Why Lord of the Flies had people buzzing for the wrong reason.

Lord of the Flies written by Sir William Golding is rich in themes and other material that is studied in many schools and other academic institutions. But some of these themes have caused parents and other groups to want the books removed.

The reasoning behind schools challenging and some even banning the book from library shelves all together have been different for each school. The American Library Association has listed the some of these reasons including that some schools think the book is "demoralizing inasmuch as it implies that man is little more than an animal." Some schools banned or removed the book due to it's violence and course language. Other places have banned the book due to the use of the word nigger and other derogatory terms towards African Americans, God, Women and the disabled.

On the other hand other organisations and reviewers have praised the author and his books including receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1983, In response to some of the reasons the book has been banned, Jen the author of the blog Devourer of Books says, 'Lord of the flies is violent... but, in my opinion this is not handled in a gratuitous way... This is a novel about the dangers of what we can become if we completely ignore the rules of society and civilization.  Whether you agree with Golding’s assessments of human nature or not, it is sure a good conversation starter.  We read this freshman year in high school and I would not consider it too violent and graphic for us, primarily because it isn’t just trash, it is literature, and we discussed it as literature, working through some of the difficult issues in the book with our teacher and as a class'.

In conclusion like with other books on the list I have discussed Lord of the Flies is another book that really is no worse than other books out there, while it may be more violent and dark than some other books on the list really if parents don't want their children reading it then its up to them they shouldn't dictate what other children can and cannot read.

REFERENCES

Devourer of Books 2008, Banned books week spotlight - Lord of the flies, Devourer of Books, viewed  31 March 2011.
http://www.devourerofbooks.com/2008/10/banned-books-week-spotlight-lord-of-the-flies/

American Library Association 2011, Banned and/or challenged books from the Radcliff Publishing Course, top 100 novels of the 20th century, American Library Association, viewed 13th April 2011
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedclassics/reasonsbanned/index.cfm

Forget finding Waldo/Wally another item in 1 of the books is the reason its on the list.

Now most of us older people know who Waldo or Wally is depending on the country you live in, but what some of you probably don't know is that the original Where's Wally printed in 1987 had something that caused parents to demand the book be removed from library shelves. Below is the scene the something in question is hidden in, now you may need to zoom in on the something to find it but can you find what it could possibly be.

Image courtesy of Findwally

cant find it, here it is blown up for all to see.

Image courtesy of the Daily Banning 

Unfortunately I was not able to find the original enlarged picture enlarged enough to be able to see, The scene was changed in the 1997 special edition and the woman was covered up. Now as Quindlen (1993) states The Cat in the Hat is nude except for the gloves, the tie and, yep, the hat. Winnie the Pooh does not wear pants. Just a warning. She then goes on to say Unfortunately someone took it seriously. After an outraged mom complained, the principal at the Long Island school agreed to take the book off the shelf, thereby succumbing to an impulse that is at the heart of most book-banning in this country. And that is the temptation to treat kids like morons, to sell little people short. Don't do it. Finally to drive her point home she adds The brain is a muscle, at least figuratively, and to develop it you have to work it. If kids don't run up against ideas that are disquieting, or challenging, or different from what they've always believed, or different from what their parents believe, how will they ever grow as human beings? and Ideas are only lethal if you suppress and don't discuss them. Ignorance is not bliss, it's stupid. Banning books shows you don't trust your kids to think and you don't trust yourself to be able to talk with them. Knowledge is power. The breast is on page four of "Where's Waldo?" Your kids can handle it. It's the adults who have the problem. 

Yet there are some that have not even noticed the woman on the beach and have just enjoyed the book. As Karkabi (1991) pointed out The Waldo craze was noticed by Christine McNew, children's librarian at the Spring Branch Memorial branch of the Harris County Library, when she was hired 1 1/2 years ago. After numerous children came asking for Waldo books, she bought a few. Now the library has five copies of each of the four books and none stays on the shelves for longer than an hour before being checked out again. That's 4 copies of the book that ended up being 1 of the most challenged books yet was still being lent out.    

For anyone who would like to learn about more about other interesting things to find throughout the Where's Wally series Adrian Beiting has a list of other interesting things they have found. 

REFERENCES

Karkabi, B 1991, 'CAN YOU FIND WALDO/Fun lies in the finding of a well-traveled character' Houston Chronical, Section Houston, STAR Edition, Page 1, 2

Quindlen, A c.1993, 'Public and private; The breast ban' The New York Times, Opinion.

Beiting, A 2010, 9 strange things found while searching for Waldo, viewed 22 October 2010
http://www.toplessrobot.com/2010/01/10_strange_things_found_while_searching_for_waldo.php