(no subject)
Vonnegut, too vulgar for teens
Slaughterhouse-5 is isn’t appropriate for school curriculum, say parents.
By, C. William Stolz, Orange CA.
October 28th, 2007y
As an English teacher at Orange Community High School, I find a severe disorder in today’s educational system that allows the prejudices of biased individuals or groups to conspire to eliminate literary works from the public school libraries. Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five was recently challenged to be removed from shelves, because people complained it depicted Anti- Christian beliefs, Nudity, Obscene imagery, was Anti-Patriotic and sympathetic towards the destruction of Germany from WWII. All of the themes that Vonnegut covered were ironically from a first hand account, because Vonnegut was a P.O.W. and had witnessed the many horrors of WWII, shouldn’t this fact be recognized to honor what life changing ideas the author chooses to explore? Vonnegut is neither vulgar or obscene in his style of Dark- Satirical writing and chooses to only embellish where many “Wholesome,” Americans would not normally venture. Vonnegut’s ideas are timeless and should be available to children who ask similar questions relating to morals, sex, life or death, and even war.
Slaughterhouse-5 is isn’t appropriate for school curriculum, say parents.
By, C. William Stolz, Orange CA.
October 28th, 2007y
As an English teacher at Orange Community High School, I find a severe disorder in today’s educational system that allows the prejudices of biased individuals or groups to conspire to eliminate literary works from the public school libraries. Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five was recently challenged to be removed from shelves, because people complained it depicted Anti- Christian beliefs, Nudity, Obscene imagery, was Anti-Patriotic and sympathetic towards the destruction of Germany from WWII. All of the themes that Vonnegut covered were ironically from a first hand account, because Vonnegut was a P.O.W. and had witnessed the many horrors of WWII, shouldn’t this fact be recognized to honor what life changing ideas the author chooses to explore? Vonnegut is neither vulgar or obscene in his style of Dark- Satirical writing and chooses to only embellish where many “Wholesome,” Americans would not normally venture. Vonnegut’s ideas are timeless and should be available to children who ask similar questions relating to morals, sex, life or death, and even war.