Kevin Jiang. Ms Westermann. Eng2Db. 28 March 2017. The

In the 1930s Southern Gothic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the child and adult perspectives of the narrator to tell the story from the perspective of an innocent child, then adding on to it using the adult perspective, which allows the readers to have a better understanding of events in the story. It allows the narrator to tell the story as they experienced it as a child, which gives the perspective of how they feel about the events. The child’s point of view also makes the novel fit for an older audience, because they most likely understand mature topics that the child narrator does not. Using the two perspectives of the main character, Lee allows the readers to relate to and comprehend the novel better.

Because of offensive language and ideas that are represented in the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, it has been banned in many school libraries and lessons. One of the main reasons that it was banned in school is because of offensive words like the n-word and also because of the fact that the plot is centered around rape. One of the school board members, Kenny Holloway, said, “We can teach the same lessons with other books.” Many people agree with Holloway’s opinion, saying that the same ideas that are represented in To Kill A Mockingbird could be taught with a less controversial book. However, other people say that students are tough enough to handle the story. While many people don’t think that this book is appropriate for school, some people

To Kill A Mockingbird is an important book that has continued to teach people about race and prejudice for over 50 years. Harper Lee’s message is the harsh reality of how prejudice is built into society and is one of the most important messages of the 20th and 21st centuries. This book teaches us to stand up to prejudice and spread more love. It teaches us to look at things from another person's point of view and to be accepting of those who are different from us. Even to this day we face issues involving prejudice such as police brutality, the achievement gap, homophobia, and equal

Currently in many schools across the country students are reading To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee. Most teachers believe they are anti racism while also reading a classic. This is not necessarily true. The book has many racial undertones that most don’t bring up. This can lead to students blindly reading and acting like the book is the gospel. It’s trying to teach kids how to be anti racist and when authority figures tell you how to act you usually listen. This book tells you this is the right way to be a ally and you will be praised by all of the poor people who need your help. Because of this To Kill a Mockingbird

The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee should be read and taught in school considering the facts that it teaches the important message of learning to stand in other’s shoes, and that the reader can see the wide range of diversity such as socioeconomic status and race. In the real world, we will come across many different people with different backgrounds and views. It is easy to look at those people and think, “they are strange,” or “they don’t understand anything.” I admit, before reading this book I was insensitive to this and didn’t even realize when I looked at people and made those assumptions. This book has helped me be not so judgmental and be able to see from other people’s point of view. While some may say this book shouldn’t be taught because it is “racist” or

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, readers are able to see the ways in which Scout, Jem, and Dill learn valuable life lessons as they progress throughout the story. The book is narrated by Scout, a twelve-year old girl, who takes part in many adventures with her older brother Jem ranging from games at the house of their neighbor, “Boo” Radley, to witnessing her father, Atticus Finch, defend a black man, Tom Robinson, from being wrongfully accused of rape. While many may argue that To Kill a Mockingbird should not be taught in class, the values taught by the characters help to argue that it should be taught to classes.

Growing up is a maze with many twists and turns. In Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Jean Louise "Scout" Finch experiences many difficult situations as part of her coming of age. As Scout grows up in the rural Maycomb, Alabama, during the Great Depression, she faces problems with self-identity, racism, and her community. Harper Lee writes in a subtle yet impactful way about how Scout goes through this confusing stage, making her book a classic that every student should read. Recently To Kill a Mockingbird has been a controversial topic because a “school district in Mississippi announced that it was pulling the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic from its 8th-grade reading list” (Oprea 1). The school district worried that the book was uncomfortable for kids because of its use of explicit language. The school board stated that other books can convey the same lessons in more age-appropriate ways. The question is can these books convey the same lessons without using the language so vital in communicating the historical context of the novel. To Kill a Mockingbird is an important book that should not be banned in schools because it

As children grow up, they open their eyes to the harsh truths in the world around them that they once did not understand or question. This is experienced by the main characters of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The story is of a girl called Scout and her older brother, Jem, who go through the trials of growing up in the fictional small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. Racism is rampant in the mindset of the townspeople, shown when the children’s lawyer father, Atticus, takes the case of an obviously innocent African-American man and they convict him in their hearts before the trial even starts. Through this all, we can see the theme of loss of innocence in the children. Lee uses characterization to portray

While there may be some negative influences in To Kill a Mockingbird, for example: racial segregation, profanity, and ungrammatical speech the book still has it strong points of positive influences. Due to racial segregation in the book, people have led to believe that the way African Americans are portrayed in the book are nowhere similar to today’s segregation. This is shown whenever Tom Robison is talked about and how the women during the tea party held at Finch’s house react. They act scared of him as if he’s a vile disease when in reality, Tom Robison is a simple American. The only difference between him and everyone else is his skin color. While racial segregation may be different from back then, for the race, it is still an important part of our history. If textbooks are allowed to spout about how African Americans were treated, then why can a book not be allowed to do the

This book is very true to life even today. We all go about our day with our own preconceived notions on life. The saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover” is very true when it comes to this book. Many people feel that it has no use for us in today’s society. They feel that due to the racist language it should be banned. An example seen here in an Interview by Mary Dempsey and Muriel Saunders, “"To Kill a Mockingbird," written in 1960 by Harper Lee. High school administrators in Muskogee, Oklahoma, removed that same book from the school's required reading list for freshman because, they say, the novel includes racially derogatory language that could offend African-Americans.” (Dempsey, Saunders). Society wants to hide the fact that the past

In the novel, to kill a mockingbird, Harper Lee presents three very distinct types of innocence that are portrayed by different characters throughout the novel. A good part in this story’s brilliance is that Harper Lee has managed to use the innocence of a young girl to her advantage. She does this by telling the whole story from a child’s point-of-view. By having an innocent little girl make racial remarks and regard people of color in a way consistent with the community, Lee provides the reader with an objective view of the situation. As a child, Scout can make observations that an adult would often avoid. In addition, readers are also likely to be forgiving of a child’s perception, whereas they would find an adult who makes these

Imagine a world where evil and unjust actions are based on the color of skin; a world where some don’t even realize that they are prejudicing. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, these themes are present. People and how they commit evil, hypocritical, and unjust acts. We see these themes and great issues through the point of view of a child; the vigorous, youthful, elementary-aged Scout. Through this character Harper Lee shows the innocence of children, and what they go through in our inequitable world.

To begin, Lee uses diction to expose the theme of how prejudices are wrong. For example, Atticus said, “And so a quiet, respectable, humble Negro who had the unmitigated temerity to ‘feel sorry’ for a white woman has put his word against two white peoples.”(273) This quote shows the authors extensive use of diction. The author uses Negro which shows that Atticus has respect for blacks and doesn’t have those prejudices that blacks are lesser than him due to their skin. Moreover, Atticus says that Tom has “unmitigated termitary” meaning that Tom was bold enough to act out and help others, which goes against the normal prejudices so he needed to get rid of. The racists acted out against him because he wasn’t the black man which lies, kills and rapes but instead caring and responsible so the whites acted out negatively. The author also speaks through Atticus again by having him say that all Negros aren’t criminals but that that’s “a lie as black as Tom Robinson’s skin.”(273) The author is using a play on words to make it visual of how bad those racist lies are. Atticus knows that because of those lies a man could die and is

Kindness Is Key Can you imagine how terrifying it would be to be shot at while being chased in a yard? This is what three kids experienced in the book To Kill A Mockingbird. This classic by Harper Lee incorporates many historical influences to make a world of three kids and their adventures come to life. Lee’s style of writing is impactful to readers of all ages due to her powerful writing techniques. There are many deep quotations in this book which really engage the reader.

It is commonly acknowledged that Literature is the reflection of the society. It is indeed true that literature reflects the attitude and perception of the society where it is written. Literature mirrors the vices of the society with an intention to make the society realize its mistakes and make amendments. The vast literature, produced from time to time, bears evidence to the fact that man is prone to discrimination. Treating a person or particular group of people differently, especially in a worse way from the way in which you treat other people, because of their sexuality, skin, and class has, been core theme of the Harper lee’s master piece To Kill a Mocking Bird. The novel is told from Scout’s perspective; through Scout, we witness the social construction of race, class, and gender. The novel continues to be taught in classrooms due to its illustration