The Blog
Defending the Right to Read—Why Students Should Read The Kite Runner and The Bluest Eye
Over the past few months news media have overflowed with discussions about our right to exercise personal freedoms in the United States. This week, national Banned Books Week reminds us to recognize one of our most basic rights—the right to read, which is actually our right to think. Who we are intellectually depends on what we put into our minds, and reading is an important part of that nurture. To tell each other what we can and cannot read is an appalling violation of individual freedoms, so thank you to the American Library Association, the Association of American Publishers, the National Council of Teachers of English and other organizations for giving us Banned Books Week to remind us of the disservice done by book banning and to celebrate our freedom to read.
As my personal way of promoting the freedom to read, I decided to find out which of my favorite books have been challenged by school boards, teachers, parents, or communities. I didn’t have to look far. Among the ALA’s 10 most challenged books of 2014 were two books I love: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.
The Kite Runner is a beautiful story of life in Afghanistan before and after the rise of the Taliban. Hosseini is gifted in his ability to convey the striking landscapes of the country and the exotic customs of the people. His characters are well rounded, fully developed individuals who embody the best and the worst in all of us. Amir and his father, Baba, maintain a high standard of living, cared for by their servants, Ali and his son, Hassan. Ali and Hassan are Hazaras, which means they are an ethnic minority and don’t have the same social standing as Amir and Baba. Nevertheless, Amir and Hassan are friends and spend much time together, especially in one of their favorite activities, kite fighting.
During one of their kite fights, as Hassan runs into a secluded area of the city to retrieve the kite that Amir has defeated and sent floating to the ground, he’s attacked by a gang of ruffians and raped. This scene is the main reason so much controversy has arisen about the book. In 2014, a challenge at the Waukesha, Wisconsin high school claimed the book “desensitizes students to violence.” In 2009, 2012, and 2013 high school communities challenged the book in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Arkansas because of male-on-male rape and vulgar language.
Yes, this is a harsh scene, but it’s crucial to the plot, and if you throw out the book because of it, you miss so many chances to discuss other themes that Hosseini develops with great skill, including friendship, loyalty, betrayal, cowardice, class divisions, courage, and redemption. To prevent high school students from learning about Afghanistan before the rise of terrorism and from exploring universal themes though such a well-written story is an injustice.
Most of the challenges to The Bluest Eye also concern sexual themes. 
The novel does contain sex scenes, one of which involves a father raping his daughter, but these scenes are not the main focus. The Bluest Eye is the story of Pecola Breedlove, a young black girl who is struggling to find a sense of identity and self-esteem in a world of poverty and violence. Her parents fight constantly, and she thinks that if she were prettier, they would like each other and her better. Because she believes beauty is in the appearance of white girls, she wishes for blue eyes.
Through this poignant story, Morrison, a Nobel Prize winner in Literature, examines ideas of beauty, where we get these ideas, how cultural influences like racism force young girls to internalize these ideas, and the sometimes devastating consequences they cause. I think the beauty myth is a particularly important theme for high school students to discuss, as are the consequences of racism and domestic violence.
Yet The Bluest Eye is challenged in a high school somewhere nearly every year. In Oklahoma, Colorado, Ohio (where the story takes place), Connecticut, Indiana, and other states, protestors decry the book’s sexual and violent content, profanity, and age-inappropriateness. One school board member said the book had socialist-communist leanings.
To battle such narrow assessments of good literature, read a banned or challenged book this week. You can find the top 10 banned books of 2014 at the Banned Books Week website. You’ll be glad you did.
Tags: Banned Books Week, Books, novels
Posts from Late Last Night Books- Untitled November 10, 2020 Sally Whitney
- THE DAY I MET BETTY SMITH September 10, 2020 Sally Whitney
- A GATHERING OF BETTER ANGELS May 10, 2020 Sally Whitney
- SHEDDING LIGHT ON WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING March 10, 2020 Sally Whitney
- IF ANYONE ASKS, SAY I DIED FROM THE HEARTBREAKING BLUES (Available Feb. 14, 2020) January 10, 2020 Sally Whitney
18 Comments
Two great reads! Thanks for being a part of banned book week!
Thanks for the opportunity to participate, Sheila. I’m happy to support the freedom to read in any way I can.
It is unfortunate that the fears of some threaten the rights of others. Your post did a great job of highlighting the issues. Thanks for sharing…and I am definitely opposed to Book Banning!
The world needs more people like you, Laurel-Rain, to speak up against book banning. Like I said in my post, limiting the books we can read limits our ability to think.
Excellent post! I, too, am a huge fan of The Kite Runner and Toni Morrison’s work. I haven’t read The Bluest Eye yet – perhaps that should be my pick for the week. The argument about desensitization to violence is so weak in light of what American children see when they watch TV or movies or video games. At least in books, especially the ones you review here, readers explore the effects of violence. More discussion about difficult topics, not less, is what we need to resolve the issues that fragment our society. I found you through Book Journey – thanks for joining in the Banned Book festivities!
I had the same reaction to the desensitization to violence comment that you did, Julia. It almost made me laugh if it hadn’t been so sad. And I totally agree that we need to talk more, not less, about difficult topics. Parents should see these books as opportunities to open these discussions with their teenagers.
I’m so happy that you pointed out these two books and shared what made them meaningful to you and also explained more about their content. In my opinion, an opportunity for parents to read and discuss with their children. And if the parents are still so uncomfortable (if they read before their children), request a different book. A school will always offer an alternative. Time with children is so fleeting. Why not take the chance to work through difficult issues together? JMHO. LOL
I wish I had space to talk about more banned books, Kay. So many terrific books have been challenged for the most questionable reasons. We should be grateful to the teachers and librarians who teach them and put them on the shelves anyway. And to the parents who take time to talk about them with their children.
To pretend that our high-school aged kids don’t already know much more about life than some of us give them credit for is to live with your head in the sand. Rape is a reality of the world. Both books offer a good chance to talk about rape, violence and the need to demean the victim.
You make a good point, Lisa, about the type of discussions about rape that these books can foster. But as we all know, if you don’t read the book, you may not have the discussion. And often, teenagers know about problems in the world, but they need a reason to discuss them.
I haven’t read either of these books but after reading your comments, I am very interested! I love Banned Book Week because it raises awareness! I’m always curious to see what books are banned and the reasons. Then, I like to read those books to see what all the fuss is about! Thanks for this great post 🙂
I agree Banned Books Week is great for raising awareness. I hope you’ll read The Kite Runner and The Bluest Eye. Their stories are very different, but both are excellent. I think you’ll enjoy them both.
I have added both books to my TBR.
I’m so glad you did. I think you’ll like them both.
Does Khaled Hosseini and Toni Morrison use the same theme of betrayal?
The Kite Runner is definitely about betrayal. I’d say that’s one of its main themes. But I don’t recall that betrayal plays an important part in The Bluest Eye. Maybe you can refresh my memory about that, Diana.
I do not believe in banning books just because of a difficult theme. People should be free to choose to read whatever they wish. Think about that statement. “…Free to choose to read whatever they wish.”. That being said, ” I don’t think children should be “required” to read a book that deals with sexual violence or bad language. By it being required, it takes away freedom. In high school, the biology class my school offered was “required” to dissect a dead cat. Cats were and are still beloved family members to me. I could not stomach the idea of cutting up a cat. Fortunately, my school made an allowance for me to take a different class. There are so many books to choose from, I believe we can teach our children about the themes of betrayal, and redemption without resorting to force them to read about forcible anal rape, graphic depictions of incest and other violence. Just because they can be exposed to so much violence through video games or movies, etc., does that mean we must require it? If you think all literature is acceptable for young people, doesn’t that mean we should “require” schools to make available magazines such as Playboy or Hustler? Have we become so innured to sex and violence that we must require our young ones to read about it – because “they are going to hear about it any way”? We arrest people who have photos on their computers depicting sex with minors, but it’s okay if they just read about it? As a society, we either have standards, or we don’t. Personally, I would rather not force my children to learn all the details about incest,and anal rape when they are adults and have the mental maturity to handle it.
Of course not all literature is acceptable for young people, but if a book is recommended by a teacher, I would still urge you to evaluate the whole book before throwing it out. Talk to your child’s teacher if you have objections and find out why the teacher thinks the book is worthwhile. The importance of ideas presented in the book, the artistry of the writing, and other merits as a piece of literature may outweigh a single objectionable scene or plot element. Often there isn’t another book that has the same elements of ideas and art presented as well. You can also discuss the book with your child at home and add your interpretations and explanations of the themes and characters. It could provide an opportunity to share your values with your child in ways you otherwise wouldn’t have had.