Banned Book Week- 1984 by George Orwell

Being someone very interested in political science, I have often heard people speak of 1984, but I had never actually read it myself.  I had read other dystopian stories such as V for Vendetta, but never got around to 1984.  When I saw this George Orwell's classic was on the banned book list, I figured it was finally time to give the book a chance. It was an incredible experience, and it has even inspired me to start reading others on the list such as Catch-22 and Slaughterhouse-Five.

I was actually surprised to see the book on the banned books list, because it used to be my understanding that the book was made as a propaganda tool against the communist nations of the period. I just figured that in the period the book was made, any sort of propaganda against communism was encouraged to be read by all.  While the book is very critical of totalitarian governments, after reading the book I can understand why it was banned.  The book is filled with a great deal of sex and violence. The main character, Winston, spends a majority of the middle part of the book either having sex with this love interest, or speaking of lying next to her naked body. Indeed, not only are the sex scenes often, but they are portrayed in a very immoral manner.  Winston and his love interest, Julia, meet in secret and out of wedlock.  His love for Julia is not based on her purity, but yet upon her promiscuity. Julia is idolized by Winston for her carefree attitude towards sex, and even tells her at one point that her impure nature is what fuels his love for her. I can see how this would make the book a contentious issue for public and school libraries.


After Winston and Julia are imprisoned by their totalitarian government, the rest of the book focuses on Winston's "reeducation", or more simply put, torture.  Orwell explains in great detail mass amounts of physical and psychological torture that Winston endures.  Orwell even lets us inside Winston's mind to reveal his thoughts of wishing to commit suicide or for his certain execution. Just as the sexual content of the book could be a of questionable nature for child to read, the violence of the book also could create grounds to ban the book from public and school libraries.


I was wrong as well that the book is only a critique upon the communist countries of the day.  Winston questions whether or not he or others were better of before or after "Big Brother", the rule of the totalitarian government, took power. Winston never clearly states that capitalism was better, and even makes a veiled criticisms of capitalism when he speaks of the selfishness of his capitalist youth.  Winston also constantly states that the key to destroying the totalitarian government that he despises, lies with the "proles" or proletarian class.  The idea that he proletarians need to rise up and and destroy the ruling class is an idea central to the communist ideology.  Orwell does not necessarily portray communism as wrong, he instead portrays the the human desire to attain power as wrong.  The idea of "power as an ends" is one that can be attributed both to the totalitarian communist government run by Stalin, as well as to leaders in a capitalism society fighting for profit at all costs.  This book is a warning to all that it is human nature to desire power, and we as a society must be vigilant against a person or a small group of people being able to have the power to completely control the lives of others. Whether it be by greedy capitalist or totalitarian leaders.


While I can see why the book may not be appropriate for children, I still think this is an incredibly important book.  One major theme of the book is that whoever controls the present also controls the past. The LIS profession is paramount in documenting the past in an unbiased fashion, so that previous lessons learned can be applied to help improve the future.  In 1984 the past is continually changed not to improve the future, but to justify a present that will ensure the future of the ruling class. This book makes the importance of the LIS profession much better understood, when one sees how history could be manipulated to justify an oppressive government. Not only does the book portray the LIS profession as important, but it is an important tool in making our youth aware of history, as well as the present. Information is power, and one must use it to get ahead, but one must also be able to rely that it is in its truest form. It is important to have an informed public to make a society great, and it is also important to instill an inquisitiveness in them as well. We need to be the watchdogs of history, to make sure it cannot be changed to suit the needs of those in power.

I believe the book is also of utmost importance because of the narrative it tells of a person living under an oppressive government.  When I used to teach, my students would have a hard time understanding why people in the Soviet Union or North Korea, would not just overthrow their government and install a more desirable government. 1984 shows the great difficulty of overthrowing a power structure that has complete control over information and truth. 1984 shows the difficulty of overthrowing a power structure when the people are employed against one another. The human instinct to survive is so great that often people will endure great hardships simply to exist. For existing in an unfulfilled life is still life, compared to a death that awaits one who tries to resist an oppressive government. It is only until you understand the situation that a person in a oppressive system exists, that you can truly understand how and why that system exists. It is important to understand the tactics, the culture, and goals of such a society, to be able to combat them in the future.

While I can see that 1984 is a book that may be inappropriate for a young child, I do not think that this is a book we should stop our youth from reading. If a person is of an age to understand the humanistic and political themes within the book, then I believe that person would also be mature enough to handle the adult themes of the book as well. I think 1984 would be a great book for high school Juniors and Seniors to read, along with a history class that covers WWII, the Cold War, and the current War on Terror.  1984 may have been banned in the past for its criticisms that could be applied to capitalism as well, but I think to ban it now only makes the United States seems as moving closer to the antagonist Big Brother government of the book. If the government is afraid of being critiqued, then it is not trying to improve. If the government is not trying to improve, than it is simply trying to hold on to the power it currently has. This was the exact line of thinking that led to formation of Big Brother, and as evidenced by 1984, it is a government most would find undesirable to live under.

What does the future holds?

It is impossible to sit here and say that I know exactly what the future holds in store for me, but I do know that finishing this degree will at least give me the opportunity to obtain some of my dream jobs. I have always been interested in history, and had great pleasure in teaching history for five years. However, the job market for teachers is thoroughly depressing at the moment.  I had my first setback as a teacher when I was laid off in 2011, and I have since had to other jobs that offered little in the way of financial or job security.  It was for these reasons that I even began thinking of other opportunities outside of teaching, and this led me to join the MLIS program at Wayne State.

The first job that came to mind when I thought about joining the MLIS program, was working at the Henry Ford Museum. Living close to Dearborn, I had visited the Henry Ford many times as a child, and I believe it jump-started my love for history.  I loved teaching history, and if I was not going to teach, I still wanted to be able to study history.  After getting laid off from my first job, I tried fruitlessly to get a job at the Henry Ford, but I was always turned down because I did not have the right education for a job there.  One of my biggest dreams would be to return to the Henry Ford with my MLIS, and finally get a job with them. However, I am more aware of other great museums, such as the Detroit Historical Museum, and Charles H. Wright Museum, that I would also like a chance to work at.

One reason I did not start the MLIS until this year was because I was finishing my master's in political science.  I fell in love with political science in college, and when it came time to return for a master's, I continued on with the awesome professors at Wayne State. I originally pursued a master's in political science so that I would be a great candidate to teach an a.p. government class. I have since thought of how to combine my love of political science with my goal of working for a museum.  My ultimate dream job would be to work for the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and Library as an archivist. I would love to spend my days being able to touch, study, analyze, and catalogs relics from any president.  I am too tied to Michigan to leave, so the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and Library is the only option for me to pursue this dream.

As I mentioned before, I was a teacher, and I did enjoy working for schools. I would also like to pursue the Library Media endorsement on my teaching degree. I do miss teaching, and I would like to return to a school one day.  Having the library media endorsement would allow to combine two of my passions just as working for a presidential library would, and I could see myself being just as happy in a school library as I would be as an archivist in a museum.  My true goal in life is to help others learn, and to instill a passion for learning in others. Returning to a school would give me a much more personalized avenue to instilling that passion for learning in others again.

Introductions, Assertions, and Assumptions

Welcome to the "Ferrante Guarantee" blog! The name comes from an inside joke with my friends about how I "guarantee" information that I cite in our discussions, which makes sense as I begin my journey in the MLIS program.  My interest in the MLIS program started several years ago when I was a history teacher at my old high school in Southgate. One of my friends was working for the Henry Ford Museum and he asked me if I wanted to help create some booklets for their Civil War exhibit. I made booklets for several different grade levels, and they were well received by the museum.  Soon after completing the booklets I found myself with a pink slip from my school district, and I had to begin looking for a new job.

I applied to jobs at the Henry Ford, but time after time I was told that I did not have the right degree for a job at the museum. I wanted to get the right degree, but find a new job was of more importance. I was also in the middle of finishing my master's degree in political science at this time, and so it seemed like a waste of time to start a different program. Though I was saddened that I could not pursue an MLIS degree at the time, I continued on with my master's in political science and my career as a teacher.

I spent the next few years at University Prep Science and Math and Lincoln Park High School, but I was never as happy teaching at the aforementioned schools, as I was when I was at Southgate.  This led me to search for other career opportunities, and it was at this time that Wayne State was hiring many new academic advisors. I had done both my bachelor's and master's at Wayne State, and so I was excited for a chance to return as part of the faculty.  I only became more interested in the job as I found out that the position was for the political science department.  I applied, interviewed, and got the job! It was a perfect opportunity for me at that time in my life.

I have enjoyed my time as an advisor so far, and I can see myself doing the job for a long time. However, I still have this nagging sensation that there is something more that I could do with my life. It was then that the desire to work in a museum came to the forefront again.  So I decided that I would join the MLIS program and continue my education at Wayne State.  This time in hopes it would lead me to a dream job with the Henry Ford Museum or with the Gerald R. Ford Museum.

I joined the program with several assertions and assumptions about the field of LIS.  The first being that I assume people trained in LIS are incredibly important to the history of a society.  The reason "history" exist today is because there have always been people there to preserve and record what has passed. Writing has been the best form of preserving the past, and libraries are the most important aspect in collecting and keeping those records for the future. If it had not been for people in the past that thought to collect and store historical records, we might never know of the Egyptian pharaohs, the Roman emperors, Greek philosophers, Arabic science and mathematics, or Mayan calendars.  It is because we record information, store it, and catalog it that can then use that information to think of the best possible way forward for our own current civilizations.

An important assertion that I have about the LIS program is that those involved in recording, storing, and cataloging that information, need to give free access to all for that information. It is pointless to take such great care of our historical resources, if we refuse to share that wealth of knowledge to better our society. The Renaissance and Enlightenment would never have occurred had it not been for various Arabic libraries that saved the old Greek and Roman ideals.  Had the Renaissance and Enlightenment not occurred, the basic ideas that created the American philosophy of governance would never have come to fruition. If we do not continue this tradition, and freely share knowledge with everyone, then we are only hindering those in future from bettering their own societies. So it is imperative to make that information free for all.

The other assertion I have about those in the LIS field, that they themselves must be teachers and guides.  One reason I was drawn to this field was that I would be able to continue teaching, but just on a much larger scale.  Librarians are often portrayed as sheepish loners, but that is something that is not, and should not be true.  Librarians, and others in the LIS field, have a duty to not only record and share their information, but as keymasters of knowledge, they have a duty to help people learn those histories as well. If those in LIS simply say tell people here it is, but do not help others understand how to navigate their systems or how to apply that knowledge, than their organization efforts will largely be in vain.