Lord of the Flies, a 1954 novel by William Golding, which is read by most 10th grade classes at TZHS, has been widely challenged and banned from schools over the years. According to the American Library Association, it is in the top ten of most frequently banned and challenged books in the nation. Parents, school administrators and other critics have complained about the language and violence in the novel. Bullying is rampant throughout the book— in fact, it is one of the main plot lines.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding was challenged in the Waterloo Iowa schools in 1992 because of profanity, lurid passages about sex, and statements defamatory to minorities, God, women, and the disabled.
In 2000, it was challenged, but retained on the ninth-grade accelerated English reading list in Bloomfield, NY.
In April 2019, a group called The Florida Citizens Alliance pushed for legislation in Florida to ban approximately 90 books including Lord of The Flies, but were rebuffed by lawmakers who upheld the first amendment. According to the American Library Association, Lord of the Flies is the eighth-most frequently banned and challenged book in the nation.
Sources:
“Banned & Challenged Classics”, American Library Association, March 26, 2013. http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/classics.
Lombardi, Esther. “Why Does Lord of the Flies Continue to Get Banned in Schools?” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 12 Jan. 2019, www.thoughtco.com/lord-of-the-flies-banned-challenged-740596.
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