The reasons for the banning of The Great Gatsby were cited by the Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Borough school district in Alaska as containing "sexual references and explicit language". Other institutes that have taken action against The Great Gatsby have mainly cited the sexual language the narrator uses to describe a woman in the beginning of the book as some of the sexual language and reasoning for banning on page 11 of the book:
"I looked at Miss Baker, wondering what it was she 'got done.' I enjoyed looking at her. She was a slender, small breasted girl, with an erect carriage, which she accentuated by throwing her body backward at the shoulders like a young cadet. Her gray sun-strained eyes looked back at me with polite reciprocal curiosity out of a wan, charming, discontented face." Words from the quote that have indicated they are. of a sexual nature to authorities include: "got done", "slender, small breasted", and "erect carriage".
Towards the end of the book, Tom, Daisy's husband, hits his mistress with Gatsby's car in cold blood. After fleeing the scene, he discusses with the woman's husband, Wilson, and puts into his mind that it was Gatsby who was having an affair with both her and who killed her, even though Tom was the one guilty of both. Wilson, maddened with grief and anger, shoots Gatsby in ignorant revenge and then shoots himself. The murder suicide and the hit and run are two of the main instances of violence in the book that other school systems and parents have cited in their challenges of The Great Gatsby. Because the book was set in the 1920s and prohibition had started in 1920, bootlegging played an active role in Gatsby's parties, as Gatsby himself was employed as a bootlegger, which contributes to his overall wealth. Gatsby would have alcohol at every one of his parties, and people did not think too much of it at the time, but many parents and schools have cited this insubordination and activity as grounds for challenging the book.
Sex in The Great Gatsby Book
Along with the sexual language that is discussed in The Great Gatsby, the adulterous relationship between Gatsby and Daisy is cited as one of the controversies leading to challenging of the book. The narrator of the book, Nick, discusses Gatsby and Daisy's relationship frequently throughout the book including their rendezvous at late hours alone. Adultery is one of the key elements of The Great Gatsby that makes its plot work. After meeting again for the first time in five years, Nick illustrates what he sees between Gatsby and Daisy on page 74: "As I watched him he adjusted himself a little, visibly. His hand took hold of hers, and as she said something low in his ear he turned toward her with a rush of emotion. I think that voice held him most, with its fluctuating, feverish warmth, because it couldn't be over-dreamed -- that voice was a deathless song."
Literature is a reflection of the time it was written; it is a method of learning about history through the eyes of someone who was living it. The Great Gatsby is not the only book banning discussion being had, other books have been banned or challenged over the years including: Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Ulysses. To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the deep south in the 1930s where two children, Scout and Jem, are fathered by a lawyer named Atticus Finch. Their father takes on a case to defend a black man, which was considered highly controversial by the down. To Kill a Mockingbird is often challenged for its racism content and thematic elements, including the use of the N-word that is considered profane language and not suitable for high school students. The fact of the matter is, banning the book won't erase racism from history, and it will not take back a young girl's exploration of what right and wrong was in the deep south.
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Many school systems still teach The Great Gatsby as part of their literature curriculums, due to the book's infamy and discussion of the morality of the 1920s. The Great Gatsby is used to teach metaphor, symbolism, and discuss the morality and riches of the 1920s versus that of what the students have observed in today's society. When books such as this one are banned, they only grow in popularity among people and eventually will be overturned. An example of this happening is with Maus, a book used to teach about the Holocaust with Night. Maus was banned in Tennessee and subsequently grew in popularity, and booksellers were unable to keep it on the shelves. The Great Gatsby has been taught for so long because it embodies the American dreamy-ness of the 1920s, and allows students to see what that life was like through symbolism.
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The Great Gatsby has been challenged and banned in quite a few different schools and libraries across the United States. The most notable was in 1987 when the book was officially challenged at the Baptist College of South Carolina, due to its sexual references and profane language. Other reasons cited to challenge or ban The Great Gatsby are due to its content of extra-marital affairs, or adultery, bootlegging and violence. In the 1920s, bootlegging was the practice of illegally obtaining, moving, or selling alcohol, which was Gatsby's profession. Adultery occurs between Gatsby and Daisy and ultimately comes to a head at the end of the book when the husband of Tom's mistress murders Gatsby and then kills himself.
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Social Issues and The Great Gatsby
The exposure of children to vulgar or explicit material is a highly contentious subject. How much profanity should students in certain age groups be allowed to read? Are clever and subtle references to sex or other unsavory practices too explicit for children? What age is too young? Where is the line between acceptable and unacceptable profanity?
These are all important questions debated often in America today. When it concerns children, these debates can get quite heated. Some people feel that classic works are important to American literature and should be read by students despite ''offensive'' content, while others believe that certain works are too explicit for the eyes and minds of our children. In this lesson, we will explore the debate surrounding F. Scott Fitzgerald's American classic, The Great Gatsby.
Overview of the Book
To understand why The Great Gatsby is such a controversial work, we should briefly examine the book's synopsis and themes. The Great Gatsby tells the story from the point of view of Nick Carraway, who purchases a small house in the fictional town of West Egg on Long Island. Carraway strikes up a friendship with his neighbor, the extravagantly wealthy Jay Gatsby. Carraway eventually learns that Gatsby is madly in love with Carraway's married cousin, Daisy, who lives nearby.
In part through an encounter arranged by Carraway, Gatsby and Daisy strike up a love affair, and we learn that Daisy's husband, Tom, is having an affair of his own. Carraway watches the love affair unfold, all while attending Gatsby's extravagant parties held at his mansion. Through the course of their affair, Daisy, driving Gatsby's car, unknowingly hits and kills Tom's mistress. When the husband of Tom's mistress learns of Gatsby's car being involved, he concludes Gatsby must be his wife's secret lover. He proceeds to go to the Gatsby mansion, shooting Gatsby and then himself.
Objections to Gatsby
In short, the answer to the question posed in this lesson's title is ''no.'' The book has never been formally banned from being taught, though it has faced serious challenges, most notably in 1987 by the Baptist College in Charleston, South Carolina, which challenged the book and called for its banning from public schools because of ''language and sexual references.'' Despite this, when the American Library Association came out with a list of American classics about which they often received objections, complaints, and banning attempts, The Great Gatsby featured prominently on that list.
The Great Gatsby became recognized as an American classic shortly after the author's death in 1940. The ''Fitzgerald Revival'' was spurred by his publishers and friends, who felt the author was under-appreciated in his own time, and The Great Gatsby was often used as an example of his greatest work. At the same time, educators began using the book as a vehicle to discuss American culture and rapid social change.
There are two main reasons why the book has been the target of censors and moralist critics in the United States: the book's subject matter and its prevalence in American high schools. Today, The Great Gatsby is taught in nearly all U.S. schools, usually in the 10th or 11th grade. Its widespread dissemination is an indirect cause of why it is often targeted by book banners and censors.
By today's standards, the scant references to sex and profane language, despite the complaints of the Baptist College, are relatively tame. Today, the subject matter is often what causes many to object to the book's use in schools. The actions of the characters and the central events in the book are considered unsavory by some parents and moralists. For example, two of the three principal relationships present in the book, between Daisy and Gatsby and between Tom and Tom's mistress, are extramarital affairs. What makes matters worse, in the eyes of censors, is the main character's lack of judgment and his tacit encouragement of the affairs.
Other themes that raise the ire of censors include how Gatsby came about his fortune. The book is set in the prohibition era, when the sale and consumption of alcohol was illegal in the United States, and the implication is that Gatsby became vastly wealthy through trafficking bootlegged alcohol. Not only was it an illegal practice at the time, but it also obviously encouraged drinking, a practice some Christians eschew.
Lesson Summary
The Great Gatsby is an American classic. Fitzgerald's writing style and his depiction of a particular period in American history have made the book required reading in many high schools across the country. But the book's subject matter (a wealthy bootlegger's extramarital affair) together with its instances of profanity and sexual references has been a cause for concern in some sectors of the public. Nonetheless, it remains an important and interesting work of American literature.
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