To Kill a Mockingbird

1 To Kill a Mockingbird Published in 1960, “To Kill a Mockingbird” is an award-winning American classic. It was written by Harper Lee and centers around her own experiences growing up in the South of North America. The novel is set in the Deep South during the Great Depression. During this period, racism was rife and deeply entrenched in the US. Despite slave trade being abolished for over a century, Black people were still severely oppressed and sidelined, lacking the same freedoms as white people. “To Kill a Mockingbird” narrates this struggle through its main characters, Scout Finch and Tom Robinson.

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2 It is apparent that Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, should be not banned in middle and high schools because it gives students the opportunity to understand the origins and consequences of prejudice and racism in the United States. Secondly, the book tackles complex issues that still ensure today. Therefore the lessons contained in it can be used to address societal issues.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” is set in Maycomb, a fictional town in Alabama. The protagonist is Scout Finch, who lives with her brother, Jeremy Atticus, “Jem”, and widowed father Atticus. A black man named Tom Robinson is wrongly accused of raping a white girl. His case is represented by Atticus, Scout's lawyer father (Lee, 2014). Despite several convicting evidence that he was not at the crime scene, and he did not commit it, he is declared guilty and is sent to prison. He is shot dead while trying to escape prison.

The central themes of the novel are loss of innocence and racial inequality. The novel's title comes from a conversation between Scout and Atticus where Scout, feeling dismayed by Tom's heavy predicament, asserts that it is wrong “To Kill a Mockingbird”. It is not harmful, it simply sings. The mockingbird analogy also refers to Boo Radley and her brother Jem. For several years, “To Kill a Mockingbird” has been the subject of intense debate in the US. It is deemed too controversial for middle and high schools. It contains strong language such as profanity and racial slurs, and the storyline discusses rape and sexuality, which are considered sensitive topics.

The book was first banned in 1966, by a Hanover County school board after it was declared “immoral” and therefore inappropriate for school children’s reading. “To Kill a Mockingbird” should not be banned in schools because it is just as important for students to read

3 it now as it was 60 years ago when it was released. Racial inequality and injustice are still a reality in the United States (Santopietro, 2018).

The novel is listed among the Library of Congress’ most banned or challenged books, along with others that mostly address similar issues. There has not been any clear reason for the book’s banning, other than the fact that it makes people ‘uncomfortable’. In explaining why the book was an inappropriate reading, a school board member in Mississippi claimed that the language used made it an uncomfortable read, and the same themes and topics could be taught using other books. The coarse language in the book refers to the ‘n-word’ that is used in dialogue approximately 50 times in the book. It is not censored.

In the United States, racism is still not talked about enough, yet it is a controversial issue that is still rife many centuries after Black people were brought to the United States. The book is an essential read because it teaches children that caring for people is not dependent on their race, education level or social class. Children should learn about the prejudices and inequalities that are still highly prevalent in American society early enough. Uncomfortable situations are important because they stimulate conversation. Banning the novel robs students of a rich opportunity to learn valuable lessons on the injustices that are still prevalent in society.

In the novel, Atticus states that it is impossible to understand another person’s situation until you are in their skin and see things from their view.

If the reader looks past the language, there are very valuable lessons to learn from the novel. “To Kill a Mockingbird” reveals the impact that racism has on innocent people's lives and shows how internalized prejudices have affected society's view of an entire race (Wessh, 2019).

The language used in the book and its storyline is appalling in some instances; however, the fact that it is shocking draws the attention of the reader even more. Its banning shows that people are

4 not willing to discuss these issues, and this fear and reluctance perpetuates the matters that are addressed in the novel.

The school curriculum should represent the true version of people's histories, lives and experiences. When students are taught that the issues related to certain groups of people are too uncomfortable to read about, they carry on this attitude to adulthood. This results in a world where the issues that plagued society several centuries and decades ago continue to remain unaddressed. The United States public school curriculum should affirm that all identities matter.

However, banning the book has failed to do so, since it shows that matters of racism and prejudice are too uncomfortable to discuss in the school setting. Yet, that is the most appropriate forum to handle these matters.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” is a work of fiction that is not far from the truth of how life has been for black people in the United States. The fact that it is considered controversial enough to be banned proves that it is an important read. It should not be banned because it reveals how life was for black people in the past, and how that is linked to the present. If change is to come, we must have an accurate picture of the past.

Beyond the language, “To Kill a Mockingbird” has the potential to teach students about the impact of prejudices on people’s lives.

According to research, a significant majority of school book authors are white.

Additionally, most of the characters in these books are white people. Minority races are underrepresented in the curriculum (Wessh, 2019). The banning of “To Kill a Mockingbird” relays the message that the issues that cause these prejudices should not be openly discussed.

This is all a part of the deeply entrenched systematic oppression that seeks to perpetuate racial prejudice by silencing stories deemed "uncomfortable".

5 Despite being banned, “To Kill a Mockingbird” has won the highly distinguished Pulitzer Prize and is listed as one of the ‘best-loved’ reads in the United States. It has also been translated into an Academy award-winning movie. Its success can be attributed to the fact that it presents the complexities experienced by certain groups in the US; thus, it makes people think and talk about difficult issues. It should be allowed in schools because it allows students to discuss the challenging yet important issues of gender, racism, prejudices and even sexual assault.

References Lee, H. (2014). “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Harper.

Santopietro, T. (2018). Why “To Kill a Mockingbird” Matters: What Harper Lee's Book and the Iconic American Film Mean to Us Today. St. Martin’s Publishing Group Wessh, J. (2019). The Theme of Racism in Harper Lee's "“To Kill a Mockingbird”". GRIN Verlag