Banned, Challenged and Removed Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The adventures of two boys travelling down the Mississippi River was rejected by librarians in Concord, Massachusetts as being, "rough, coarse and inelegant" and "more suited to the slums than to intelligent, respectable people." To what novel were they referring?

Answer: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" was published in 1885. In a 1905 statement from the Brooklyn Public Library, Mark Twain's classic novel was removed from its shelves in part because "Huck not only itched but scratched" and "said 'sweat' when he should have said 'perspiration.'" Twain's use of racially charged language by some characters has irked some 21st-century readers. According to the American Library Association, the book was the 14th most-challenged book between 2000 and 2009.

2. In Memoirs v. Massachusetts (1966) the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an erotic novel by the English author John Cleland, published in London in 1748, was not obscene. What was the title of Cleland's work?

Answer: Fanny Hill

The original work was published in two volumes and was entitled "Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure". It tells the story of a London prostitute and graphically describes her sexual lifestyle. It was not published legally in the U.S. until 1963 and in 1970 in England.

Memoirs v. Massachusetts was a 1966 landmark decision by the Supreme Court dealing with the 1st Amendment's right to freedom of expression.

3. It is one of the most banned books in schools because of its profanity, racist slurs and a description of rape. To what classic novel am I referring?

Answer: To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee's novel has been challenged and banned in school districts across the country and abroad for being "immoral" and because of its use of racially charged language. As recently as 2013, a school district in Louisiana reinstated the book after a 12-year ban.

It was banned in Lindale, Texas in 1996 because "it conflicted with the values of the community". It was removed from an Ontario, Canada's high school English class because of its racial language.

4. The residents of Kern County, California were displeased with the description of their area and banned a 1939 Pulitzer Prize winning novel for being libelous. What novel was it?

Answer: The Grapes of Wrath

"The Grapes of Wrath" is a classic tale of Dust Bowl living. It was banned and burned in libraries in East St. Louis, Illinois because of "objectionable language not fit for anyone's daughter to read". It was banned in Ireland in 1953.

5. Banned in the U.S. and England after its publication in 1922, "Ulysses" was ruled not obscene by a federal judge in 1933. Who authored "Ulysses"?

Answer: James Joyce

"Ulysses" is the story of a man's journey through Dublin. Over a thousand copies were confiscated and burned by government authorities in the U.S. and England. The novel has since been declared a classic. The book is a modernized version of Homer's "Odyssey".

The United States District Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in a landmark opinion ruled that the language in "Ulysses" was not obscene and was protected by the First Amendment.

James Joyce was himself born in Dublin, Ireland. He is considered by many to be one of the most influential writers of 20th century.

6. What series of books was number one on the American Library Association's list of the most banned and challenged books between 2000 and 2009?

Answer: Harry Potter

J.K. Rowling's series was at the same time among the most popular and among the most banned and challenged novels. It was viewed by some that the series had a satanic theme and violence.

Challenging material is the attempt to have the material removed or restricted. Banning is the actual removal or restriction.

7. The publication of what poetry collection cost Walt Whitman his job when it was published in 1855?

Answer: Leaves of Grass

"Leaves of Grass" was way too descriptive of both heterosexual and homosexual lifestyles for the eyes and ears of the 19th Century.
Whitman lost his job at The Bureau of Indian Affairs after the Secretary read it and deemed it immoral.

Nearly every American library refused to purchase a copy.

8. Kurt Vonnegut's novel "Slaughterhouse-Five", based on the author's own personal experiences, has been banned repeatedly for profane language and violence. What experiences did Vonnegut draw upon?

Answer: prisoner of war in WWII

The American Library Association reports that school districts across America have banned 'Slaughterhouse-Five" for the book's "explicit sexual scenes, violence and obscene language". In 2011 it was declared "incompatible with biblical principles" in some "Bible Belt" communities.

"Bible Belt", as the term implies, refers to communities, mainly in the southern parts of the US, that practice their religion more fervently than others.

9. "A Farewell to Arms" is based on the author's own experiences as an ambulance driver on the Italian front during WW I. Name the author.

Answer: Ernest Hemingway

Not surprisingly, Hemingway's 1929 novel was banned in Italy for nearly 20 years for its depiction of Italy's defeat at the Battle of Caporetto. It was also banned and burnt by the Nazis for being a "corrupt foreign influence". The police in Boston declared it "salacious" even before it was published!

10. What novel, published in 1951, told a coming-of-age story of Holden Caulfield, a nascent teenager dealing with the apprehension of the years ahead?

Answer: The Catcher in the Rye

J.D. Salinger's book became required reading in high schools across America. It told the story of Holden Caufield, who after being expelled from prep school spends two days in New York City. There he encounters all that is part of adult life, the good and bad.

According to the American Library Association "Catcher in the Rye" was the 19th most challenged and banned book between 2000 and 2009. Due to its use of profane language, blasphemy and sexual references, it was removed from the high school syllabus in Issaquah, Washington for being laced with profanities and "part of an overall communist plot".

Source: Author ncterp

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Censorship has caused the banning, challenging and removal of some of our greatest novels both in the U.S. and abroad. This quiz is about a few of these monumental works of art many were deprived of.

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