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Young Writers Society


Have you ever read any banned book?



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Fri Dec 13, 2013 4:49 pm
Paracosm says...



Fahrenheit 451, Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Giver, but other than that I'm not sure.
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Fri Dec 27, 2013 5:53 am
cupcakenx says...



I've always wanted to read Lolita, even though I'm really, REALLY young
Spoiler! :
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Sat Dec 28, 2013 5:35 pm
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Tenyo says...



So, I got curios, and here's some interesting ones I stumbled across.

I stuck it in a spoiler so not to clog up the thread.

Spoiler! :
The Bible. Banned for obvious reasons in fifty two countries, and yet it's still one of the most read books worldwide.

The Diary of Anne Frank is banned in Lebanon for its positive portrayal of Jews and Zionism- which is interesting because historically Zionism was never a thread to Lebanon. I'll have to look into this a bit more I think.

Alice in Wonderland was banned in Hunan (Province of China) because a General believed that the anthropomorphised animals that were depicted like humans would be a bad influence to children who might view animals and humans as equals. This, of course, would have been the end of the world.

The Da Vinci Code is banned in Lebanon for being offensive to Christianity.

The Borstal Boys is banned in Ireland, though officially the ICPB never actually stated why it was banned. It's speculated that it was because of its negative views towards the beliefs of the Catholic Church and its views on adolescent sexuality. Australia and New Zealand followed, though NZ lifting the ban shortly after.

Mein Kampf was written by Adolf Hitler, and naturally has been banned in several European countries and the Russian Federation. In Austria you can get up to ten years in prison just for owning a copy of it.

The Anarchists Cookbook was banned in Australia for good reason. It's pretty much an instruction manual for all things bad, including explosives and drugs. It was originally written as a protest against the Vietnam War, and the author has since regretted his decision and done everything in his power to have it taken out of circulation- but since the copyright was in the publishers name and not his, he can't do anything about it. Good lesson for you guys to check the contracts before you publish ;]

Apparently people have been arrested for owning this book. I can't find much specific evidence on that, but there are people who have been bumped up from 'drugs charge' to 'terrorist' for having it in their possession while doing other illegal things.

Animal farm, of course, for it's obvious allegory and it's depictions of events regarding Stalin in the early twentieth century. It's also been banned in places across the UAE for its depictions of anthropomorphised animals, which goes against Islamic values. Other places include Cuba and North Korea, and it's been censored in China.

The Famous Five was banned by the BBC (and they tried to kill Noddy too) for racist and sexist connotations within the books.

Black Beauty was banned in South Africa for having the words 'black' and 'beauty' in the title. I'm not kidding. At the time South Africa was still hugely segregated and I guess the government didn't want to give the impression that perhaps black could still be beautiful.

The Deathnote Manga is banned in places across China including Beijing, 'to protect the mental and physical health' of younger audiences. It's viewed that the contents can 'distort the mind and spirit of innocent children.' I've not found anything to say that the Anime is also banned- though there is talk that there is an interest within Russia to follow suit.

Steal This Book was banned in Canada for more reasons than the obvious. It's not just the title- the book actually instructs illegal activities such as shoplifting and producing drugs.

The Kite Runner has been banned in parts of the US for sexual content and offensive language.

Green Eggs and Ham used to be banned in Maoist China for its 'portrayal of early Marxism.' The term 'Uncle Sam' is a personification of the US, and it's thought that the battle between the protagonist and Sam-I-Am is the struggle of communists resisting and eventually giving in to capitalism.

To Kill A Mockingbird has been put under several temporary bans in the US for its racist connotations.
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Sun Dec 29, 2013 1:52 pm
StoneHeart says...



Some of those reasons are pretty far out there O.o

lol, I didn't even know books GOT banned, though I'm not really a person who would.
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Fri Jan 03, 2014 4:19 pm
NightWolf says...



It's funny how young I was when I read the Da Vinci Code...
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