This weeks Top Ten Tuesday is a Freebie. Anything you want.
As a former Literature major and as someone who never had her reading censored by her parents, it boggles my brain and infuriates me when I see/hear about books that are STILL being banned and/or challenged.
So, this week I decided to do something a bit different. I hope you enjoy and have a little fun with it.
If I were into banning/challenging books here a few I would ban/challenge and the reasons why
- Canterbury Tales
The Miller’s Tale and The Wife of Bath’s TaleReasons: The Miller’s Tale – Alisoun the wife of John, the Miller, has an affair with a young poor struggling cleric, Nicholas; Nicholas sticks his naked butt out the window and ends up being branded by Absolon the Parish cleric who also wants to bed Alisoun; John is made fun of
The Wife of Bath’s Tale – Talk of sex being for pleasure; The Wife of Bath has had five husbands; Spousal abuse between the Wife of Bath and Jankyn - Shakespeare
Reasons: Murder; Affairs; Oedipus kills his father then marries his mother (and so what if he didn’t know he was marrying his mother – he still did it; Witchcraft; Suicide (ah those star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet) - Jane Eyre
Reasons: Child Abuse at Lowood School; Rochester keeping his mentally ill wife, Bertha locked away in the tower; Marrying Jane while still married to Bertha - Oliver Twist
Reasons: Child abuse; Child Labor; Juvenille delinquency; Prostitution - Gulliver’s Travels
Reason: Doctrinal differences over how to crack eggs - Frankenstein
Reasons: Grave robbery; Victor abandons his creature, which I guess is a type of child abandonment; Murder; Revenge; Playing God by trying to artificially create life
I find it a bit hypocritical that today’s contemporary literature with the same types of themes as classic literature is not okay for our children to read, but the classic literature is okay. Hmm. I wonder why. Thoughts?
The Broken Spine 
Intriguing conversation starter!
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Thanks Belinda for stopping by. I find the banning and challenging of books to be quite interesting and depressing. There are so many things folks miss out on when books are banned. Oh the places you’ll go
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I panicked when I started to read this post at the idea any book should be banned other than those which deliberately incense racial abuse for example. but then realised this was meant to be a bit of fun though asking a really good question at the end.
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Oh no! I agree anything that deliberately insights racial tension or LGBTQ tension should not be banned. When I had this in my mind I was much more snarky, unfortunately the snark didn’t make it to the page.
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Very interesting Top Ten!! What I’ve read of the above I read for school (many years ago), talk about irony! I too grew up in a house that allowed me to read whatever I chose. My parents were just pleased that I was reading. 🙂
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I recently asked my mother how come she never read or censored what I was reading and her response was that she did and she and my father felt I could handle it. If she had doubts we would sit down and discuss it. I do remember having to write summaries when I was finished to make sure I understood what I read. The problem with having an educator for a mother.
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Summaries, wow! I don’t remember my mom ever questioning books. But again I stuck to mainly BabySitter Club and RL Stine. Now my grandmother hated the RL Stine ones, she thought they promoted “evil”.
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