54 pages • 1 hour read
Nat HentoffThe Day They Came to Arrest the Book
Nat HentoffFiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1982A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 1-5Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary
Luke Hagstrom, Barney Roth, and Kate, upperclassmen at George Mason High School, return for the first day of the school year. They are greeted by the principal, Michael “Mighty Mike” Moore, who goes out of his way to be jovial with all the students. He continually refers to everybody with phrases like “good buddy” (2), and he pats their shoulders and laughs often. The students are irritated by him, perceiving that his cheerfulness is just posturing.
They discuss a staffing change: Karen Salters, the former librarian, quit abruptly at the end of the previous year because she allegedly could not stand working with Mike. The new librarian, Deirdre Fitzgerald, is excited to start the job. A history teacher, Nora Baines, comes to see Deirdre in the library before school. Saying, “I feel like the bad fairy at the christening” (4), she warns Deirdre that Mike will not support the librarian if parents criticize library books or ask the librarian to remove books.
Chapter 2 Summary
In the first history class of the year, Nora tells her students they will be reading novels as well as history books. She lectures about Alexis de Tocqueville, the French intellectual who came to the United States in the early 19th century and wrote about the way conformity in the US had already begun to ruin independence of thought among American citizens. In the class discussion, Barney agrees that conformity can be a kind of tyranny, saying, “There are a lot of places in this country, and I bet there always have been, where if you’re all alone in what you think, and you say what you think, you get treated like a leper or a criminal” (10).
Nora assigns a number of books, some compulsory and others elective. The first book that she assigns to the class is Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Students ask what happened to the former librarian and Nora gives a stock answer: Karen found a better paying job in another state. Barney, who is the editor of the George Mason Standard (the school’s newspaper), says he will call and ask her if that is true because it would make a good story.
Chapter 3 Summary
Gordon McLean, a Black student, approaches Scott Berman, a Jewish student, to complain about the repeated use of the n-word in Huckleberry Finn. He and Scott agree that if the book used slurs against Jewish people, Jewish parents would demand that the school ban the book from the library.
Nora and Deirdre talk about Karen, and about individuals and groups in the community who want to censor the school’s books. Nora says that some critical individuals claim they are speaking for themselves, yet they appear with a list of books drawn from multiple pro-censorship organizations. Nora says, “…some of the parents [want] to save every single child in the school from those books” (15). Nora reveals that Karen disliked controversy, but Mike, who wanted to appease parents and avoid open conflict, never supported her. Instead, he told her to quietly remove the books in question. This happened several times until a huge argument erupted between the two. They resolved the conflict with a confidential agreement such that she received a letter of strong recommendation when she left the school.
Chapter 4 Summary
Kate, Luke, and Barney walk across the school campus discussing the appropriateness of studying Huckleberry Finn. They recognize that the book is controversial and understand why some Black students object strenuously to the use of expletives and the treatment of the characters in the book. Barney believes that Mark Twain’s intent was to demonstrate the terrible treatment enslaved people received. Kate is particularly upset by the book’s female characters; she claims they are merely walk-on characters who do not play a significant role in the story.
As he waits in his office for Carl and Gordon McLean, Principal Mike looks at his trophy wall with photos of many notable people on it and realizes he has very few Black acquaintances. Gordon and his father enter and immediately begin to discuss the impropriety of the book. Carl attacks the book vigorously, insisting that Huckleberry Finn is racist tripe. He lists several demands: that the history course stop using Huckleberry Finn, that all copies be removed from the library, and that the school ban future use of the book: “There is only one thing you can do, Mr. Moore. Huckleberry Finn has to be eliminated!” (27). Mike tells Carl he will meet with his faculty to resolve the issue. Carl warns that a parent movement will arise to ban the book if it is not voluntarily dispensed.
Chapter 5 Summary
The next day, Gordon yells that “Huck Finn is dead” as he passes Nora in the hall (29). Nora then encounters Maggie Crowley, a cheerful social studies teacher who successfully lobbied to teach a course called American Problems as part of the high school curriculum. Maggie convinced Mike to allow the course when she promised she would have representatives on both sides of issues address students. Maggie tells Nora about an upcoming session on freedom of speech and personal liberty in which Kent Dickinson, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, will debate a Matthew Griswold, a conservative Christian and founder of the “Citizen’s League for the Preservation of American Values” (31). Nora asks if she can bring her history class to the debate.
Nora enters Mike’s office, where he asks her to stop teaching Huckleberry Finn because certain Black parents have threatened a revolt against the book. The two have a heated, lengthy argument about the propriety of using controversial books. Nora refuses to yield or moderate. She insists that, if Mike wants to get rid of the book, he must use the textbook review committee process established in the school board’s constitution. Both Mike and Nora imply that the other might try to sabotage the results. Nora warns that she will bring in the ACLU if things are not handled appropriately. The principal threatens her reputation as a teacher if she continues to use the book. Nora proclaims that she will continue to teach Huckleberry Finn unless, and until, the committee officially bans it: “If this book is convicted, then, and only then—and with utter despair—will I stop teaching it. But not until then” (38). After Nora leaves his office, Mike asks his secretary to have Deirdre come see him the next day.
Chapters 1-5 Analysis
Hentoff introduces most of the primary characters in the first five chapters, each with distinctive personalities and agendas. As the controversy over Huckleberry Finn develops, the characters’ ideals demark which side of the free speech debate they will join—this sets up the theme of Freedom of Speech Versus the Banning of Books. Writing for young adults, Hentoff intends for his readers to recognize the distinctive qualities of each character. Thus, as the author walks each individual through the narrative, readers can easily evaluate the development and the outcome for each character.
Barney, for example, is clearly intelligent, curious, and courageous. He encounters unexpected conflict and demonstrates notable growth over the course of the story. While his goals are achieved—Huckleberry Finn remains in use—it is more important that Barney gains wisdom, demonstrates integrity, and proves himself capable of wisely utilizing his individual freedoms. In contrast, Principal Mike is self-aggrandizing, disingenuous, and untrustworthy; as a static character, he loses none of these and gains no redeemable qualities.
Nora reveals that in the past, Mike has demonstrated a willingness to ask educators to compromise their principles so he can avoid conflict. This introduces the theme of a Lack of Administrative Support for Educators. In later chapters, Barney interviews Karen Salters, the former librarian and a recent widow. He learns how Mike unscrupulously maneuvered her into resigning, and sees the depth of her affection for the school library she had loved and must now leave. Mike’s self-absorption renders him incapable of grasping the needs and emotions of his educators. He uses his administrative authority to punish and threaten those who refuse to comply with his demands. His disregard for his faculty means he repeatedly pushes for censorship—of literature, like Huckleberry Finn, and of journalism, like Barney’s interview with Karen. Mike’s unethical behavior eventually comes to light, resulting in what he considers the worst possible outcome: bad publicity. Those above him, notably the school board chairman, consider removing Mike from his position—not out of support for the faculty, but out of concern for the school’s image. While the story of George Mason High School’s mistreatment of educators is fictional, there are factual indications that educators nationally do not experience adequate administrative support.
Hentoff demonstrates that within complex debates, people often fall into three distinct groups based on their behaviors: Logical People, Manipulative People, and Emotional People. Hentoff introduces these groups so that young readers may recognize them when a real-life controversy takes place. The narrative shows the development of members of each group as the conflict intensifies. The “emotional group” in particular transcends the boundaries of the debate; there are emotionally driven people on either side of the issue. Nora, the powerful advocate for free speech who sparks the review process, passionately argues with pro-censorship advocates. Nancy Dennis, a mother and a member of Parents for Moral Schools, shouts down Deirdre and accuses her of wanting to teach children to become rebellious and immoral.
The “logical group” and the “manipulative group” are more directly at odds within the narrative. Hentoff typically portrays members of the logical group as supporters of Huckleberry Finn—and, more importantly, free speech. In contrast, members of the “manipulative group,” like Mike, are pro-censorship and book banning. The logical group maintains focus, and its members typically respond rationally and logically, supporting their views with facts. The manipulative group falls back on logical fallacies and manipulative appeals to emotion.
However, it is not their stances on the Huckleberry Finn issue that place characters within certain groups—rather, these categories describe the tactics said characters rely on in debates. Hentoff does not demonize those outside the “logical” group; in fact, he presents sympathetic and compelling stances for the banning of Huckleberry Finn. When Gordon says, “You know, I figured Miss Baines was a decent lady, but she doesn’t give on damn about how somebody black like me feels having to read ‘n*****,’ ‘n*****’ all the time” (14), readers experience the justified outrage he feels. Hentoff knows that Black parents’ and students’ unwillingness to tolerate the scenes of degradation and the racial expletives in Twain’s book is a powerful statement against his priority—that there should be no censorship. But Hentoff wants readers to understand that freedom of speech has nothing to do with agreement or comfort. It is instead the very idea that whether something is “acceptable” or not must be deemed by individuals, not ambiguous authorities with questionable motives. Freedom of speech is, according to Hentoff, the right to speak and write even that which is offensive, and to allow others to freely access and personally judge for themselves what has been said and written.
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