Why i love banned books
I recently read two banned books. Both books fascinated me, and today I uncover why they are truly banned and why there are banned books that are not actually banned to protect the population. If you like this article, please subscribe and like. Thank you!
Chapter 1: Why Books Are Banned
Books are banned for various reasons, such as violence, false moral teachings, etc. These books are dangerous if they come into the public domain because they can lead to extremist groups, revolts, chaos, etc. It is therefore good that many of these books have been banned. A good example is “The Anarchist Cookbook”. This book shows and describes how to cause chaos in society. It also provides step-by-step guides on how to build bombs. One quickly realizes that it is good that these books have been banned because no one would like it if the neighbor suddenly left a letter bomb at their door. Many governments ban these books because they are dangerous to the power and enforcement capability of the government. We can do a little thought experiment. In our experiment, a group has had enough of the government and reads many articles and books that are anti-political. One day they stumble upon “The Anarchist Cookbook” and learn how to build bombs and create chaos. Furthermore, they cause protests that get out of hand, and the police intervene. However, it will not be as easy as before to simply drive away the protesters with water cannons and tear gas because this time they can defend themselves with pipe bombs and with a lot of creativity even with rockets. It comes to the point that such books are banned so that the government retains the upper hand. But now let’s move on to the books I read and the question of whether these books deserve to be banned. If so, why? If not, why not? And the reason why they were banned.
Chapter 2: The 48 Laws of Power
This book is banned in Turkey, Iran, many prisons, and many educational institutions. “The 48 Laws of Power” deals with 48 laws that are supposed to help one achieve great power. I must admit, these laws almost all work. They are all highly manipulative and reprehensible. Prisons have banned this book so that inmates do not learn manipulation and then possibly manipulate the guards. Turkey and Iran see the book as too high a security risk. On the whole, I think it’s okay that the book is banned in prisons, but I also believe that some countries have banned it unjustly. If you analyze closely what governments do, you notice that much of it overlaps with the book. But back to the topic: I think it should continue to be mostly allowed because everyone else plays with the same tricks.
Chapter 3: Lolita
This book is banned in Great Britain, New Zealand, and Argentina. After several bans and an altered version, it is now also available in France. In “Lolita,” Vladimir Nabokov writes about a futile and forbidden romance. The protagonist, Humbert Humbert, born in 1910, lost the love of his life in his early childhood because she moved away and then fell ill and died. This disturbed poor Humbert Humbert so much that since then, he only preferred “nymphets.” Nymphets are small children, usually with a beautiful, doll-like appearance. The story continues with him moving to America one day and eventually moving into the Haze household. Charlotte Haze was a widow and mother of Dolores Haze, later called “Lolita.” Humbert finds himself in a whirlwind of emotions. He constantly has to hide his preference for Lolita and show affection for the mother. One day, Charlotte has a terrible accident when she realizes what Humbert wanted and had been doing all along. When she plans to send Lolita to a camp for bad girls, she is run over. This was the starting shot for Humbert to let his feelings run free. Lolita enjoyed his attention and constantly exploited him in the shabbiest way. He had to buy her toys, sweets, or whatever so that she wouldn’t report him to the police and he could continue his caresses. One day, Lolita runs away with another man. Humbert’s heart is shattered. He searches for her for years under constant heartbreak and insane behavior. He eventually finds her in a distant town, but she is no longer the lovely, doll-like “Lolita.” Humbert describes her as disgusting, as if all the magic had disappeared. She had grown armpit hair, smoked, and was completely used up. Out of anger that Lolita was no longer so enchanting, Humbert searches for the man she ran away with and shoots him. He is then caught by the police. This novel caused a lot of uproar in the prudish 1950s because it was new at the time to write so openly about a topic like pedophilia. Today, it’s nothing new if you read something like Dark Romance. This book evokes mixed feelings, I would say. On the one hand, I find the book repulsive because we are still talking about a 40-year-old having sex with a 12-year-old. On the other hand, many people can understand Humbert to some extent: the trauma with his soulmate, that he is understood by no one, treated like dirt his whole life, and also just the point that you can’t necessarily help your emotions. Those who have read “The Laws of Human Nature” know that much of what one prefers comes from childhood and that you can suppress emotions well, but not forever. I do not glorify pedophilia at all, but if you analyze the book closely, you realize that it is not about how pedophilic Humbert is, but how torn he is. “Lolita” is, for me, actually the story of Humbert’s suffering and not a pedophilic romance. I can definitely understand why this book is banned in some countries, but in today’s times, it is no longer relevant if you look at some Dark Romance books. This book was banned back then because people were too prudish and simply did not see behind the story. They only saw the pedophilic Humbert and not what he really is. Today, it’s different: people watch documentaries about Jeffrey Dahmer, who committed terrible acts, but they do not see his deeds, but are interested in why he did them, what his story of suffering is. The point is: I think it is not justified that this book is still banned today.
Chapter 4: Conclusion
There are many books that deserve to be banned, but also many that do not (anymore) deserve it. Of course, everyone has to form their own opinion: Do I think it’s cool that books are banned by the government so that I don’t question them or even do something? You also have to ask yourself questions like: Why was the book banned? Do I think this book really deserves to be banned because of its content? What does this book really want to convey to me? etc. So now I let you, yes you, the reader, think about whether you believe books like “The Anarchist Cookbook,” “The 48 Laws of Power,” and “Lolita” deserve to be banned and thank you for reading to the end.
