The Day They Came to Arrest the Book

Two days later, Nora, Maggie, Barney, and Luke await the committee’s decision in the library. Deirdre enters and says that the committee voted 4-3 to accept Griswold’s suggestion to sequester Huckleberry Finn. The library group is distraught. They turn their attention to the special meeting of the school board in two weeks that will accept or refuse the committee’s recommendation. Deirdre says, “We’ve got to organize. We’ve got to spread the word so that a lot of our people—if we have a lot of people—will be at that meeting” (122).

Because of the vote, Karen agrees to meet with Barney at her home. She tells him that she is not a person who likes conflict, but the time has come for her to speak out. She explains in detail how, over the last few years, Mike secretly restricted the use of certain books because parents complained about them. He would approach Karen and ask her to take these books off the shelf.

The situation finally came to a head when Mike told her to remove a book by Charles Dickens that happened to be a favorite of hers. She responded by telling the principal she had found a really disgusting passage in a book that was in the library and she wanted to bring it to his attention before some parent brought it up. The passage, however, was from the Bible, a book that Mike could not order her to ban. She confronted him about his hypocrisy, and he was furious. Karen reveals that Mike tore pages out of one copy of the Bible and vandalized other books too. Eventually, she says, they struck a deal so that both the Dickens book and the Bible would stay in the library. Mike, however, made her working conditions miserable. Soon, they struck another deal: She would resign and search for another librarian position elsewhere, and he would give her a great recommendation. Now, she's moving to another state.

Karen tells Barney that when she heard what happened with Huckleberry Finn, she knew that she must speak out. She and Barney discuss what will happen to her after the story hits. She encourages him not to worry about that but to write the story strongly.

When Mike receives a copy of the article Barney intends to publish, he summons Barney and Maggie to his office and demands that the story not be printed. With Maggie backing him up, Barney refuses to retract the story, asking Mike instead if Karen’s accusations are correct—a question Mike refuses to answer. When they leave the principal’s office, they try to guess how he will respond. Maggie says, “…Barney, that’s the best way to know the kind of person you are—by how rotten your enemies are” (138).

They publish Barney's article, and the story is picked up by the local paper. Local TV outlets come in to interview Mike, who is very glib and asserts that Karen just misunderstood things. He says he is not going to criticize her and he hopes her memory of things improves over time. The national news networks begin to come to town. They interview Mike and then Barney. Barney tries to subtly reference the Bible incident, but accidentally implies that his parents would censor the Bible too, which upsets them. The state’s public network interviews Kate, who talks about the need for schools to teach what is right, not what is insulting, harmful, racist, or anti-feminist. In response, Deirdre talks about the importance of allowing young people to make their own judgment calls when they reach an age when that’s possible.

The national news continues to write articles and broadcast stories about the town and the Huckleberry Finn conflict. Forster grows concerned about how it makes his town look in the eyes of outsiders. He worries about the economic impact on the community. Forster remarks to his wife, “We must look like a bunch of flatheads to the rest of the country. From now on, people will think of this town as the place where they arrest books” (151).

Forster once again acts out possible conversations, then calls Mike into his office. He tells the principal that he anticipates the school board will overturn the decision of the textbook committee. At first, Mike believes this means the book will be banned entirely, but Forster informs him that the school board will vote for unrestricted access. Mike says, with a big smile, that he is ready to support that decision with no reluctance. Forster quizzes him about the news articles concerning Karen and himself. He asks if Mike plans a reprisal against Karen, which Mike denies. Forster insists that there be no retaliation against Karen, warning Mike that the school board wants to have a private meeting about his covert book bans. Forster tells him that their discussion about the vote of the school board should be kept in complete confidence. Mike says he will comply, though when Mike leaves, Forster privately acknowledges that Mike will immediately spread the word about the vote.

The night of the school board meeting, the room is packed with reporters and news cameras. This bothers Forster at first, until he realizes that it could be good publicity if the meeting goes the way he intends. The same groups that opposed Huckleberry Finn before the review committee speak, as do those who are in favor of retaining the book.

Steve, the only Black student who remained in Nora’s class, speaks out for the first time. He talks about how the book impacted him and how grateful he is that he was able to read it. He understands that the book speaks out against racism. Steve says, “I am here to speak for my right as a student not to have my education interfered with by people—well-meaning but uninformed people—outside the school. And I am here to speak for the same right for students who come after me” (162). He explains why Mark Twain uses the n-word. He recognizes that people are worried its use will offend him, but he points out that he’s already been exposed to that word in real life. He knows precisely what it means and how it is used.

As opponents of Huckleberry Finn begin to realize the meeting is not going their way, they put their heads together to try to delay the vote. Forster asks the school board if they're ready to vote. The vote is taken, resulting in a 4-1 victory for keeping Huckleberry Finn alive and available in the school.

The next day, Mike is in a particularly good mood. He believes that voting citizens will remember what the school board did. He hopes they will vote against the current school board and replace them with people who are willing to allow censorship, and who will accept a principal who censors books.

In the hall, Kate, Barney, and Luke discuss what they have learned through this experience and whether or not the struggle is over. Mike comes up behind them and, with a big smile, says there should be no hard feelings between them since it is all over. Barney says, “Against whom?” (169).