We Have the Right to Read INVISIBLE MAN

~post by Marie

Banned books: up until recently, I thought they were a thing of the past, a relic of an era of intolerance and conservatism.  On the contrary, book banning is alive and well, and it’s not just recently published books that are subject to expulsion from public libraries and schools. There are myriad reasons that outraged parents and citizens mount their soap boxes and proclaim books unfit for human consumption, or of no literary value, and therefore worthy of being eradicated from the library inventory and reading lists.  Many of these reasons center around things like profanity, sexuality, violence, or racism, and dissenters make claims that these are grounds enough for a book to be pulled from the shelves.  Imagine my surprise when I heard a snippet on NPR on my morning commute discussing not just Banned Book Week (September 22-28) but specifically a situation unfolding in Randolf County, North Carolina in regard to a book that is particularly relevant in my life right now: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, our Required Reading Revisited Book Club pick for discussion in October.

Invisible Man was originally published in 1953, and has received accolades from literary critics, avid readers, teachers and professors for decades.  It even beat out Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea and Steinbeck’s East of Eden for the National Book Award the year of its publication.  It consistently makes top lists of best books of all time, and appears regularly in both high school and college curriculum.  If that doesn’t say literary merit, I don’t know what does!

However, I can understand concern on the part of a parent that their child is being exposed to unsuitable material, because there are appropriate times and places to be introduced to certain prominent cultural works.  Part of what we discuss in our Required Reading Revisited group is at what time in a student’s life and with what sort of instruction would this book best be presented.  There are a number of literary treasures that have been penned throughout the generations that are very challenging books to read, that are not suitable for all ages, and that are best presented under the guidance of a knowledgeable instructor who can help students understand and better appreciate the value of a book.  Could we not say the same about many other creative endeavors as well?  Movies and film, music, art, theatre, heck even some restaurants aren’t suitable for young children.  Perhaps what makes these creative achievements worthwhile is the very fact that they are difficult and challenging.  But this is not something we should shy away from.

We see very adult themes and developments every day in the news and our personal experiences.  Isn’t life, by its very nature, challenging, raw, gritty, painful and full of difficult situations?  Instead of shutting these things out, and shielding future generations from these realities, I would suggest instead confronting these life issues head-on and providing context, history and explanations for why events have precipitated in the way they have, on a level that is accessible to a younger audience.  By elucidating these things, these books or movies or news articles and personal experiences, instead of merely hiding them away, I argue that we better equip the next generation to face the world and participate in the incredible human journey, instead of living in sheltered denial that bad things don’t exist.  Is it not through the contrast of good and bad that we are able to fully appreciate both the things that are wonderful yet also the things that are sad?

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying you should be reading Invisible Man to your 5 year old as a bed time story.  There are plenty of books that are much better suited for tucking in your little one at night (Anne of Green Gables is a great place to start).  I don’t think these contested books should be banned and removed completely from libraries and reading lists; I think instead they should be presented in guided discussions with plenty of support and explanation for the inevitable questions that will arise.  This is an opportunity for engagement and dialogue.

A final note on banning books: making something off limits makes it 1,857 times more interesting and alluring than if you had never even mentioned it at all in the first place.  Every time a book is banned it’s like giving that book its own special promotional campaign, and chances that kids are sneaking off and getting their mitts on a contraband copy go up exponentially.  So in a backwards sense, thank you, book banners, for finding a sure-fire way to get people interested in reading the very books you are working so hard to strike from the annals of history.  Go get your copy of this hotly contested book today, and come talk about it with us!  (And now we’ll insert here a shameless plug for coming to our book club and getting 10% off your copy of Invisible Man  at BookPeople).