Cujo by Stephen King

Cujo is centered around a family of three - a husband, a wife, and their four-year-old son. The story is partially about a family falling apart and the damages that result from it, but it all occurs in the midst of a ferocious dog attack. Cujo, a large dog, becomes infected with rabies after having been bitten by a bat. After two members of the family, Donna and her son Tad, drive up to the house of Cujo's owners to pick up their repaired car, they become trapped within their own vehicle after being attacked by the animal. They are trapped in the car for several days - trapped in the heat, trapped by Cujo, and trapped by fear.

* For a more detailed description of this book - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cujo

Cujo is one of the most challenged and banned books written by author Stephen King. It has faced challenges since 1985 and all the way to the early 2000s. It has faced challenges for varrying reasons such as the usage of rough language and explicit sex scenes, but also for the extreme violence and fear that the scenes instill. The death of a young child and the destruction of a family have been deemed harmful to the minds of some young students and has been banned for this reason as well.

* For more information on the bannings and challenges of this book - http://thecensorshipofstephenking.weebly.com/challengebanning-factors.html

Do you think that a book should be banned from a school setting because of these reasons? Many students are faced with the disassembly of their own families. Would it be unwise to expose them to materials that could hit so close to this painful subject at home?

* 5 points extra credit

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

American Psycho is about an extremely materialistic man. While he does live his life he is only going through the motions. He has a fiance, but he doesn't love her, he only finds that they are a good match because they are both physically attractive. Beneath this veneer of perfection, Patrick Bateman is a seriously disturbed man. He spends his nights paying hookers for their services and killing them. He also kills any coworker who poses a threat to him and his career. No one is the wiser to his actions because he has such a perfect life. Who would suspect him?

* For a better description of the book - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Psycho

American Psycho has been banned from several schools because of the intense look inside the inner mechanics of a mentally psychotic person and their logic. Many teachers question the what might happen if their students are exposed to such material. It has also been banned for extremely graphic depictions of mutilation, cannibalism, rape, and murder.

* For more information on the bannings and challenges of the book - http://www.shmoop.com/news/2010/05/24/most-controversial-books/

Do you think that a book depicting such a mentally unwell person is appropriate for middle or high school students? What could be the possible outcomes of exposing children and young adults to this material?

* 5 points extra credit

Earth's Children Series by Jean Auel

Earth's Children is a series of novels by Jean Auel, focussing on a young Cro-magnon woman named Ayla and takes place in the Paleolithic era. The series follows Ayla's life as she makes her way through several caves and peoples of both Neandrathal and Cro-magnon origin, discovering things unknown to both kinds as she possesses a special insight in both worlds.

* For a more detailed description of the book series - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth's_Children

Earth's Children has been banned from schools for various reasons such as sexually explicit material, offensive language, unsuited to a middle or high school age group, themes relating to the occult and promotion of homosexuality and underage sex.

* For more information on the banning of this book series - http://www.pcc.edu/library/news/banned_books.html

Do you believe that a book should be banned for sexually explicit material or is it acceptable for some age groups to read such things, especially if it is believed to have relevance to real situations in the past?

* 5 points extra credit

Carrie by Stephen King

Carrie is about a shy high school girl who, after years of being a social outcast and victim of her religious mother's emotional and physical abuse, discovers she has telekinetic powers. She attempts to use these powers to achieve happiness and acceptance, but is instead ridiculed by her peers once more at her high school prom, resulting in a mass homicide of all in attendance.

* For a better description of this book - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_(novel)

 Carrie was released in 1974 and the first banning of the book in schools was in 1975 by a school in Los Vegas, Nevada, deeming the book "trashy." It has since been banned for reasons such as concern that the content involving bullying could result in ill treatment of students given ideas by the book. It has also received challenges for age appropriateness and for scenes involving "Satanic killings."

* For more information on the bannings and challenges of this book - http://thecensorshipofstephenking.weebly.com/challengebanning-factors.html
* And here - http://www.stephenking.com/library/essay/book-banners:_adventure_in_censorship_is_stranger_than_fiction_the.html

Do you think that Carrie should be banned from schools? Should books containing religious undertones or characters be kept out of school settings or should it be up to students if they are exposed to these books? Should bulling be an issue that students are exposed to in order to see the effects?

* 5 points extra credit

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

The Bell Jar takes place in the late 1950s and focusses on a young woman named Esther Greenwood. The book follows her thoughts and activities as she lives in a world where women are expected to be obediant and innocent and not give in to any urges or interests they may have regarding both sex and careers. Esther slowly descends into suicidal-driven madness as she fights herself and the world trying to figure out who she is a woman and as a person.

* For a more detailed description - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bell_Jar

The Bell Jar has been challenged by many schools as being too graphic with the issues of suicide and sex. There are explicit detailings on the main character's thoughts on sex and love and many have said that rather than proving a point that these actions only demonstrate a character making one bad decision after another. Suicide is a strong theme in the book and has lead to challenges made about glorifying death and escape.

* For more information on the bannings of this book - http://users.owt.com/crbatish/REQUESTS.HTM#The Bell Jar

Do you think that issues such as suicide and sex should be avoided in school material? Is a book like this presenting young, impressionable students with poor ideals, or is opening their minds to the experiences of others?

* 5 points extra credit

Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Scarlet Letter is about a woman in the 17th-century Boston who, despite her husband being presumed dead, became pregnant and later gave birth to a littler girl. Hester Prynne, the woman, was made to wear a scarlet letter A on her chest everywhere she went to let the world know that she is an adulteress. The book demonstrates ideals of sin, guilt, and strength.

* For a more detailed description of the book - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scarlet_Letter

The book has been challenged and banned in schools for various reasons, including the sexual content. Despite the fact that there are no sexual scenes within the book, many challengers have called the book "pornographic." It was also challenged because of the Puritan ideals presented in the book that parents didn't want their children being exposed to.

* For more information on the bannings - http://www.favorite-banned-books.com/the-scarlet-letter.html

Do you think that this book is inappropriate for students in the middle/high school age groups? The book centers around the idea that this woman had sex outside of her marriage and was condemned for it. Is this too sexually explicit to be read by young adults or children? Could young people be taught something by reading a book about the struggle of a woman in the past to even experience outside of a husband who is presumed dead?

* 5 points extra credit

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Lord of the Flies is about a group of young British boys who are stranded on a deserted island. The only adult with them dies and they must govern themselves. The book examines the test of human nature as these boys grow more and more wild without any consequences to their actions. The books leads to violence and death as the boys spend more time unsupervised in the wild.

* For a more detailed description - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Flies

This book has recieved a lot of controversy and continues to today. The book has been challenged many times and banned several. In 1981 in the Owen High School, North Carolina, it was challenged because the novel “implies that man is little more than an animal." In 1992, Waterloo, Iowa schools challenged it for "profanity, lurid passages about sex, and statements defamatory to minorities, God, women, and the disabled."

* For a more detailed description of the bannings and challenges of this book - http://www.booksie.com/editorial_and_opinion/essay/ousma/to-ban-or-not-to-ban/nohead/pdf/ver/8

Do you think that this book should be removed from schools? Would a realistic depiction of what can happen if children were allowed to do as they pleased in society without consequences perhaps help children understand why the word od elders is important?

* 5 points extra credit