I Start Writing My Blogs At 11:20 Because That's Called Living on the Edge

    I never wrote a blog reflecting on my first independent reading choice, so here it goes: Blood Meridian was the weirdest most disgusting book that I have ever read in my life. It's one of those things that gets so blatantly gory that you want to look away, but you don't because you're sitting there thinking "Did that really just happen? How is this author not in a mental institution?". But he's not in a mental institution, so high five on that one, Cormac McCarthy! Luckily, it wasn't the most difficult thing to write an essay about. However, here's the thing that I don't get: When you're looking at various banned book lists, controversy is determined by the use of offensive language, sexual content, the actions of the characters (I'm talking about poetically described mass murders), etc. Well, I will have you know that this book features racism, the "N" word at least 5 times, the sodomizing of dead bodies, and the cutting off of genetalia, scalps, limbs, ears, and anything else gross that you could think of. Now, by no means am I sitting here saying "Ban the book!", so much as I'm kind of just like "...really?". I understand that the gore and violence portrayed by McCarthy goes to serve a large thematic purpose in the novel, but it's just not the kind of thing that I want to read. People all over the nation keep saying things like "Ban Huckleberry Finn, you guys! It makes my kid feel offended", while I'm over here reading about how "two scarlet ropes extended from his headless neck, spewing into the fire", and that's the least of it, because things get pretty rapey in that novel. I understand that we're AP students and we're turning 18 and really there isn't a required filter for school books anymore, but I miss the times where I could read a book for school and be assured that everything in it would be compatible with my 12-year old personality's interest...and that means no potty words, rape, epic torture, over-described murders, etc. Instead I'm just kind of sitting there in class wondering if it's okay to discuss the happenings of my book because I'm so freaked out by them myself.