Before discussion begins on Behind Rebel Lines, I saw a poll in the Costco magazine that I thought would be interesting to put before you all. The question is this:
"Should Literary Classics be Sanitized?"
Recent editions of classics have been edited to remove racially charged words and other inappropriate language. Supporters of the revised editions say that this is helpful so that the books don't need to be banned completely and allows everyone to enjoy the work. Critics argue that this amounts to desecrating the writer's work, rewriting history and denying modern students the learning experience of asking hard questions.
I will weigh in, myself, but what do you think?
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NO! I don't think books should be banned either. I'm all for reading banned books. While the wording in the books may not be the best of choice, it's what was going on in that time and I like my books to be accurate. I think it makes books educational also, instead of just entertaining- which is ok, but I like to learn about the times through entertaining stories.
ReplyDeleteSo in all, No, Classic books should not be sanitized and to add on, Books should not be banned, that was Hitler's Idea.
No, classics should not be sanitized. Sanitizing them would change them. Knowing how things were said and done can be edifying to those who don't know why some words and actions evoke certain emotions. The light will come on when Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice or some other classic is read. The reading of classics without sanitation will remind us of our history and how things have evolved.
ReplyDeleteI agree whole heartedly with both of the previous comments. Who is deciding that the classics need to be sanitized? I think it's funny how more and more stuff we see in the media and hollywood may now be considered PC but is anything but clean or "sanitary".
ReplyDeleteKat, I love your comment and it is something I haven't thought of, myself. Such a good point.
ReplyDeleteI brought this up at family dinner last Sunday because we had a table of avid readers and I wanted to know what they said. One person (who tends to be very PC) stated that she didn't think it was that big of a deal to just change the "N" word to the word "slave" (We were talking about Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn) and if it meant that more people would read it as a result then it wouldn't be that big a deal. I see that point too, however, Mark Twain is well known for having said, " the difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter-it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning." On the other hand, Mark Twain was a very commercial writer, always trying to increase the size of his audience. The point is, however, that we will never know what these authors think about people "sanitizing" their works.
I, personally, think that leaving the books "as is" is a good yardstick to see how far we have come as a society. I think that they should be left as they are so that each subsequent generation has the opportunity to ask the hard questions. However, I do think that teachers and parents need to be careful when they introduce certain classics. Or at least, there needs to be sensitivity with some of them.
For instance, my Sister-in-law was saying she thought that Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer were fine here in our area, but what about in public schools that are located in racially charge areas? I thought this was a good point. Before she said that, I was thinking "What's the big deal? We all know this is how things were and they're not that way anymore and I read Huck Finn in 5th grade at a private school and we knew that these words and ideas are not appropriate anymore even as 5th graders". But the more I thought about it, the more I thought that my experience is very limited. I did read this young and I understood a lot of it, but I also read it in the context of a homework assignment at a private, all-white, middle to upper class academy. There is a big difference between that and the environment that many kids attend school in.
I am not an expert and certainly don't know much about the culture in areas such as that. However, it seems that if a teacher was very sensitive to the issues and culture of that specific area and gives the students the proper background information, students anywhere could read these books with the proper understanding that they are a representation of the time that they were written in and that some things are not or should not be appropriate anymore. They could provide valuable background information about where we have come from as a people.
To sum it up, I am not about banning books or "sanitizing" them in any way. However, that means that not all classics will be appropriate for every age group and some need some sensitivity surrounding them.
Just in case any of you are interested, here's a link to ALA's banned or challenged classics booklist.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedclassics/index.cfm
Thanks for your insights Shayla. It is good to have another point of view. I agree that depending on the audience, some classics may be less appropriate than others, but conscientious and sensitive teachers could overcome that while leaving the books in their original form.
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