BOOKREPORT - NAT HENTOFF - THE DAY THEY CAME TO ARREST THE BOOK

BOOKREPORT

AUTHOR: NAT HENTOFF

He is a well-known staff writer for The Village Voice. He is the

author of Jazz Country, I´m Really Dragged but Nothing Gets Me

Down, This School Is Driving Me Crazy and Does This School Have

Capital Punishment

TITLE: THE DAY THEY CAME TO ARREST THE BOOK

SETTINGS: George Mason High School

CHARACTERS:

Barney Hagstrom is 17 years old and editor of the George Mason Standard. He thinks that it isn´t right to remove a book.

Michael Moore is the princial of George Mason High School. He thinks that teenager shouldn´t read violent, immoral or racist books. That´s the reason why he tears out pages of the Bible.

Nora Baines is the history teacher of George Mason High School. She thinks that Huckleberry Finn isn´t a racist book and everybody should read it.

Deirdre Fitzgerald is the librarian. She has the same opinion as Mrs. Baines and Mrs. Crowley.

Maggie Crowley teaches the subject American Problems, which she had created.

Gordon McLean is the black pupil who complaints about Huckleberry Finn because he thinks it is a racist book.

The class of Mrs. Baines have to read Huckleberry Finn. Gordon McLean complaints about that book because he thinks it is racist. His father tells Mr. Moore that the book have to be removed from the classroom and the library. Mrs. Fitzgerald, Mrs. Crowley and Mrs. Baines are against that. A big fight starts at George Mason High School. The problem becomes public and a trial starts. Barney speaks with Mrs. Salters, who was the librarian before Mrs. Fitzgerald. She tells him that Mr. Moore had removed books when she was librarian. He also had teared out pages of the Bible.

Barney writes an article about that and publishes it in the Standard. First the review committee decides that Huckleberry Finn is no longer allowed to use in classwork and in the library it has to be under heavy restrictions. But then four committee members of five decide that the book is allowed to read in class and also in library.