This theme was the most frequently occurring within this concept, appearing in 10 (21 percent) challenged books’ statements and 47 (19 percent) of the unchallenged. Challenges likewise addressed this theme, often by rejecting the challenged book’s perspective. One reader of To Kill a Mockingbird appreciated its “lessons on courage, racial prejudice, and fear of the different” (BTI II). Burress notes, conversely, that between 1965 and 1977, To Kill a Mockingbird was among those opposed specifically “because [it] depicted minority group people in ways that constituted a vigorous protest against racism.”28 The reader who contributed The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to the exhibit discussed the “anti-racist message of the book” and Huck’s ability to “transcend the awful ignorance of his time” (BTI II), while the frequent modern challenges to the book on the basis of racism bespeak a very different interpretation of its relationship to the value of diversity.29
Relationships between Individuals
These books resonated with their contributors for their insight into interpersonal relationships. The theme encompasses both the prescriptive (how people should behave toward and interact with one another) and the descriptive (depictions of warm or appealing interpersonal relationships that the contributors found inspiring).
[Discussing I and Though] Our most human relationships are not those in which we exchange value, but rather those in which we share our being. (BTI IV)*
Big Fish is a story of a great life lived and a great way to die, the bonding of a father and son and the love of a good tale. (BTI V)
Fast Food Nation inspired me to walk into my bank and speak to the tellers, to write letters instead of e-mail and to discover and patronize “Mom and Pop” restaurants and shops. I feel like I am becoming a part of my community. (BTI III)
A greater percentage of statements referring to challenged books (10 percent, 5 statements) than those referring to unchallenged ones (6 percent, 14 statements) incorporated this theme. Both BTI statements on The Analects of Confucius (contributed twice) referred to interpersonal relationships in terms of the interconnectedness of individuals in human society (BTI II, IV). As mentioned above, leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, who interpreted Confucian philosophy differently, criticized the Analects for the model of interpersonal relationships and social structure that Confucianism promoted. This theme did not, however, emerge among the challenges to the other books whose BTI statements incorporated it.
Concept 3: Individual in Society
The next group of statements also considered a form of relationships, discussing their books’ perspectives on the interaction between the individual and society. Some of these books provided models of independent thinking that the contributors cited as important to their own ethical or intellectual development. Others inspired readers by perceptively criticizing the dominant culture. As with many of the other categories, these statements ranged from very specific to general: Some contributors remarked on books that opened their eyes to a single societal failing (such as racism, a recurrent example), while others extrapolated social critique as a virtue in itself, praising books that inculcated in them the intellectual habit of independent thinking.
Anti-Authoritarianism or Independent Thought
Statements with this theme discussed books that either modeled anti-authoritarianism or independent thinking or encouraged the contributor to embrace those traits. Any statement implying that there might be virtue to be found in nonconformity or rebellion fell into this category.
[Don Quixote] teaches me that everything is subjectively perspectival and temporary; nothing is permanent or absolutely objective…. This baroque lesson might cause some trepidation; but also joy, for everything becomes then a matter of perception: a possibility, a choice. Like Don Quixote, I too choose my perspective, my truth. (BTI I)*
[Commodify Your Dissent] encourages readers to be enlightened consumers and to resist corporatization of the mind (BTI IV).
Reading West [Democracy Matters] teaches me how to grow habits of critical engagement. You learn to think for yourself, to render authorities subject to your own suspicion, and to work toward the awakening of your own soul. (BTI VII)
This theme appeared at a much greater rate in statements referring to challenged books (13 percent, 6 statements) than in those referring to unchallenged books (2 percent, 4 statements). Three of the six challenged books (The Castle, Don Quixote, and On the Origin of Species) have been officially banned by either an agency of government or by the Catholic Church.30 As official suppression is itself a stark demonstration of authoritarianism, those bans are considered the converse of this theme. The case of Don Quixote could not be more clear a contrast: While its contributor emphasized the value of subjectivity and personal choice, in 1981 the Chilean military junta banned the book “as subversive because it supports individual freedom and attacks authority.”31
Social Critique
Statements with this theme praised books that evaluated society or social conditions. Contributors found them inspirational either because they opened their eyes to specific failings in the world around them or because they taught the habit of critical examination of one’s world. These inspirational statements framed the social critique in terms of such topics as war (All Quiet on the Western Front, BTI II); politics and science (Cat’s Cradle, BTI I, V); education (Émile, BTI V); and race (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, BTI II; Invisible Man, BTI I, II, IV; and Native Son, BTI II). A small number of contributors chose books that critiqued their milieus but—unlike the majority of books with this theme—drew positive or optimistic conclusions. Many of those statements described their books as depicting examples of successful social progress and indicated that they inspired their contributors to believe in the possibility of further such progress.
Cat’s Cradle is the ultimate exposition of the uneasy balance between the seemingly pure motives of science and the naively corrupt purposes technocrats, politicians, and militarists apply to the products of science. (BTI I)*
Woody Guthrie’s Bound for Glory raised my social consciousness several notches when it was thrust upon me by a fellow soldier 45 years ago in California … I remain a lover of his music and a person concerned with social justice and the way the poor are treated. (BTI VII)