Question

On February 28, 1981 the morning newspaper carried a story about the burning of my novel, Bless Me, Ultima. The book was banned from high school classes in Bloomfield, New Mexico, and a school board member was quoted as saying: “We took the books out and personally saw that they were burned.” —“Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry,” Rudolfo Anaya What is the overall effect of this anecdote?

Answer 1

It lets Anaya show that his book was seen as a threat, but it was also powerful.

Answer 2

The anecdote tells about the censorship of a book. In some countries of the world, government forces impose selection criteria on artistic and cultural production.

This episode is the fictionalization of a situation of repression that has happened repeatedly in history. In the famous book by Ray Bradbury "Fahrenheit 451" the burning of books is one of the central themes of the plot.

The fragment describes the situation of censorship and burning of a book that belongs to the narrator. Instantly produces the reader's empathy with this character whose work has been destroyed.