School curriculums are most definitely wrong to ban or challenge Beloved because it didn't have any bad
material mentioned in the novel. Beloved was challenged in many schools because parents say it mentions explicit
parts, such as: racism, sex and an infant's brutal murder. Those three topics are just irrelevant because they are current
events happening in the world everyday; people are going to find out about them regardless, whether the book is
banned or not.
One reason why many parents challenge Beloved is because of this quote: "Right off it was clear, to schoolteacher
especially, that there was nothing there to claim. The three pickaninnies they had hoped were alive and well enough to
take back to Kentucky, take back and raise properly to do the work Sweet Home desperately needed, were not. Two
were lying open-eyed in sawdust; a third pumped blood down the dress of the main one—the woman schoolteacher
bragged about, the one he said made fine ink, damn good soup, pressed his collars the way he liked besides having at
least ten breeding years left. But now she'd gone wild, due to the mishandling of the nephew who'd overbeat her and
made her cut and run." (16.4) This is the scene from the schoolteacher's perspective. The two lying in the sawdust are
Howard and Buglar (Sethe's sons), and the one on Sethe's dress is baby Beloved; we later find out that Sethe is also
swinging Denver by the heel, trying to bash her head against a wall and not succeeding. Many parents claim this scene
is too vivid and bloody for their child to imagine, especially when Sethe cuts open the baby's throat.
Another quote that people think is inappropriate in the book is: "Y'all got boys," he told them. "Young boys, old boys,
picky boys, stroppin boys. Now at Sweet Home, my niggers is men every one of em. Bought em thataway, raised em
thataway. Men every one." "Beg to differ, Garner. Ain't no nigger men." (1.14) This scene is where the slave owner of
Sweet Home is bragging about his slaves and how well of good-shape they're in. Parents see this scene as inappropriate
because it mentions the "N" word numerous of times, and talks about the black men as if they were trained dogs. This
quote was also unapproved by parents because of its vivid explaining of a slave's consequence: "By the time they
unhitched him from the wagon and he saw nothing but dogs and two shacks in the world of sizzling grass, the roiling
blood was shaking him to and fro. But no one could tell. The wrists he held out for the bracelets that evening were
steady as were the legs he stood on when chains were attached to the leg irons. But when they shoved him into the box
and dropped the cage door down, his hands quit taking instruction. On their own, they traveled. Nothing could stop
them or get their attention. They would not hold his penis to urinate or a spoon to scoop lumps of lima beans into his
mouth. The miracle of their obedience came with the hammer at dawn." (10.2)
The last reason why parents challenge Beloved is because of the absurd material spoken upon slaves in the
novel -claiming it is being racist. Here is another vivid quote form the novel: "Breakfast? Want some breakfast, nigger?"
"Yes, sir."
"Hungry, nigger?"
"Yes, sir."
"Here you go."
Occasionally, a kneeling man chose gunshot in his head as the price, maybe, of taking a bit of foreskin with him to Jesus. (10.5-10)
In this scene, a man slave was asked by his owner if he was hungry, meaning if he wanted a bullet in him, and the man
said yes because he was tired of living the life of a slave, and had preferred death over life.
material mentioned in the novel. Beloved was challenged in many schools because parents say it mentions explicit
parts, such as: racism, sex and an infant's brutal murder. Those three topics are just irrelevant because they are current
events happening in the world everyday; people are going to find out about them regardless, whether the book is
banned or not.
One reason why many parents challenge Beloved is because of this quote: "Right off it was clear, to schoolteacher
especially, that there was nothing there to claim. The three pickaninnies they had hoped were alive and well enough to
take back to Kentucky, take back and raise properly to do the work Sweet Home desperately needed, were not. Two
were lying open-eyed in sawdust; a third pumped blood down the dress of the main one—the woman schoolteacher
bragged about, the one he said made fine ink, damn good soup, pressed his collars the way he liked besides having at
least ten breeding years left. But now she'd gone wild, due to the mishandling of the nephew who'd overbeat her and
made her cut and run." (16.4) This is the scene from the schoolteacher's perspective. The two lying in the sawdust are
Howard and Buglar (Sethe's sons), and the one on Sethe's dress is baby Beloved; we later find out that Sethe is also
swinging Denver by the heel, trying to bash her head against a wall and not succeeding. Many parents claim this scene
is too vivid and bloody for their child to imagine, especially when Sethe cuts open the baby's throat.
Another quote that people think is inappropriate in the book is: "Y'all got boys," he told them. "Young boys, old boys,
picky boys, stroppin boys. Now at Sweet Home, my niggers is men every one of em. Bought em thataway, raised em
thataway. Men every one." "Beg to differ, Garner. Ain't no nigger men." (1.14) This scene is where the slave owner of
Sweet Home is bragging about his slaves and how well of good-shape they're in. Parents see this scene as inappropriate
because it mentions the "N" word numerous of times, and talks about the black men as if they were trained dogs. This
quote was also unapproved by parents because of its vivid explaining of a slave's consequence: "By the time they
unhitched him from the wagon and he saw nothing but dogs and two shacks in the world of sizzling grass, the roiling
blood was shaking him to and fro. But no one could tell. The wrists he held out for the bracelets that evening were
steady as were the legs he stood on when chains were attached to the leg irons. But when they shoved him into the box
and dropped the cage door down, his hands quit taking instruction. On their own, they traveled. Nothing could stop
them or get their attention. They would not hold his penis to urinate or a spoon to scoop lumps of lima beans into his
mouth. The miracle of their obedience came with the hammer at dawn." (10.2)
The last reason why parents challenge Beloved is because of the absurd material spoken upon slaves in the
novel -claiming it is being racist. Here is another vivid quote form the novel: "Breakfast? Want some breakfast, nigger?"
"Yes, sir."
"Hungry, nigger?"
"Yes, sir."
"Here you go."
Occasionally, a kneeling man chose gunshot in his head as the price, maybe, of taking a bit of foreskin with him to Jesus. (10.5-10)
In this scene, a man slave was asked by his owner if he was hungry, meaning if he wanted a bullet in him, and the man
said yes because he was tired of living the life of a slave, and had preferred death over life.