This presentation is an assigned individual project for a banned books and censorship course, ehn295, at glendale community college, glendale, arizona, taught by dr. Lgbtq book bans and challenges national coalition against. Forster norton, the education of harriet hatfield by may sarton norton, the drowning of stephan jones by bette greene bantam, new ipswich, new hampshire banned. At the close, stephan jones surviving partner extracts a uniquely apt revenge. She comes under fire for organizing a display of science books that might offer an explanation about the existence of the world and then places a large sign stating, in the beginning. Books by stephen jones author of shadows over innsmouth. The drowning of stephan jones portrays how homosexuality is viewed and treated in a small town in the bible belt of arkansas. After finishing it, unfortunately i am left wanting. The drowning of stephan jones paperback july, 2012 by bette greene author. I havent read it, but heres a summary from and the link is below, too gay couple stephan jones and frank montgomery, antique dealers, escape boston for a small town in arkansas, only to face the bigotry of its smallminded, fundamentalist, and ultraconservative population. The drowning of stephan jones by bette bette greene. Marceline and jim had one biological child together, and stephan jones appears in jonestown. Overall, the drowning of stephan jones is a book that leaves the reader with a lot of food for thought.
Gaythemed literature has come a long way since the early 1990s, when jones was published. The drowning of stephan jones by bette greene i came across this book in the library, as noted before, after putting it on the very long list of banned books i have yet to read. Banned books young adult literature research guides at. Everyday books are still being challenged and removed from shelves, libraries, classrooms and reading lists. Aug 12, 2019 the drowning of stephan jones is an alltooreal novel of what happens when people listen without questioning what theyre carefully taught, as the rodgers and hammerstein song goes. Based on true events, the drowning of stephan jones tells the harrowing story of one small towns brush with homophobia sensitive carla wayland certainly doesnt know anyone who is gay, not in her small hometown of rachetville, arkansas. The drowning of stephan jones by bette greene book cover, description, publication history. Works like a boys own story, first published in 1982, and the beautiful room is empty 1988 helped pave the way for more openly gay nonfiction books to be published.
In ratchetville, the majority of the community is conservative as a result of their fundamental and literal interpretations of christianity. Kerr discuss the banning of their books, the drowning of stephan jones and dinky hocker shoots smack in this banned books week video. In the drowning of stephan jones, carlas mother is a librarian with an agenda. Bette greene as her mother battles a citizens group that wants to ban all antichristian literature from the public library, carla faces her own battle of torn loyalties when her boyfriend starts persecuting. Alan v23n2 homosexuality in young adult fiction and. For nearly 40 years, bette greenes books have been banned, censored and. The drowning of stephan jones, her new book, was recently published and is sure to be a great success. Bette greene born june 28, 1934 is the author of several books for children and young adults, including summer of my german soldier, the drowning of stephan jones, and the newbery honor book philip hall likes me, i reckon maybe. The drowning of stephan jones ridgway public library. The drowning of stephan jones bette greene wrote her novel the drowning of stephan jones in 1991. The drowning of stephan jones by bette greene, paperback. Despite his unconventional upbringing and the horrific tragedy brought.
The old saying, you cant judge a book by its cover has probably not been more appropriately applied than to the drowning of stephan jones. Its the farthest feeling from sixteenyearold carla waylands mind. Stephen jones has 265 books on goodreads with 1159 ratings. There was a twist to the ending that some may find fitting, but which may not be satisfying to others.
It focuses on the extreme bullying and eventual murder of a gay. As a 21st century master author, bette greene uses the social media platforms to reach out and touch her readers, generation x, y and z. It focuses on the extreme bullying and eventual murder of a gay young man by a group of homophobic, supposedly christian teens. Cant miss middle school books and ones to skip scholastic. Unfortunately, greenes empathetic depiction of the gay couple and her powerful arguments concerning the role of religion in gay persecution are undermined by an awkward, florid style with abruptly shifting points of view and a tendency to tell rather than show. The drowning of stephan jones is yet another thoughtprovoking book from bette greene. When andys harassment leads to the death of one of the men, carla must choose where. The drowning of stephan jones is an alltooreal novel of what happens when people listen without questioning what theyre carefully taught, as the rodgers and hammerstein song goes. Drowning of stephan jones pima county public library. Based on true events, the drowning of stephan jones tells the harrowing story of one small towns brush with homophobia sensitive carla. Mar 20, 2009 i havent read it, but heres a summary from and the link is below, too gay couple stephan jones and frank montgomery, antique dealers, escape boston for a small town in arkansas, only to face the bigotry of its smallminded, fundamentalist, and ultraconservative population. A boys own story is a moving tale about comingofage in midcentury america. The drowning of stephan jones by bette greene librarything. While everyone says homosexuality is a sin, carla doesnt kn.
Carla waylands dream of being part of the in crowd comes true when she starts dating popular andy harris. Im kind of undecided myself, because i can see it both ways. The drowning of stephan jones by bette greene fantastic fiction. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. All three books, which treat homosexuality in various ways, were removed from the. Shes written several popular books and has received many awards. The parent formally complained to barron high school and despite recommendations from a specially convened committee, the district administrator decided to ban two of the books immediately.
Drowning of stephan jones by bette bette greene overdrive. It focuses on the extreme bullying and eventual murder of a gay young man by a group of homophobic, supposedly. The drowning of stephan jones by bette greene kirkus. The drowning of stephan jones by betty greene banned books week day 6 in this novel, based on a true story, bette greene tells the story of carla wayland who is torn between her infatuation with the handsome homophobe, andy harris, and living the values taught to her by her super cool, liberal, librarian mother. The drowning of stephan jones by bette greene goodreads. Drowning of stephan jones, the by bette greene earth, my butt, and other big, round things, the by carolyn mackler earths children series by jean m. A hardhitting exploration of prejudice from the author of summer of my german soldier. Buy the drowning of stephan jones by bette greene, in very good condition. Banned books master list kurt vonnegut museum and library. The drowning of stephan jones paperback july, 2012 by bette greene author visit amazons bette greene page.
The drowning of stephan jones by bette greene the book. As her mother battles a citizens group that wants to ban all antichristian literature from the public library, carla faces her own battle of torn loyalties when her boyfriend starts persecuting the homosexual owners of an antiques shop. Bantam books firm as her mother battles a citizens group that wants to ban all antichristian literature from the public library, carla faces her own battle of torn loyalties when her boyfriend starts persecuting. Carla waylands dream of being with the in crowd comes true when she starts dating the popular andy harrisa hateful, fearmonger who torments a recently arrived gay couple.
Its a story of what happens when we go along with the crowd without raising our voices for the sake of popularity, for the sake of safety. Such actions are antagonistic and demonstrate a clear position. The drowning of stephan jones bette greene shes probably. All three books, which treat homosexuality in various ways, were removed from the regional high school. The drowning of stephan jones by greene, bette bette ebook.
Feb 26, 2018 marceline and jim had one biological child together, and stephan jones appears in jonestown. While everyone says homosexuality is a sin, carla doesnt know what to think. Greenes novel, inspired by a true event in which a group of high school students subject a gay couple to verbal and physical harassment, appears frequently in bibliographies for recommended reading that deal with issues involving gay and lesbian. The teacher store book clubs book fairs scholastic education classroom magazines about us. But when her boyfriend, andy, begins harassing the couple, carla doesnt say anything.
The drowning of stephan jones paperback jul 2012 by bette greene author 4. Our cheap used books come with free delivery in the uk. Only then does carla finally find the strength to speak up. May 16, 2010 the drowning of stephan jones by bette greene i came across this book in the library, as noted before, after putting it on the very long list of banned books i have yet to read. Buy a cheap copy of the drowning of stephan jones book by bette greene. Browse books by bette greene the drowning of stephan jones. According to critics, bette greene has given a voice to the voiceless, changing the course of young adults literature in america. As her mother battles a citizens group that wants to ban all antichristian literature from the public library, carla faces her own battle of torn loyalties when. The drowning of stephan jones was one of 4 books that drew complaints from a parent based on their lgbtq content. What is the book the drowning of stephan jones about. Books in trouble 1 national coalition against censorship.
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