A sweet revenge: Finding reality in books banned or not

After all this time, I still wonder why it took me such a long time to finally read two of the most significant and literary masterpieces in the English language that were eyeing me each time I visited our local public library. Perhaps I thought that compared to other monumental literary works these two books will never equal to my revered expectations.

These two books were Jack Kerouac’s “On The Road” and Sylvia Plath’s “The Bell Jar.” And, as I read these two books within a week or so, I was simply awestruck by the shear earthiness, gut level and genuine illustration of a life without any gimmicks and artificial suspense or dramatizations.

“On The Road” was simply a story about bunch of guys driving around the country, and yes, fully intoxicated and driving of course way above the speed limit, in search for a meaning of life and “The Bell Jar” is a story about a young woman who has earned an internship at a fictional Ladies’ Day magazine, but she is not able to find her inner self in a world dazzled with supermodels, glamour and fashion.

Who knew that I was lucky enough to be able to read these books just at a time when both “On The Road” and “The Bell Jar” are currently on the list of books being considered to be banned from the shelves of school and public libraries. And I guess those right wing political organizations, led by so-called concerned parents, are trying to do everything possible to protect their children from the real world of sex, drugs and alcohol and of course any reference and discussion about soul searching, personal agonies or depression.

Amazingly, these same parents who seem almost in military mode in their quest to shield their children from the unavoidable controversies and challenges of our everyday life, have no problem with their children being glued to the TV or their iPads for hours, brimming with videos of innocent looking characters whose every cheer, giggle and chuckle provides the children with a fantasized and daydream-like image of a life that is totally disconnected with reality. And these are the children who when they become adults will never have the emotional strength and preparedness to face the challenges of a life that is much more than chuckles and giggles, and will be unable to offer answers to the social, economical and emotional disputes and complications they will face.

And speaking of reality, the absurdity of banning math books as it is becoming the law of the State of Florida is where a literary fiction is actually being transformed into becoming a real life. Banning math books? And sure, we all agree that math is a subject that should not have any emotional connotations. Three lollipops plus 2 lollipops equals 5 lollipops. That’s it. That’s math. There should be no, absolutely none, emotional response to an image of a lollipop. But what happens if that image of a lollipop brings to a child’s mind the memory of a visit to his or her first haircut and the barber with a foreign accent and who with a gentle smile gave the child his or her first lollipop that tasted so sweet and heavenly.

No. No. No. Stop right there. There should be absolutely no emotions. No associations and no nostalgia when it comes to teaching math according to the math book ban laws currently being proposed in Florida. However, any teacher who is filled with love and compassion will agree that those emotional associations toward an object like a lollipop might help the child to feel at ease and be less intimidated by the cut and dry nature of the subject of math!

Speaking of lollipops, I think I might have one or, using my math skills, 1 lollipop plus 1 lollipop, equals to 2 lollipops. And yes, I will have 2 lollipops to celebrate the fact that I managed to read 2 books that are currently on the list to be banned.

What a sweet revenge!

Varoujan Froundjian is a digital artist and writer. He can be reached at: varlink3050@gmail.com.