Censorship is the practice of officially examining books or movies and suppressing unacceptable parts. Censorship is defined as “the institution, system, or practice of” supervising the conduct and morals of others. Censorship has become a huge problem in the schools of the United States. Banned books in the United States that were challenged or banned that are not banned today, are more accepted now. The Great Gatsby was first banned in 1987. Although the reason for books to be banned or challenged might not come easy, understanding the history of the book and why it was banned.
The Great Gatsby was removed from the reading list in Middleville Michigan in 1979. Soon after the book was removed from school libraries, high schools, and other school reading lists. TheGreat Gatsby was banned because of excess vulgar language, sexual scenes, excessive violence, and things concerning moral idea. The affair between Gatsby and Daisy was never described in details but it did happen. The book never described the intimate detail that there was an affair but the book mentioned “Daisy comes over quite often in the afternoons.” and “he took her” meaning there was sexual activity between them. This book being banned was caused by the anger of the parents. The Parents of the students that were required to read The Great Gatsby didn’t like how their children were benefiting from this, but giving them ideas and the knowledge of bad influences. Teachers and others could not argue with the upset parents so they agreed to banned the book. Because the time of this book being challenged and banned there was less acceptance of bad language and sexual scenes, The Great Gatsby wouldn’t be banned today.
In 1987 when The Great Gatsby was banned, the social events going on were high schoolers having less knowledge on sexual events and violence. They were more protected and had less freedom than high school students in 2014. People banned these kinds of books because they are not use to the things that is in the book and they do not understand them. The parents wanted to banned The Great Gatsby because they thought it was too mature for their children and they do not want their kids to expose these bad influences. Bad language, violence, and sexual scenes were not seen on a daily bases. Today they are on television, in books, magazines, and are experienced. The guidelines and rules for high school students have changed a lot over time. Parents rather their kids know how the world works and be prepared for any challenge whether it is bad or good. Most parents do not want their kids to be naive about how other people act. If people accept the positive and negative parts of life, it will help the understanding of different people and learn from mistakes made to make one a better person. The social events happening in 1987 is a lot different than the social events happening today.
The Great Gatsby should not be banned today. It is considered to be one of the best written novels in America. It is not banned today, but challenged. A lot of schools require this book for school. Educators select The Great Gatsby for eleventh grade American Literature classrooms because it is accessible. Because of its literary devices including symbolism and theme, it gives an extensive study on point of view. The Great Gatsby has a lot of inappropriate parts in it. Some parents do not agree that the book should be read so that is why it is challenged. Teenagers are exposed to so many worse things now then they use to. The Great Gatsby doesn’t even compared to other books. There is not much detail, the reader has to read inbetween the lines to understand the concept. Other books that are challenged or banned described in detail sexual scenes and there is worse language. The Great Gatsby should be challenged because of the events that occur. Because inappropriate things do happen in the book, some people don’t accept it. Another book that is banned for bad language is Fahrenheit 451.
Both The Great Gatsby and Fahrenheit 451 were challenged and banned. In Fahrenheit 451 the society burned all books. There was no such thing as banning books because they weren’t allowed to be read at all. If someone were caught reading they were punished. The events that happened in Fahrenheit 451 connects to the situation that The Great Gatsby is in. The reason why books were burnt in Fahrenheit 451 was because books were inappropriate. Books help people learn and figure things out about the world and how society functions. The Great Gatsby would be a reason why a books were burnt in Fahrenheit 451. Censorship controlled society in Fahrenheit 451. These two books relate because they go together in a way that is indirect but the events in The Great Gatsby is direct in why books were burnt instead of banned or challenged. In Fahrenheit 451 the author, Bradbury, tells about censorship throughout the whole book. He shows the reader why and how censorship give a great effect on society if all books were gone. It could destroy the world and create a dystopia. He recognizes the defect on censorship.
Censorship is a big part of banned or challenged books. It affects everyone whether they know it or not. Everyone is sensitive to different things. Which means people need to accept others who want a book to be banned or challenged because it’s their right. The Great Gatsby was banned in 1987 when inappropriate language and sexual events were not rarely seen so when it was in a book or on television, people didn’t know how to react to it so they wanted it to be banned. There are reasons why a book is banned, how it was socially challenged or banned in the time a book was banned, and why it is or isn’t banned today. Censorship is a great part in life, it has the power to help people understand the totality of the human experience, guide, and inspire students.