Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Discrimination is prevalent in the story “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the most obvious being the excessive amount of racism (Lee). Racism is the easiest to see but there are more forms of discrimination (Lee). Boo Radley is ostracized from the community when truly nobody really knows him (Lee). People discriminate Scout for being a tomboy not a lady (Lee). The last one that no one ever thinks about is how reverse racism is seen when people threaten Atticus for defending Tom Robinson in court (Lee). Discrimination in any form is a controversial topic but everyone knows that it is not right to discriminate against people.

Critics have said that To Kill a Mockingbird is not a good read for the youth because that it still uses the N-word, which is a word that is almost prohibited in the 21st century. They say that this element of the book makes it irrelevant. Many schools around the country have decided to remove To Kill a Mockingbird from their curriculum because the amount of racial slurs and bad words makes the book hard to teach. Lines such as “What exactly is a n—– lover?”...It’s hard to explain, Ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody’s favoring Negroes over and above themselves… It’s slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label somebody.”(Lee ___) Sentences like these make students uncomfortable and more likely to not understand the literary concepts. School district across America have decided to use other books that can teach the same lessons. Although some experts think the use of the N-word makes the novel irrelevant and bit difficult to teach, others think that the use of the N-word is not a big deal and makes the book relevant.

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

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

Harper Lee’s novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” is set in a small, southern town, Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The story is told through the eyes of a girl named Scout about her father, Atticus, an attorney who strives to prove the innocence of a black man named Tom Robinson, who was accused of rape and Boo Radley, an enigmatic neighbor who saves Scout and her brother Jem from being killed. Atticus does his job in proving there was no way that Tom Robinson was guilty during his trial, but despite Tom Robinson’s obvious innocence, he is convicted of rape as it is his word against a white woman’s. Believing a “black man’s word” seemed absurd as segregation was a very integrated part of life in the south. The social hierarchy must be maintained at all costs and if something in the system should testify the innocence of a black man against a white woman’s word and win then what might happen next? Along with the prejudice amongst blacks and whites, the story also showed how people could be misunderstood for who they truly are such as Boo Radley. Without ever seeing Boo, Jem and the townsfolk made wild assumptions on what Boo does or looks like. Even so, while “To Kill a Mockingbird” shows the ugliness that can come from judging others, its ultimate message is that great good can result when one defers judgement until considering things from another person’s view. Walter Cunningham, Mrs. Dubose, and Boo Radley are all examples of how looking at things

Harper Lee completed the novel in 1957 and, after revisions, published it in 1960, just before the peak of the civil rights movement. John Hiett called it “a nuanced indictment of racism, [which] helped trigger the Civil Rights Movement and forced many Southerners to reexamine their attitudes.” While the critical responses to To Kill a Mockingbird were mixed: a number of critics found the narrative voice of a nine-year-old girl unconvincing and called the novel overly moralistic. It is a coming-of-age story focusing on the importance of empathy, perception, bravery, and acceptance and the book remains a staple of high school and college reading lists, beloved by millions of readers worldwide for its appealing depiction of childhood innocence, its scathing moral condemnation of racial prejudice, and its affirmation that human goodness can withstand the assault of evil. The novel has never been out of print and sells over a million copies each year (Sparknotes.com). This American classic, has been influencing readers for decades and will continue to do so.

The novel “[Deals] with pathetic loneliness, an accusation of rape, the strangely sexual content of bigotry, a complete failure of justice” (Gerson 2). These are mature topics that can make many uncomfortable. Additionally, teachers say they, “can teach the same lesson with other books,”(Nelson 1). Therefore, they believe if other materials can be used to convey the same learnings without making kids uncomfortable the other materials should be used. However, To Kill A Mockingbird confronts us with our history that can not be changed, and although the novel may make some kids uncomfortable that is not necessarily a bad thing. By being uncomfortable, one is forced to go beyond their comfort zone and forced to think for themselves. If children are shielded from the unfortunate prejudices and inequities of our past, they cannot learn from them, and we are at risk of them being repeated. To Kill A Mockingbird gives insight into American history and the language used during the 1930s, and although this history might make us uncomfortable, it is this uncomfortableness that will help us

To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAM) by Harper Lee, based in 1930’s Alabama, follows Scout, a six year old girl, as she navigates through the moral jungle of the racist south while her father defends an alleged black rapist. Although it is often glorified for pioneering new racial awareness but in this new reality of racism, that is 2017, it fails to provide students with a proper education of the issue at hand. Scout, being one of the many white main characters, explores racism but lacks the ability to properly educate today’s ninth graders. Therefore, TKAM should not be a core 9th-grade book at BHS because it negatively portrays people of color and mismatches today’s classroom.

“The need for people to read this book [How to Kill a Mockingbird] is just as compelling as it was sixty years ago” (Jackson). Years have passed, but it doesn’t mean this book should be banned because it has accurate information of the troubled past. “The book [How to Kill a Mockingbird] was being read in an eighth grade class to teach adolescents that caring for others should not be dependent on race or education” (Jackson). This is an adequate book to read in class, because it has a good message about race and education not mattering. Good messages outweigh the slur used in the book, so it shouldn’t be banned. Books that have good lessons and information of them often are banned just because of a racial slur, such as Huckleberry Finn and How to Kill a Mockingbird. Yes, it is bad and shouldn’t be spoken, but that shouldn’t prevent kids from learning about

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird is written by Harper Lee, and throughout her book, she leaves hints of protesting racism through the characters. Characters such as Jem, Calpurnia, and Atticus, disagree with the discrimination revolving in their town of Maycomb. When Atticus takes the rape case against Tom Robinson, a black man, he tries his hardest to get justice for the innocent man. Sadly, he doesn’t get the outcome he hoped for, and neither did his son, Jem. Also, Calpurnia discretely protests the racism by allowing the Finch children to go to church with her. Harper Lee finds a way to insert the protest against racism in a story that revolves around it.

To Kill a Mockingbird has been challenged for many years. The people who say it should be banned think it’s racist towards African-Americans. They don’t really understand the book in my opinion. This novel is about denouncing racism and prejudice. This book is also for more experienced readers such as high schoolers. To Kill a Mockingbird teaches some good lessons, such as standing up for what you believe in, and showing true bravery when you start something and you knew you weren’t going to

I believe that the theme of To Kill a Mockingbird is judgment. I have this opinion because in the book the whole town of Maycomb judges the whole Finch family for the court case. In my essay I will cover why I think the book shouldn't be banned, why To Kill a Mockingbird was banned, and the difference in relationships of races now verses when the book took place. I think that To Kill a Mockingbird shouldn't be banned because even though it does had some bad vocabulary and an offensive topic, I don't think children should be hidden from it. There are bad words in the book, but honestly nothing that children my age haven't heard before.

In our society today, books such as To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, and The Grapes of Wrath have been put on the Banned Book List all across America. To Kill a Mockingbird is banned because it is "profane and racist work that promotes 'white supremacy."

As a reader, we follow the trial, and the story around it, learning grave and sad details of what it must have been like to live as a black man in the 30’s. The novel has been called a “degrading, profane and racist work that promotes white supremacy” (Banned Books, 2016. Para. 28)., and was ultimately banned for it’s use of the N-word. To Kill a Mockingbird “became both an instant bestseller and a critical success” (To Kill a Mockingbird, n.d. para. 1). quickly after being published and has only recently been challenged for its language.

Though Harper Lee only published two novels, her accomplishments are abundant. Throughout her career Lee claimed: the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Goodreads Choice Awards Best Fiction, and Quill Award for Audio Book. Lee was also inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. This honor society is a huge accomplishment and is considered the highest recognition for artistic talent and accomplishment in the United States. Along with these accomplishments, her novel To Kill a Mockingbird was voted the best novel of the twentieth century by Library Journal. With her first book, Lee shattered the cliche of what a first time author accomplishes. However, because of the major success Lee faced with her first novel, she had high standards to meet with her second novel. Go Set a Watchman was the heavily anticipated second novel of Harper Lee, and to many, the heavily disappointing novel. Many critics have noted on the changes in Lee’s works and have questioned her reasoning for releasing a second novel. Even with the slight falter due to her second book, Lee still generates a large fanbase, and continues to captivate the world with her novels.