10 Banned Classics You Should Read Anyway

 10 of the Best Banned Classics

Did you know that some classic books have actually been banned? Here are ten banned books we think everyone needs to read anyway, and why. (It is also a collaboration with another book blog!)

Books can be banned for many reasons, typically it is because they contain a sensitive topic that is no longer considered appropriate. Topics can include racial issues, excessive violence, or crude language. All that being said, some of the books that have been banned should still be read because they help us to understand how people think during the time the book was written. Additionally, we do not believe that banning these books is the best solution.

We collaborated with Bookish Baughs to make a list of 10 banned books everyone should read!

1. 1984 by George Orwell

Why was it banned? 1984 was banned in some countries for its social and political themes, as well as its sexual content.

Synopsis. 1984 is the year when Big Brother watches everything and whatever leads to thought is forbidden. Language, liberty, human emotions. Whoever commits the crime of thought is sentenced to death. When George Orwell wrote this book, 1984 was his future. Now it is past. However, it will always remain a future, the beginning of the end of our society, as we know it.

2. Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Why was it banned? It was banned in some countries due to its language and violence

Goodreads Synopsis. At the dawn of the next world war, a plane crashes on an uncharted island, stranding a group of schoolboys. At first, with no adult supervision, their freedom is something to celebrate; this far from civilization the boys can do anything they want. Anything. They attempt to forge their own society, failing, however, in the face of terror, sin and evil. And as order collapses, as strange howls echo in the night, as terror begins its reign, the hope of adventure seems as far from reality as the hope of being rescued. Labelled a parable, an allegory, a myth, a morality tale, a parody, a political treatise, even a vision of the apocalypse, Lord of the Flies is perhaps our most memorable novel about “the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart.”

3. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Why was it banned? The Grapes of Wrath was banned in some country because of the ambiguous "Profanity, Sex, and Communism" that it includes and promotes accordingly.

Goodreads Synopsis. The Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression, a book that galvanized—and sometimes outraged—millions of readers.

First published in 1939, Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression chronicles the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and tells the story of one Oklahoma farm family, the Joads—driven from their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an America divided into Haves and Have-Nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity. A portrait of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, of one man’s fierce reaction to injustice, and of one woman’s stoical strength, the novel captures the horrors of the Great Depression and probes into the very nature of equality and justice in America. At once a naturalistic epic, captivity narrative, road novel, and transcendental gospel, Steinbeck’s powerful landmark novel is perhaps the most American of American Classics.

4. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Why was it banned? It was banned in a few countries because of some inner thoughts of Anne Frank, but no sexual content is included.

Goodreads Synopsis. Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank’s remarkable diary has become a world classic-a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit.

In 1942, with the Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, the Franks and another family lived cloistered in the “Secret Annexe” of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death. In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and surprisingly humorous, her account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short.

5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Why was it banned? It was banned in some countries because of its strong language, discussion of sexuality and rape, and use of the n-word.

Synopsis and Review. Now more than ever this book is timely. Actually, it is timeless. It always was a masterpiece of American literature and everyone who's read it describes it with the best possible words. The protagonist is a little girl, named Scout, whose father is called to defend a young black man as a lawyer. It is food for thought as it broaches many serious subjects like racism and fascism.

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READ THE OTHER HALF OF THE POST ON BOOKISH BAUGHS BLOG HERE.

Let us know in the comments if you’ve read any of these books, and what you thought about them! Also, share your opinions, is banning books a good solution? What books should not have been banned?