To Kill a Mockingbird, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Hate U Give, and Maus. What do all these books have in common? These books have either been banned from school curricula or been challenged for inappropriate subject matter or language. Most recently, on January 10th, a Tennessee school board voted to ban Maus by Art Spiegelman from their 8th-grade curriculum because of profanity and nudity.
Maus is a graphic novel centered around Spiegelman’s parents’ experiences in the Holocaust as Polish Jews surviving in a concentration camp. The two-part series was published in 1986 and 1992. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992 and remains the only graphic novel to have won this prestigious award.
The ten members of the McMinn County School Board in Tennessee unanimously decided to remove Maus for several reasons. First, board members reacted negatively to the nude image of Spiegelman’s mother in a bathtub. They were concerned that the image would be unhealthy for children to see. Additionally, the board members objected to the explicit language used in the novel and felt that students should not be exposed to these obscenities.
However, not everyone in the McMinn County School district agrees with this decision. Several teachers believe that it is important to teach children about the events that occurred during the Holocaust. One assistant principal suggested keeping Maus in the curriculum but redacting the inappropriate language and images. Ultimately, however, the school board made the final decision.
Art Spiegelman is shocked about the banning of Maus and believes that it has more to do with the subject of the book than with the explicit language. In an interview with CNBC, Spiegelman said, “‘I am kind of baffled by this,’” and expressed, “‘I’ve met so many young people who…have learned things from my book.’”
Since the McMinn County School Board’s decision was publicized, Maus’ sales have skyrocketed, reaching the bestseller list more than 30 years after publishing. This is not the first time that a book banning has led to such popularity. Back in 2017, The Hate U Give was banned in a school district located in Texas. Tens of thousands of copies were bought in that same week.
Book banning is a growing trend throughout the United States. Maus is not the first book to be banned in schools and it certainly will not be the last.
