Banned Book-Of-The-Day: The Great Gatsby
- David Sanchez
- Sep 26, 2014
- 2 min read
Reasons for Censorship: Profanity, sexual references
“I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is my second favorite book of all time. The fact that it is banned in some places is absolutely mortifying to me. The Great Gatsby is narrated by Nick Carraway, a WWI veteran who begins renting a home in the neighborhood of West Egg after accepting a job as a band salesman in New York City. Just after he moves in, an invitation from his mysterious and inconceivably wealthy neighbor, Jay Gatsby, arrives in the mail. The invitation requests his presence at one of Gatsby’s fabulous and enormous parties. As their friendship grows stronger, Carraway begins to see the true Gatsby, and learns of the actual reason why he throws his lavish parties. The Great Gatsby is considered to be one of the greatest American novels ever written. Beautifully crafted and absolutely riveting, the book paints a picture of both high and low society during the Roaring Twenties. F. Scott Fitzgerald masterfully describes society’s disillusionment with fame and celebrities, and Jay Gatsby is one of the most gorgeously flawed characters in literature. And he is, as most people who took eleventh grade English know, the perfect representation of the American Dream. This book is far too stunningly beautiful and wise to be banned! There is so much to be learned from The Great Gatsby, so much to be reflected upon. The wisdom this book holds is precious, too precious for words.
The novel is banned on account of profanity and sexual references. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: Books should not be banned because their characters swear. Are people allowed to curse? Yes. Then so are fictional characters. Secondly, there are literally two sexual references in The Great Gatsby, and they are not offensive. There is no reason for the book to be banned on that, or any other, account.
Free The Great Gatsby and party like it’s 1922!
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