Final Project Draft

What’s scarier than censorship?

The novel “IT” is all about fear, and the many ways in which it manifests itself. Author Stephen King holds nothing back in his gory, vulgar depictions of racism, homophobia, murder, suicide, antisemitism and more. 

Speaker: 16 year old AP Lang student

Occasion: Banned books week, beginning of Autumn, Halloween approaching 

Audience: Mrs.Schafer’s AP Lang students/my classmates 

Purpose: To poke fun at the censorship of literature and show why it’s so ridiculous. 

Subject: The censorship of literature, specifically in terms of Stephen King’s “IT”

Tone: Sarcastic, facetious, annoyed, satirical

The video begins with videos of waterfalls and other peaceful scenery with the title, “The Following is an Entirely Accurate and not at all Facetious Representation of the World”. It goes through cheesy stock photos and nature scenery for roughly 30 seconds before the video stops and cuts to an error screen. The music turns scary and cuts to scenes that I actually film. It’s filmed like an apocalyptic blog— Blaire Witch style. I’m not sure who will star in it yet, but they’ll start off in the dark, clutching a copy of “IT” and whispering to the camera. They’ll give a small summary of the novel and why it was banned. They’ll also explain that they have to hide the book because it’s highly illegal to read it ever since it was banned. Suddenly, there’s a door creaking; in walks someone in a Pennywise mask, who forcefully rips the book away from the lead and knocks the camera over. The screen cuts to black and restates the quote that I opened my first blog post with: “What cannot be said above all must not be silenced but written.” -Jacques Derrida 

*here’s my draft for the beginning! 

Assuming the Persona of the Opposition

Hey everyone, it’s Chelsea! Welcome back to my blog “Christian Mothers Against Literature”*. This week we’re going to be discussing the novel “IT” by Stephen King. When my little girl Rebecca came home from the 11th grade with this book in her back, I was immediately put off by the menacing font in which the title is printed; but I could never have imagined how vulgar this book truly is. It talks about demons, make-believe deities, suicide, premarital sex, polyamory, murder, homosexuality, and more. Within these 1300 pages, you can find every single sin and every single swear word imaginable to man; this novel is in no way appropriate for children— or for people of any age, really!
The biggest issue with the novel is the depiction of a group sex scene between the seven “losers”, which is supposedly meant to “seal their bond” and assure that they would all return to fight the demon in the future should it ever reappear. But the intention of the scene doesn’t matter— child porn is child porn. Even if they had been 7 consenting adults, an orgy is an orgy! It is so vile and unnecessary, it’s uncanny that anything so horrid could ever be dreamed up, written and/or published. It’s even more uncanny to consider the fact that this wretched display is only the tip of the very disturbing iceberg that is Stephen King’s “IT”. **
The next major problem with this text is the blasphemous depiction of good vs evil as a demon clown and an ancient turtle. Maturin the turtle is the guardian of peace and goodness in this ridiculous universe, and it’s revealed by Pennywise that he is long dead. It doesn’t take much interpretation on the readers part to determine that this is alluding to the idea that god is dead and the devil is among us— and this satanic theme is not one that should be presented to children or popularized in any form of media. These make believe deities are a direct attack on the church, and it’s extremely disquieting to a good Christian mother like myself.
Beyond that, the novel tries to humanize sins such as homosexuality or suicide by victimizing the people who partake in them and forcing the reader to empathize despite their choices. The normalization of these acts could potentially cause them to grow or spread, and God only knows what effect that would have on humanity. What chaos would ensue! King also curses like a sailor throughout the entirety of the novel; my eyes have never been exposed to such a vulgar text, from slurs to just swearing for the sake of it; you name the cuss word, it’s in the book. It’s simply inappropriate for young eyes, and that’s the end of it.
Overall, the novel “IT” by Stephen King is simply meaningless, vulgar horror for the sake of being scary. The unnecessary inclusion of blasphemous deities, polyamorous child porn, ridiculous amounts of cursing and unforgivable sins pushes the book over the edge and leaves no choice but to ban it. It is my firm belief as a mother and as a woman of God that no human being, especially children, should ever be exposed to such a vile text under any circumstances. I pray that it is removed from shelves so I may never worry about it falling into my poor daughter’s hands again. Thank you for reading, see you next week when we’ll be discussing “To Kill a Mockingbird”.

*disclaimer: this is in no way intended as an attack on Christianity, as I myself am Christian and so are the majority of people in my family. I simply made he post from the perspective of an over the top or radical Christian because upon researching the ban of the novel, this is exactly the kind of person who challenged the book in real life.
**disclaimer 2: despite the satirical nature of this blog post, I absolutely agree with the idea that the sex scene between the young losers was vile and unnecessary. It served no rhetorical purpose and came off as creepy and gross. The other two points I focused on, I brought up with a more humorous tone, but this one is actually genuinely disturbing and a valid argument against the book. I still don’t think it should be banned, but if there was ever a reason to ban a novel, I believe this would be it.

Rhetorical Scene

“Birds flocked across the sky, squalling harshly. Not a dozen or two dozen; for a moment the sky was so dark with birds that they blogged out the sun. Something else crashed through the bushes, and then more things. Richie wherled, his heart thudding painfully in his chest, and saw something that looked like an antelope flash by heading southeast.

Something’s going to happen. And they know it.

The birds passed, presumably alighting somewhere en masse farther south. Another animal crashed by then... and another. Then there was a silence except for the steady rumble of the Kenduskeag. The silence had a waiting quality about it, a pregnant quality Richie didn’t like. He felt the hairs shifting and trying to stand up on the back of his neck and he groped for Mike’s hand... Mike’s hand tightened on his and he realized that now the silence had been broken. There was a steady low vibration- he could feel it more than hear it, working against the tight flesh of his eardrums, buzzing the tiny bones that conducted the sound. It grew steadily. It had no tone, it simply was a tuneless, soulless sound. He groped for the tree they stood near and as his hand touched it, cupped the curve of the bole, he could feel the vibration caught inside. At the same moment he realized he could feel it in his feet, a steady tingling that went up his ankles and calves to his knees, turning his tendons into tuning forks. 

It grew. And grew. 

It was coming out of the sky... the sun was a molten coin burning a circle in the low-hanging overcast, sourrounded by a fairy-ring of moisture. Below it, the verdant green slash that was the Barrens lay utterly still. Richie thought he understood what this vision was: they were about to see the coming of It...

It! He screamed at Mike, in an ecstasy of terror now- never in his life, before or after, would he feel any emotion so deeply, be so overwhelmed by feeling. It! It! It!” (King, 766-768).

This scene is being described by a narrator who is neutral and uninvolved in the story; this means that it’s an unbiased description or the events taking place in this part of the book. The primary focus of this section is on Mike Hanlon and Richie Tozier, two of the main characters, as well as IT itself. Mike is a black man living in Derry, Maine. He was the member of the “losers club” (Mike, Richie, Stan, Beverly, Bill, Ben and Eddie) to recognize that IT was back, and one of the first losers to see IT in person (IT appeared to him as a giant bird as a child, which ties into the purpose of birds appearing in this scene). It’s fitting that he is such a pivotal part of this scene in which IT arises. Richie is a famous radio show host who fled from Derry and forgot about the whole incident almost immediately after the losers fought IT in the 50’s. It makes sense for him to be witnessing the rise of IT, however, because he was the only loser who did not believe that IT was real. Richie thought he was going crazy, until the fear he feels in this scene makes him realize how painfully serious the situation was. The vocabulary in this scene is the strongest builder of pathos; a specific example of this is the use of the word “pregnant”. It seems like a normal descriptor upon first glance, but King’s repeated use of this term in the most disquieting scenes in the book builds an extreme sense of discomfort in the reader every time the word is used. In particular, the connotations King builds with this word tie back to the chapter “Stanley Uris Takes A Bath”, in which Stan commits Suicide upon hearing the news that IT has returned. The chapter begins by describing Stan and Patty’s difficulty conceiving a child, and ends with Patty’s discovery of her husband’s dead body. In this scene, one of the most disturbing lines is, “The gashes glared red-purple in the harsh white light. She thought the exposed tendons and ligaments looked like cuts of cheap beef. A drop of water gathered at the lip of the shiny chromium faucet. It grew far. Grew pregnant.”  It also ties, later in the book, to the literal pregnancy of IT. “Whatever It is beyond what we can see, this representation is at least symbolically correct: It’s female, and It’s pregnant... It was pregnant then and none of us knew except Stan, oh Jesus Christ YES, it was Stan, Stan, not Mike, Stan who understood...” (King, 1065). This scene towards the end of the book ties the other two scenes described together and releases the building sense of discomfort; in my eyes, these three scenes are the most critical in the building of King’s appeal to pathos throughout this novel. All three spark fear and discomfort and uphold them throughout the entirety of the book. This is what ultimately makes the book so scary; it’s cyclical, everything is interwoven in a rhetorical manner that consistently overwhelms the reader with fear.

*EDIT 9/15: I just realized that I hit save instead of publish! My bad! 

APUSH Connection

The novel “IT” by Stephen King could be connected to many different APUSH themes, from identity to politics & power, but in the end the book was banned for violent and discriminatory content, which leads me to believe it best fits with the ideas, beliefs & culture theme. “IT” takes place in the 50s and in the 80s, both times that were plagued by racism and homophobia. These ideas of hatred and fear are extremely prevalent throughout the book.
For example, page 451 of the novel describes the burning down of the Black Spot, which was originally a safe haven for Derry’s citizens of color. It says, “‘He didn’t have to be south of the Mason-Dixon Line to hate [black people]. He just did’” (King, 451). It continues by describing the town’s small scale version of the KKK, known as the Maine Legion of White Decency. This ties to the APUSH theme of ideas, beliefs and culture because it unabashedly portrays a highly controversial and offensive belief system that used to, and still does, exist. Another example of controversial and offensive ideas/beliefs shown in the novel comes from the very first chapter, which is all about the brutal murder of a gay man. One line in particular that resonates with this theme is, “STICK NAILS IN EYES OF ALL F*GGOTS (FOR GOD)” (King, 29). This is one of the tamer phrases graffitied onto the walls of Derry buildings, and one of the less gruesome lines describing the homophobia that Derry’s LGBT community suffered through. The book also deals with antisemitism and other horrific belief systems that ultimately lead to the book being taken off the shelf in Nebraska. “Someone just told someone else that I’m Jewish, I’m nothing but a big nose [redacted] [redacted]... we laugh at them, we laugh and laugh and laugh” (King, 43). Fill in the blanks; clearly in his endeavors to describe discrimination faced by minorities in Derry, Stephen King does not shy away from the use of slurs— but that doesn’t mean they need to appear on this blog. Truly, some lines from the book are so vulgar and awful that one could argue that they should never be repeated— but it’s better to be exposed to them in a safe and controlled environment than it is in real life.
Overall, the novel “IT” by Stephen King is vulgar and unashamed in its portrayal of bigotry and hate crime, but that’s what makes it so real— and that’s what connects it so strongly the the APUSH theme of ideas, beliefs & culture. The different ideologies and prejudices expressed through a multitude of characters are truly disturbing, but they are so crucial to understanding American history and the biases that have stuck with us to this very day. There are countless examples of racism, homophobia, antisemitism and hate crime littered throughout every time period of this country’s past, and it’s so important that we as a nation are reminded of these things so we can avoid them in the future.

Questions

After reading the first 100 pages of “IT”, it is blatantly clear why parents would be concerned about the content within these pages— before the end of chapter 3, the book has already tackled the issues of homophobia, anti-semitism, suicide,  murder, alcohol abuse and more... That’s less than 1/10th of what’s in this 1100 page book! On top of that, these issues aren’t exactly tackled carefully or sweetly— King is extremely blunt in his writing, and it shows in this book. Every situation presented in the first few chapters is written with extremely realistic attention to detail, no sugarcoating. While this may be seen as too obscene for the eyes of young readers, it’s written this way for a reason; there’s no sugarcoating in the real world either! I’ve compiled a list of questions that I will try to answer along my journey through Derry, which will hopefully help me justify the violently honest  style of the novel. 

1.) When did Stephen King write this novel? What was happening around that time? What current events could have inspired him to write “IT”? 

2.) Why does King choose to display the darkest, most realistic side of the world? What is the purpose of writing such a violent, vulgar and bluntly honest text? 

3.) Are certain topics in literature banned more often than others? Why? 

Why Was “IT” Banned?

"What cannot be said above all must not be silenced but written."
- Jacques Derrida

According to the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, 416 books were banned or challenged in 2017. For reasons ranging from LGBT content to violence or even just general objections to the text, it seems that the censorship of literature isn't going anywhere. After all, why would it? Clearly, banning books that deal with sensitive subjects has worked wonders in the past. When was the last time you heard anyone using a curse word? When was the last time you saw a story of violence or heartbreak on the news? As long as we continue to silence the voices of authors around the world, we can avoid ever having to deal with any sort of negativity. There’s no need to expose people to works of literature that deal with sexuality, violence, or anything along those lines, because nobody will ever  encounter those things in day to day life... Right?

Well, no. Eventually, whether we like it or not, everyone is exposed to foul language, mature content, religion, racism, homophobia, violence and far more. Walking down the hall at school, you’re bound to hear a multitude of swear words and slurs. Turning on the news, it’s inevitable that you’ll hear at least one story that deals with violence. Driving through town, there’s no way to avoid seeing churches of all kinds scattered through the streets, and people of all faiths going about their lives. The issues that banned books try to suppress are deemed “inappropriate” for young audiences, but the truth of the matter is that by the time kids are at a high enough level to comprehend the situations explained in the text, it’s more than likely that they’ve been exposed to those situations in real life (or they will be in the near future). Is it not safer to expose children to potentially upsetting situations in a safe, comfortable environment? Allowing kids to step into someone else’s shoes for a while and see how things like discrimination or violence can affect people is a way to prevent them from making choices that could harm people. Similarly, allowing kids to step into someone else’s shoes and see how finding a faith that you feel comfortable with or expressing your sexuality/gender in a non conforming way can show them that it’s okay to be open and be themselves. Sheltering kids from these things only forces them to learn about them the hard way, and nobody benefits from that.

The novel “IT” by Stephen King was banned in Nebraska for violence and foul language. The book tackles issues like homophobia, abuse, suicide, racism and more, so of course it involves violence and foul language— the town of Derry is quite literally a physical manifestation of fear, filled to the brim with bigots and tormented by a shapeshifting entity that appears every 27 years to wreak havoc. While it may not seem that there’s much to learn from a book about a murderous clown in the 1950s, it becomes clear from the moment you open the book that there’s so much more to the story than you’re led to believe. It’s incredibly unfortunate that so many people are robbed of the chance to truly dig into the text and gain the perspective of a gay man murdered by homophobes, a black boy tormented by racist bullies, a Jewish man haunted by ghosts of his past, a young girl beaten and manipulated by her father, and so much more— they’re robbed of the chance to step into these characters’ shoes, just because the style of writing is deemed offensive.