The Florida chapter of the ACLU has recently protested the removal of the books “1984” and “Brave New World” from the reading lists of Dade County (Miami) high school students. An anonymous telephone caller complained that the two books were “obscene and immoral” and the principal of the school forthwith removed the books from the list although he had not read either of them himself. The Dade County School Board subsequently voted unanimously to uphold the removal despite testimony as to the literary merit of the books and the high praise that both received from reviewers. Both George Orwell, author of “1984”, and Aldous Huxley who wrote “Brave New World” were recognized as ranking among the outstanding literary figures of modern times. The books are primarily political and social satires upon some obvious tendencies of our times. “1984” depicts the ultimate “welfare state” and “Brave New World” prophesies the ultimate standardization of humanity.
(Source: The Bulletin, Volume 9, No. 8, August 1960)
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