the author could never understand the experience of being black in the US.</p>

<p>Sseamom and Sue22, great comments.</p>

<p>Quant, I am really unsure why you want to condemn the book based on passages regarding sexuality. The theme of the book isn’t sexuality. We understand that the description in the book may run counter to your sensibilities. but honestly in this day and age with provocative commercials on broadcast TV and the general (and far worse) exploitation of young females’ sexuality in society, I can’t find justification for erasing this book from the public arena. As an earlier poster noted, ‘Black Boy’ has some very gruesome scenes that shocked me as a college Freshman, but I would not ban that book either. I think your issue is best laid at the feet of the classroom manager, i.e. the teacher.</p>

<p>Here’s how a teacher in Oklahoma City, of all places, has handled the introduction of the book to her class. Apparently it is the single most-often-cited book in the open response question on the AP Literature exam.</p>

<p><a href=“http://mseffie.com/AP/Invisible%20Man.pdf[/url]”>http://mseffie.com/AP/Invisible%20Man.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The kids who have this teacher are pretty lucky.</p>

<p>P.S. I believe what QM is objecting to is the part that deals with a dream about incest in chapter 2.</p>

<p>I realize that we are not allowed to talk politics on the forum, but perhaps I can say that I think it is shameful that we would allow a child to go hungry in the US. (This is not totally unrelated to the thread topic, and ties in with the post by Sue22.)</p>

<p>QuantMech-
I remember being conflicted about Black Like Me when I read it in junior high in the mid 70’s. There was something uncomfortable about a white man, who after all, had the option to go back to a life of relative privilege, trying to relate the experience of black Americans. I remember this being a hot topic for discussion in my class. I guess the book in that way Griffin accomplished at least some of what he set about to do.</p>

<p>LakeWashington, will you also re-read it? I don’t condemn the book. I think it is clearly a work of literary merit. I don’t want to see it removed from high school libraries. I do wish that it would not be assigned to high schoolers.</p>

<p>As I recall, the treatment of incest in the book was very disturbing. (As mentioned, this might have been symbolic, rather than real–I am not sure.) I do plan to re-activate this thread when I have read the book. That may be several months from now.</p>

<p>I am going to read it too, QM. But I think the subject of banning books (and how such bans come about) is still worth discussing.</p>