Monday, October 08, 2007
ANOTHER BANNED BOOK
With the start of another school year comes the inevitable conflict between schools and parents over choice of reading material. A new twist seems to have arisen in Chicago's John H. Kinzie Elementary School where, according to Dennis Byrne's commentary at the chicagotribune.com website the objectionable book is Robert Cormier's THE CHOCOLATE WAR.
The book is
about Catholic high school students being terrorized by autocratic religious brothers and an unchecked secret society of physically and psychologically brutal students. In one chapter, a bully nearly beats another student to a pulp in front of the entire student body of 400 cheering, bloodthirsty boys, with the head brother's snickering approval. ...
There's also the portrayal of the Catholic brothers who teach at the fictional high school. It takes more than a suspension of belief to think that such a sadistic, moronic faculty could be running this or any school. Or that they would sit by while letting a secret club of callous students victimize other students. Having graduated from a high school operated by the no-nonsense Christian Brothers, I see the book's portrayal of teaching brothers as hackneyed, cruel and unfair.
Sounds like stereotyping to me. Anti-Catholicism--just what every parent wants their 7th grader to pick up from the reading material being forced on them at school. Perhaps the teacher has an agenda.
Parental objections include "casual handling of sexual themes, such as masturbation." Byrne believes that a much worse fault of the book is that the "victimizing [of] boys and girls is its own reward."
The book is on the required reading list. The principal told parents "I don't tell you how to run your family" as a way of defending his teacher's choice of reading material. He makes the parent's point, since it is members of those parents family that he is trying to compel. By his own admission he hasn't the right to do so. According to the article, "at Kinzie, even suggesting that your own children can be excused from the reading is verboten. In a letter, Egan warned parents not to. Doing so, he wrote, 'could have a significant negative effect on the final course grade'."
Amazing what passes for "education" these days.
UPDATE
A review of the book at enotes offers:
The publication of The Chocolate War in 1974 is now seen as a groundbreaking event in the establishment of young adult literature as a separate genre. Robert Cormier's novel was originally conceived as an adult book, for all his previous fiction had been for adults. Nevertheless, it quickly became both an inspiration to other writers and publishers for teens and the standard by which much subsequent young adult literature has been judged.
The conclusion over there is disturbing:
One of THE CHOCOLATE WAR's principle themes is the futility of individual protests and resistance in the face of such power structures and, by implication, the importance of collective action.
Some message to give to a 7th grader! Is that what our schools are teaching?
freebooknotes.com provides a plot summary. The brothers in charge come off looking misguided and incompetent. Here is the conclusion:
Jerry has a broken jaw and possibly some internal injuries. As he is waiting for the ambulance he tells his only friend, The Goober, not to disturb the universe—that it is not worth it. The book ends as Archie displays no remorse for the past, and Jerry no hope for the future.
Certainly not a message to deliver to a 7th grader!
The book is apparently a classic. Here is a website devoted to it and to banned books. There is a picture of the author at the website.
