Books banned then required reading
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Books Banned Then Required Reading — Daily trivia Friday, August 21, 2026: questions and answers
All 10 questions with answers and explanations. Play this daily
Q 01Who wrote the Jazz Age novel about the American Dream that sold poorly in its author's lifetime?
- AF. Scott Fitzgerald
- BWilliam Faulkner
- CJohn Steinbeck
- DErnest Hemingway
Show answer
F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald died believing his work forgotten, but special wartime editions of The Great Gatsby handed to US troops helped revive it.
Q 02Which frequently challenged Pulitzer-winning novel views racial injustice through a young girl's eyes?
- AThe Color Purple
- BBeloved
- CTo Kill a Mockingbird
- DThe Help
Show answer
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee's 'To Kill a Mockingbird' is celebrated for its message against prejudice, yet it is a consistent target for banning over its racial slurs and frank treatment of difficult topics. It remains widely assigned in schools.
Q 03Which once-challenged novel about totalitarianism features Winston Smith?
- A1984
- BThe Handmaid's Tale
- CFahrenheit 451
- DBrave New World
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1984
George Orwell's dystopian novel '1984' has faced numerous challenges over the decades for its political themes, but its warnings about government control and surveillance have made it a vital text in education.
Q 04Who wrote the once-controversial allegorical novel about boys stranded on a deserted island?
- AJoseph Conrad
- BWilliam Golding
- CH.G. Wells
- DGeorge Orwell
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William Golding
William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies' has been challenged for its violence, disturbing themes, and language. Despite this, its exploration of civilization versus savagery makes it a powerful and frequently studied work in schools.
Q 05Which African American author's often-challenged memoir of childhood trauma remains a high-school staple?
- AZora Neale Hurston
- BAlice Walker
- CMaya Angelou
- DOctavia E. Butler
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Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is often challenged for its account of her rape at eight, after which she was almost mute for five years.
Q 06Which Steinbeck novel did California growers denounce as 'communist propaganda' before it won the Pulitzer Prize?
- ACannery Row
- BEast of Eden
- COf Mice and Men
- DThe Grapes of Wrath
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The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath was banned from Kern County's schools and libraries in 1939 and publicly burned, then won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940.
Q 07Who wrote the Pulitzer-winning novel of slavery and generational trauma that faced opposition for its graphic content?
- AAlice Walker
- BToni Morrison
- COctavia E. Butler
- DZora Neale Hurston
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Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison based Beloved on Margaret Garner, who in 1856 killed her two-year-old daughter rather than see her returned to slavery.
Q 08Which graphic novel Holocaust memoir was pulled from a school curriculum over nudity and language?
- AMaus
- BFun Home
- CHabibi
- DPersepolis
Show answer
Maus
Art Spiegelman's 'Maus' was pulled from the curriculum by a Tennessee school board in 2022 over profanity, violence, and nudity, and the publicity sent it straight back onto the bestseller lists.
Q 09Which controversial 1930s Chicago South Side novel about race and poverty is now a landmark of American realism?
- AInvisible Man
- BTheir Eyes Were Watching God
- CBlack Boy
- DNative Son
Show answer
Native Son
Richard Wright's Native Son was the Book-of-the-Month Club's first pick by an African American author, though sexual scenes were cut first.
Q 10Which novel follows a teenage boy and his storefront-preacher stepfather in Harlem?
- AInvisible Man
- BGo Tell It on the Mountain
- CBlack Boy
- DThe Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963
Show answer
Go Tell It on the Mountain
James Baldwin drew Go Tell It on the Mountain from his own Harlem boyhood under a preacher stepfather, and he began preaching himself at 14.
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