Book 20: Finished.

I finished The Adventures of Tom Sawyer loving is just as much as I always have. It is hard to say anything negative about a book the captures the spirit of childhood and adventure so well.

Sure, it might not stand up to Dostoevsky or Austen in regards to real human emotion, but I love it anyway. It is not meant to be a novel read for depth, but for enjoyment. It is the kind of book meant to be read at night when you're tucking in your children, or to give a child for Christmas so they can get lost in childhood fun.

Tom is the prime example of youth so how can that be a bad thing?

As it says in the conclusion;

"So endeth this chronicle. It being strictly a history of a boy, it must stop here; the story could not go on much further without becoming the history of a man. When one writes a novel about grown people, he knows exactly where to stop-that is, with a marriage; but when he writes of juveniles, he must stop where he best can," (227-228).

And while I have read this at different stages of my life-youth and adulthood, I still love it just as much, if not a little more. Perhaps it is because Tom reminds the reader of childhood, and how the biggest adult issues still seems to be just fun to a child. Or how children can always surprise you (by running away for a few days then popping up at their own funeral).

But, it is just a novel about American youth and vitality and how, if you try really hard, good things can come your way. It definitely is a far cry from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which I am less familiar with, but special in its own way.

Happy Reading.

Book 20: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

I have a big soft-spot for Mark Twain. I think he must have been a very humorous man to know and I would love to have an opportunity to pick his brain. He wrote what I think to be one of the best pieces of writing ever: Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses. I should be fair and say that I have only read one of Fenimore Cooper's works, but it was the biggest chore of my life and I hated every moment of it (I read The Pioneers for an English class in college).

The fact that Mark Twain cites the first offense as, "That a tale shall accomplish something and arrive somewhere. But the "Deerslayer" tale accomplishes nothing and arrives in air."

What's not to love?

Twain has also critiqued a lot of other works and I always find his reviews to be honest and wonderful to read. He had this to say about Austen: “I haven't any right to criticize books, and I don't do it except when I hate them. I often want to criticize Jane Austen, but her books madden me so that I can't conceal my frenzy from the reader; and therefore I have to stop every time I begin. Every time I read 'Pride and Prejudice' I want to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone.” Now, I love Pride and Prejudice, but really, how can you not love Twain for his honest review?

Anyway, I only have two Twain titles on my list: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I have read both countless times and adore them each for different reasons. But Tom? I have a soft spot for Tom Sawyer. I would love to have a little boy as smart and as clever as Tom. I mentioned as such to Matt when I told him I was reading this and he looked at me like I was insane (But at least Matt knew who he was, as Tom Sawyer is one of the books our school district required everyone to read in the eighth grade).

The last time I read this it was for fun a few summers ago. My copy is pretty battered, but I love it anyway. There is a large essence of childhood and youth lingering around Tom Sawyer and I hope I can recapture some of that as I read through it once again.

On Banned and Challenged Books.

Even though I had a post-it note on my calendar for the last three weeks reminding me what last week was, I completely forgot to write about. Last week was Banned Books Week hosted by the ALA (American Library Association) which an annual event to call attention to the list of books that have been banned and/or challenged in the past, as well as reminding us all of first amendment rights.

Even though the national events took place last week, I still think this is an important topic to discuss. I don’t believe in censoring art and literature is art. I also think that those people who are attempting to ban or censor books haven’t considered everything that is important about that piece.

Let’s talk about one book in particular: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. This novel is contested constantly and usually for one main reason. True, the novel contains a lot of offensive language—particularly the “n word.” Now, why I can see why this book in particular is offensive, it is incredibly reflective of the time period in which it was written. To ban it is to simply pretend that one specific time period in U.S. history just didn’t happen.

For the people who challenge books for this kind of “questionable” content, I have to wonder about a few things. First, are they taking into account the kind of lessons you can teach about these pieces? For Huckleberry Finn in particular, I would love to teach my own children about the past where words like that were acceptable and common and how we have changed.

Secondly, are they challenging the books without reading them? I know this to be the case. We had an incident at one of the schools I taught at where a parent “heard from their child” about the content of the book and challenged it. Without reading it. How is that teaching your child responsibility?

Thirdly, by challenging a book you might be succeeding in preventing many others from reading it. Instead, take an active role in what your child is reading by knowing what they are reading. If you personally have an issue with something, then explain why to your child.

As I continue reading through my own list of books, I have to keep in the back of my mind that many of things I am reading were once considered quite scandalous, but as time as passed on, they have lost that shock value. Just as I am sure that many of the current books being challenged (Harry Potter anyone?) will also fade in offensiveness as time goes on.

For your own personal pleasure I am leaving with a few links. One links to a list of classics that have been challenged sometime in their existence. I am also linking to the ALA’s site on banned books so you can learn for yourself. I encourage everyone to read a “banned book” and see for yourself whether it is right to censor such art.

Banned Classics:
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedclassics/index.cfm

ALA Website on Banned Books:
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/index.cfm