Question

kurt vonnegut (1922 - 2007) was an american author and humorist. one month after an english teacher at drake high school in north dakota decided to teach kurt vonneguts novel slaughterhouse - five in his classroom, charles mccarthy, the head of the school board, decided that the novels obscene language was not appropriate. every copy of slaughterhouse - five at drake high school was burned in the school furnace in surprise. vonnegut wrote the following letter to mccarthy. as you read, take notes on the authors main arguments throughout the letter.
1 dear mr. mccarthy:
i am writing to you in your capacity as chairman of the drake school board. i am among those american writers whose books have been destroyed in

1. part a: which of the following statements expresses a central idea of the text?

a. school boards should not have the power to ban books from classrooms.
b. it is immoral to claim that controversial books may poison students minds.
c. burning books goes against the freedoms that americans hold dear.
d. like all good citizens, kurt vonnegut has not lied or produced evil work.

Explanation:

The text discusses the burning of Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse - Five by a school board and Vonnegut's response. The central idea is that burning books goes against American - held freedoms. Option A focuses on school board power, Option B on the immorality of a claim about controversial books, and Option D on Vonnegut's character, none of which capture the main idea as well as Option C.

Answer:

C. Burning books goes against the freedoms that Americans hold dear.