The Day They Came to Arrest the Book

The overriding concern of the narrative is the preservation of freedom of speech and the struggles against various types of censorship. Free speech, in the context of this book, means the freedom of the author to write anything and the freedom of citizens to read what the author has written. During his debate against Griswold, Dickinson says, “There is the student’s right under the First Amendment […] to read and to discuss controversial thoughts and language. […] Also, there is the right of Mark Twain […] to have his ideas, his language, remain free” (104). Kate argues that if the First Amendment encourages hateful language and stereotypes, there should be less of it in schools; Professor Stanley cautions her against going down that slippery slope. Censoring one person opens the door for anyone to censor anything.

In describing the behavior and rationale of those who wish to ban Huckleberry Finn, Hentoff demonstrates that only the individual reader can judge whether or not a piece of literature is acceptable. Stanley, for instance, gets Carl McLean—who adamantly opposes Huckleberry Finn—to admit he would fight to prevent the banning of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which also contains numerous racial epithets and vivid descriptions of the maltreatment of Black citizens.