Literature Quiz: Banned Books: 10 Questions | Specific Subjects & Themes

Answer: The Three Musketeers

'I Am The Cheese' has repeatedly been suppressed on political grounds, and, in one school district, on sexual grounds: the offending word was 'breasts'. 'Forever Amber' and 'The Color Purple' were both banned on sexual grounds.

Answer: Richard Adams

Judy Blume's young adult novels 'Forever', 'Tiger Eyes', and 'Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret' was banned on charges of sexuality. 'Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret' was said to be 'built around two themes: sex and anti-Christian behavior.' Why, I have no idea. Walt Whitman's 'Leaves of Grass' and James Joyce's 'Ulysses' were banned on sexual grounds.

Answer: The Giver

'Harry Potter' books have been banned in numerous libraries and schools because of their theme of witchcraft. 'The Last Temptation of Christ' was banned because it portrayed Jesus Christ in as being fully human and as such subject to all human temptations.

The Talmud was banned although it does not contain creation stories. Lois Lowry's excellent Utopian novel for young adults, 'The Giver' was indeed banned, but because of its themes of infanticide and the killing of people no longer contributing to society.

Answer: Black Beauty

This is one of my favorite banned book stories. 'Black Beauty' was banned in South Africa during apartheid, a period of extreme racial segregation. It was banned because 'nothing black could be beautiful'. Apparently this also applied to remarkably sentient horses.

Answer: The Diary of Anne Frank

Another one of my favorites. Though all of these books are 'real downers', 'The Diary of Anne Frank' is the only book I know to have been banned as such. 'The Color Purple' was banned on religious and sexual charges, and 'The Bluest Eye' was banned on sexual grounds.

Answer: Twelfth Night

Other banned Shakespeare plays include 'Hamlet', 'Macbeth', 'King Lear', and 'The Merchant of Venice'. The first three were banned because of Shakespeare's use of sexual innuendo, death and violence (I've got some news for you: they're tragedies). 'The Merchant of Venice' was banned because of the portrayal of the Jewish villain, Shylock.

Answer: All Quiet on the Western Front

The Bible has been banned in various schools for being a religious text, and 'The Communist Manifesto' and 'Animal Farm' have both been banned for political reasons. 'All Quiet on the Western Front' (originally written in German) was banned by the Nazis as it might give Germans the wrong idea about war. Apparently it worked.

Answer: Fahrenheit 451

This one is incredible. Not only was a book about banning and censoring books banned, it was also censored! Publishers removed 'four letter' words before printing-without informing Bradbury of the changes. However, these editions were removed from library shelves and replaced with uncensored copies when a very annoyed Bradbury got wind of them.

Answer: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Okay, so it was banned in China. But still.

Answer: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

Yes. I know that one just caps it. It's unbelieveable. As for the others, 'The Lorax' was banned because it 'criminalizes the foresting industry' (that may have been the effect Seuss was going for) and 'Annie On My Mind', an excellent young adult book about two homosexual women, was banned because it 'portrayed homosexuality as being normal'. Ooh, scary.