Banned Books: The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

692 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Social issues in the great gatsby

Banned Book Essay

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
This sentence is a very famous quote that has helped change the meaning of literature today. Many times throughout history books such as a classic like The Great Gatsby have been banned for an assortment of reasons. Such fine literature as The Great Gatsby should not be banned. Although it may have some vulgar language doesn’t mean it is not a book that will help students learn. People are making books banned for kids at school because they think they have topics in them that kids shouldn’t be exposed such as sexuality, religion, and violence. Although these topics are very strong subjects, that doesn’t mean kids shouldn’t be exposed to learning about them. If the kid’s parents are okay with them reading certain books they should be able to read them. Kids should be able to decide what they read with their parents consent because it will help them mature and grow as a person by being exposed to many topics. Based on the article that we read in class we see how a classic like ‘Of Mice and Men’ can be questioned to be banned because of illogical reasons. …show more content…

In this time period most kids have access to learning about what they want from the internet. Books are a better source to learn information from. In the book ‘Of Mice and Men’ readers learn about things such as friendship, loneliness, and compassion. People seem to think that because this book contains foul language that kids should not be reading at school. Without this language the book would not be as good as it is and kids would not learn the valuable lessons it provides. In all, one reason kids should get to choose what they read with their parent’s consent is because it educated them on topics that will helps kids be better

Show More
Related

  • The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    377 Words  | 1 Pages

    In F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby, the pursuit of the American dream in a corrupt period is a central theme. This theme exemplifies itself in the downfall of Gatsby. In a time of disillusionment the ideals of the American dream are lost. The classic American dream is one of materialism and when Gatsby incorporates Daisy, a human being, into the dream he is doomed to fail.

    Read More

  • Should The Great Gatsby Be Banned

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    With the thought that someone can be hurt by reading a book, people will try to challenge and ban them. To ban a book is to have it restricted from a certain age or audience. Banning and challenging books is trying to keep a certain book away from an audience due to sexual content, going against religious beliefs, language and vulgarity, violence, drugs, self-harm, racism, occult/satanic views, promoting gangs, and going against community standards. An argument from someone who believes books should not be banned is that it is important for the age group to learn about certain content and material as they grow up. Due to controversial content, the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald should be banned.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    953 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:9-10). “The Great Gatsby” by F.Scott Fitzgerald tells a tragic tale of materialistic wealth, and uses the colors green, yellow, and blue to convey wealth, hope and unhappiness, respectively, in this classic tale; hope being Gatsby’s saving grace and his ruination.

    Read More

  • Reasons For Banning Fahrenheit 451

    1659 Words  | 4 Pages

    As it is inevitable that children will grow up to be exposed to the world's evils, which are shown in novels like Fahrenheit 451, teaching the context and meaning of those evils in a learning environment allows for more of a educated understanding and a fuller grasp on the issues within. By reading controversial novels in schools, students in middle and high school will benefit tremendously by being exposed to them in a learning environment. Although teachers and parents have control as to what the students are exposed to at a young age, Fahrenheit 451 should not be banned from middle and high schools as it depicts the effects of censorship on a dystopian society through use of controversial material which doubles as

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald focuses on the lifestyle of a group of people who will do anything to accomplish their goals. The characters go through different changes that come to affect their life decisions and will cause them to lie, sacrifice and feel lonely in their lives. They live the American dream and have power but chase a dream that would affect and change their lifestyles. They judge and discriminate against one another not knowing they have a certain symbol in common in their lives. Their desire to accomplish their goals became a type of new life to the characters.

    Read More

  • Catcher In The Rye Should Not Be Banned Essay

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book The Catcher in the Rye was published in the year 1951 and has been the subject of constant debates and controversies. The novel has not only been the target of criticism, but has also sparked discussions on its effectiveness for use in high schools. The novel is about a period of three days in the life of Holden Caulfield. The novel’s most criticised points are its issues such as profanity, irrational behavior, and teenage sex, but it still gives very important lessons to young readers because it teaches tolerance, discipline, religion, and rational behavior. More specifically it teaches that desirable behavior will make them and society better, and as such, I do not think it should be banned from high school curriculum. This paper analyzes the reasons why The Catcher in the Rye should not be banned from English classes that are taught in high schools.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Prohibition In The Great Gatsby

    262 Words  | 1 Pages

    Prohibition movements grew during the 1800s and strengthened after the formation of the Anti-Saloon League in 1839; which was the leading organization promoting for prohibition in the United States. The Anti-Saloon League worked with churches across the United States to organize resources for fighting prohibition. Across America, religious groups began prohibition movements because they believed alcohol and drunkenness was a threat. The eighteenth amendment was passed in 1919 to prohibit alcohol. Reasons for the Eighteenth Amendment include reducing the amount of drinking, limiting the sale and consumption of alcohol, and ensuring that the content would be no more than .5% alcohol in drinks. Prohibition was also

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    928 Words  | 2 Pages

    Scott Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota. He attended Princeton University, but flunked out and joined the US army. While in the army, he met the love of his life Zelda. Zelda refused to commit to him without him having a steady job. After being discharged, he moved to New York City to pursue a career of advertising. After only a few months, he returned to St. Paul to continue his writing career. His first novel's success made him famous and let him marry the woman he loved. His recently found fame gave him a bad reputation that made some people see him as less than a serious literary genius. The Fitzgeralds enjoyed fame and fortune, and the characters in The Great Gatsby closely resemble these characteristics. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is very wealthy and successful, which is what Fitzgerald strived for his entire life. The life Fitzgerald led and the life he wished to lead is reflected in the extravagant life of Jay Gatsby. Gatsby and Fitzgerald were also similar in their devotion to their lovers. Although Zelda spent her final years in an asylum, Fitzgerald continued to be loyal to her. Gatsby spent his entire trying to win back the love of his life, even when things seemed hopeless.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    910 Words  | 2 Pages

    The word “great” has many meanings – outstanding, eminent, grand, important, extraordinary, and noble – that vary with the intent of the speaker and the interpretation of the listener. Someone may perceive something as great, while someone else may consider that same thing horrendous. The greatness of a being is not determined by the individual, but by those around them who experience and perceive their greatness through actions and words. In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the narrator, Nick Carraway, believes Gatsby to be a great person with a “gorgeous” personality. It is Nick’s perceptions of Gatsby that encourage the reader to also find him “great.” Gatsby, through his actions, his dreams, and his heart, distinguishes himself from the “foul dust” and makes himself “worth the whole damn bunch put together.” Gatsby creates an illusion for others, as he manages to appear to belong to a higher class than he really does. He fools “the spectators” around him by throwing extravagant parties that give off a sense of great wealth and stature. While the person of Jay Gatsby himself is a masterful illusion, James Gatz, although a flawed character, is essentially great.

    Read More

  • Prohibition in the Great Gatsby

    1346 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 1920s were greatly influenced by prohibition. The prohibition law restricted the manufacturing, consumption, transportation, and sale of alcohol. The law was put into effect to lower the crime and corruption rates in the United States in the 1920s. It was also said to reduce social problems and lower taxes. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald examines the negative repercussions of prohibition on the economy, characters in the Great Gatsby, and on the different social classes of the 1920s.

    Read More

  • Of Mice and Men

    2756 Words  | 6 Pages

    Scarseth, Thomas. "A Teachable Good Book: Of Mice and Men." Censored Books: Critical Viewpoints. Ed. Nicholas J. Karolides, Lee Burress, and John M. Kean. Scarecrow Press, 1993. 388-394. Rpt. in Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 11 Jan. 2012.

    Read More

  • F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

    705 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Daisy Miller by Henry James, most of the characters are under illusions during the majority of the plot. The plots are carried out with the characters living under these illusions, which are mainly overcome by the ends of the stories. The disillusionment of most of the characters completely diminishes the foundation in which the plots were built upon, leading to the downfall of some of the main characters and the altering of the other characters.

    Read More

  • Banning Books

    4607 Words  | 10 Pages

    “It’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written, the books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers” (Blume 1999). Judy Blume can not explain the problem of book censorship any clearer. The children are the real losers because they are the ones that are not able to read the classic works of literature which are the backbone of classroom discussions all across the United States.

    Read More

  • Censorship in Schools

    3744 Words  | 8 Pages

    There has recently been a renewed interest and passion in the issue of censorship. In the realm of the censorship of books in schools alone, several hundred cases have surfaced each year for nearly the past decade. Controversies over which books to include in the high school English curriculum present a clash of values between teachers, school systems, and parents over what is appropriate for and meaningful to students. It is important to strike a balance between English that is meaningful to students by relating to their lives and representing diversity and satisfying worries about the appropriateness of what is read. This burden often falls on teachers. The purpose of this research paper is to discuss censorship in schools and to argue that the censorship of books in the high school English curriculum is limiting and takes away literature that is meaningful to students.

    Read More

  • A Timeline of Children's Literature

    1209 Words  | 3 Pages

    The construction of children’s literature was a gradual process. For a long period of time children’s books were frowned upon. The stories were said to be vulgar and frightening. Adults censored children’s ears to stories of daily life, tales with improbable endings were not to be heard. It was not until the mid 1800s that stories of fairies and princesses began to be recognized. Although children’s literature was accepted, the books were not available for all children. With limited access to education, few public libraries, and the books’ costs, these texts were only available to the middle and high- class. As public education and libraries grew so did the accessibility of books and their popularity. They no longer were considered offensive, but rather cherished and loved by many children. Children’s literature became orthodox and a revolution began, changing literature as it was known.

    Read More

More about Banned Books: The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Open Document