Banned Books Week
We wrap up Banned Books Week with two free ebook offerings: Uncle Tom's Cabin and Black Beauty. At first I thought these two books had nothing to do with one another, but after further research I see a common themes of cruelty, compassion, and propaganda through storytelling.
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe was written prior to the American Civil War and sometimes considered to have helped fuel the abolitionist cause. Erica Bauermeister from 500 Great Books by Women writes, "In a time when many whites claimed slavery had 'good effects' on blacks, Uncle Tom's Cabin paints pictures of three plantations, each worse than the other, where even the best plantation leaves a slave at the mercy of fate or debt."
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell was first published in 1877. It was her only novel, composed in the last years of her life. The story is told from the point of view of a highbred horse named Black Beauty. The tale offers an animal's perspective of the world and highlights the thoughtless, even cruel treatment animals endure at the hands of their owners.
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Why on earth is this a banned book? (Why are any books banned, but that is another question.)
Good question! I got these banned books off the ALA website, but they didn't accompany the list with reasons for banning. However I did just find a very interesting website, http://library.dixie.edu/new/whybanned.html that explains why these books were banned:
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Banned during the 19th century in much of the south for its depiction of slavery, this book has more recently been banned for "racism" in other parts of the country.
Black Beauty
Banned in South Africa in 1955 because of the title, even though the book is about a horse.