QUICK SUMMARY
Many people have either read or heard of the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The book follows Jay Gatsby, a man who desires one thing in life: to be reunited with the love he lost five years earlier, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby’s quest leads him from poverty to wealth, into the arms of his beloved, and eventually to death.
To learn more about the book please visit The Great Gatsby link or visit your local book store or library
WHY WAS THIS BOOK BANNED?
Why do books get banned? Click this link to find out.
The Great Gatsby was banned at challenged at the Baptist College in Charleston, SC in 1987 because of “language and sexual references in the book” (Association). In the book, when Nick just met Tom and Daisy Buchanan their friend Miss Baker was at their house. Nick describes Miss Baker, “I looked at Miss Baker wondering what it was she ‘got done.’ I enjoyed looking at her. She was a slender, small- breasted girl, with an erect carriage which she accentuated by throwing her body backward at the shoulders like a young cadet. Her grey sun-strained eyes looked back at me with polite reciprocal curiosity out of a wan, charming discontented face.” (pg. 13-14). This shows the sexual references in the book.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Scott Fitzgerald did not win any literary award for his work. He died in 1940 believing he was a failure. Now his book is known as the Great American Novel. 
The Great Gatsby tells how people acted and what it was like in New York during the Jazz Age. It gives high school students a reality check that being rich won’t make you happy. You have to have love and real friends to be truly fulfilled in life. A great example of this is at the end at his funeral, none of his “friends” that come to his parties showed up. He was so popular because of the extravagant parties and free alcohol. Alcohol was banned at this time, so Gatsby made all his money bootlegging it. This novel teaches valuable life lessons and needs to be in middle school and high school English curriculum.
Opinions?
During any time or in any place, a book could be banned or challenged. I believe that The Great Gatsby should not be banned. This book was banned for moral reasons. I believe that the book teaches valuable historical facts about the Jazz Age. High school students that read this story learn more about this era and how the people act in it than a history book. This is my opinion on the book and not everyone agrees with me. So I want to know what you, the readers, think. Do you think it should have been banned during the time period it was? Should it still be banned today?
More Information
Visit this site for more information about how books are banned or challenged
Works Cited
Association, American Library. Banned and/or Challenged Books from the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century. n.d. 14 March 2016. <http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=bbwlinks&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=136590>.
Boundless.com. Boundless.com. n.d. 14 March 2016. <https://www.boundless.com/u-s-history/textbooks/boundless-u-s-history-textbook/from-the-new-era-to-the-great-depression-1920-1933-24/a-culture-of-change-187/the-jazz-age-1031-1995/>.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York City: Imprint New York : Collectors Reprints, 1925.
Harcourt, Houghton Mifflin. CliffsNotes. n.d. 14 March 2016. <http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/g/the-great-gatsby/the-great-gatsby-at-a-glance>.
History, The People. The Year 1987 From The People History. n.d. 14 March 2016. <http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1987.html>.