Dissenting Texts: The USA Outlaws Classics
By Sabine Oelmann
America Ditches Timeless Masterpieces
In the United States of America, 2025: Schools and libraries across certain states are removing or restricting books due to opposition from individuals who claim the books are inappropriate for children. These books are works that delve into difficult, thought-provoking topics, depict marginalized voices, and question the status quo. PEN America records over 10,000 instances of book banning in 29 states and 220 school districts, with Florida and Iowa leading the charge. Books that most frequently find themselves on the chopping block include those discussing race, LGBTQ+ individuals, sexuality, gender, history, and the country's past.
Dissenting author Daniel Kehlmann finds the term "fascism" fitting for the United States under Trump, stating in an interview with the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" that life in America has long been asymmetrical: "If you were black, you lived under a police state where you were constantly afraid of being shot if stopped in your car. If you were white, you didn't have this problem." Kehlmann, who resides in Berlin and New York, asserts that people from South America are now being "hunted with deep racist hate energy."
Organizations such as PEN America and the American Library Association closely monitor and combat book bans. Among the currently banned books are:
The Handmaid's Tale - The Testimony of a Handmaid
A dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood from 1985, this work is set in the United States of America following radioactive, chemical, and bacterial contamination that leads to sterility. A Christian fundamentalist group stages a coup, results in the suspension of the constitution, and a state of emergency, during which newspapers are censored, roadblocks are set up, and a theocratic dictatorship with strict rules, controlled public movement, and surveillance by police and secret agents is established. Women's roles are redefined, and they are forbidden from owning property and must subordinate themselves to men in state affairs. A handmaid, one of the few fertile women, carries a child for a commander and his supposedly infertile wife before being separated during an escape attempt.
Animal Farm - The Farm of Beasts
This 1945 fable by George Orwell tells the story of animal rebellion against their human overlords on a farm, leading to their own tyranny after the founders' deaths. The novel is interpreted as a metaphor for the history of the Soviet Union and is applicable to any oppressive regime since 1945.
1984
In another work by George Orwell, life in a totalitarian surveillance state in 1984 is depicted. Winston Smith, a low-ranking party member in a fictional England, desires privacy and seeks to discover the truth about his society's past, despite constant surveillance. His defiance against the system leads to his capture, torture, and brainwashing.
The Diary of Anne Frank
Originally a school reading staple and world literature mainstay, Anne Frank's diary was written from June 12, 1942, to August 1, 1944, while hiding in the annex of a building in Amsterdam to evade deportation and murder by the Nazis. The diary is translated into over 70 languages and included in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register.
The Hunger Games - Catching Fire
This bestselling young adult series by Suzanne Collins was published between 2008 and 2025 and sold over 100 million copies worldwide, with the first three books being turned into movies. The story is narrated in the present tense by the teenaged protagonist Katniss Everdeen, who reflects on her past, present, and future experiences.
The Fault in Our Stars - The Fault Within Us
Published in January 2012, this young adult novel by John Green immediately reached number one on the New York Times bestseller list. Set in Chicago, the narrative centers around 16-year-old Hazel Grace, who battles thyroid cancer, meets 17-year-old Gus, a leukemia survivor, and deals with the inevitability of death.
To Kill a Mockingbird - The Mockingbird's Executioner
Set in the American South during the 1930s, Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel tells the story of 8-year-old Scout Finch and her brother as they witness the prejudice and racism that tear their idyllic hometown apart. Scout's father, a lawyer, defends Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman.
Nineteen Minutes
Jodi Picoult's novel tracks the aftermath of a school shooting in New Hampshire and questions the motivations of the perpetrator while exploring themes of guilt and justice.
The year 2024 saw a surge in book bans and challenges, with the most common reasons being claims of obscenity for minors, LGBTQIA+ themes, and topics related to race, racism, equity, and social justice. In contrast, leaders such as Friedrich Merz, visiting the United States during Trump's presidency, have left books behind at the Presidential Guest House, highlighting the importance of free thinking and open dialogue.
- The USA's schools and libraries, within specific states, are perpetually restricting or removing books, with over 10,000 incidents recorded by PEN America in 29 states and 220 school districts, primarily in Florida and Iowa.
- Dissenting author Daniel Kehlmann, residing in Berlin and New York, considers the term "fascism" appropriate for the United States under Trump, citing asymmetrical living conditions for blacks and whites, where the former lived under constant fear of police brutality.
- PEN America and the American Library Association are active in monitoring and combating book bans in the USA.
- Among the currently banned books are classics such as 'The Handmaid's Tale', 'Animal Farm', '1984', 'The Diary of Anne Frank', 'The Hunger Games - Catching Fire', 'The Fault in Our Stars', 'To Kill a Mockingbird', and 'Nineteen Minutes'.
- 'The Handmaid's Tale', a dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood, is set in a post-apocalyptic USA where a theocratic dictatorship is established, and women's roles are severely redefined.
- 'Animal Farm', by George Orwell, is an allegory for the history of the Soviet Union and can be applied to any oppressive regime since 1945.
- '1984' by George Orwell depicts life in a totalitarian surveillance state in 1984 where defiance against the system is met with capture, torture, and brainwashing.
- 'To Kill a Mockingbird', winner of the Pulitzer Prize, highlights the prejudice and racism that tore an idyllic American town apart during the 1930s, with the protagonist's father defending a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman.
