The novel To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, should be a challenged book
because of the excessive use of racism, the unending abusive language, but it
does allow the reader to take away an important life lesson about development.
Scout begins to realize that the world
that she is placed in is not one of freedom, especially not for a black
man. In an attempt to learn a bit more
about the situation, she immediately visits her father for some help with the
situation. Atticus gives her a short
lesson on the disadvantages shared between the different races. He says, “In [Maycomb] courts, when it’s a
white man’s word against a black man’s word, the white always wins” (Lee
252). All the black men in this northern
southern town faced a certain problem if blamed for something, whether they did
it or not. In this time period, the society is corrupted by
racism. Different viewpoints from
opposing races are brought up and are subject to change day in and day
out. In
To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus explains to his children about how
disadvantages are present. It is not
only the fact that black men are “against” white men; there is a bigger issue
present. Whites completely oppose the
black race. The actual problem is that
the white men always “win.” No matter if
the black is innocent or should not be charged, he will lose the case in any
circumstance. The whites did not care,
or listen to what any black man had to say. Whites always came out on the
winning end or victorious. Scout comes
to a fuller realization with herself, knowing that the world she lives in is
not fair. The racism should not have to do with the banning or removal of this
book because it is necessary to the message of the story. This book should not
be banned because its message is way too valuable to dispose of. The novel teaches a life lesson that could
lead to a decline in racism in schools and regular lives today.
This book is without a doubt a must read book. It may use racism but at the time this was normal language. Also you yourself show its message; that racism is a problem and it can, has and will continue to cost people their lives and/or dignity. This was so obviously written to combat racism that to say it is racist is just not a true statement. Anything that could be argued against it be it the racism, rape or any other questionable thing is used to show the deeper message of the story.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on this subject. I too think that this book should be a must read book. Although it does use some offensive language, the book is more trying to help the reader understand how big a problem racism was and still is today. Racism is not something to to be taken lightly and I think this book shows racism in a way that is not overly offensive, but still gets the point across.
DeleteI completely agree with Peter due to the fact that this book should be a must read. The racism in this book teaches the reader a lesson rather than offends the reader. Atticus teaches his children that racism is wrong, Atticus also stands up for the black man, Tom, because Tom can't help himself in this situation. The reason the white men always "win" is simply because of the time period, rather than the unnecessary use of racism.
DeleteI think this book should be read because it shows different opinions on the matter of racism. It shows both sides to the situation, and even though it may seem like it is making the white man look superior, that is not true today. The story can almost be a history lesson about racism and the lesser rights of African Americans during that time period.
ReplyDeleteI think that this book should be a must read because all high school students are able to handle this type of language and most of them have already heard these words. They should be mature enough to understand that this language was common during this time period towards african americans. This allows the high school students to focus on the book more because they understand and know just how racist these people were. One of the main parts of the book is the racism and how cruel they were to Tom who couldn't even stand up for himself.
ReplyDeleteI think that this book should be a must-read for may reasons. First of all, the racism and cursing present in this book was present at the time the book was written, and in the time in which the book was portrayed, so it would only be natural to include it. The whole inclusion of racism and racial slurs were used not to glorify such actions but rather to oppose them. The racism in the book is needed to portray the overall message of the book, that racism leads to division and division to enmity. Racism is a key part in the book, so it is not just used to demean but rather to acknowledge.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Great quote choice! It clearly shows the absence of racial equality.
As with all of the comments above, I agree that this should be a must read book. The racism and abusive language used in this book was appropriate to the time that it was written. This book was published in 1960 in a time when racism was very active. It is not surprising that this language was used in the book because it helps to get the point across that it is not right to do this. The racism and language is used in a way to help the readers understand that this was not okay. However, you did a very nice job on writing this and made a convincing argument for your opinion. I am a bit confused with your conclusion and which side that you are arguing for at the end of your paragraph.
ReplyDeleteI also agree this book should be a must-read and I agree with you on the fact that the racism is what brings literary value and a real purpose/message to the book. I think that the racism should be discussed because, obviously, many people do not always understand why it is being mentioned or used so much in the book. However, it is so important as to why this book is a "classic" and why it is so moving, because all the racism really happened and we need to, as a society, recognize this and learn from our mistakes. Instead of banning the only books that teach us what we did wrong and how we could fix it.
ReplyDeleteIn 8th grade, at Stanely Clark, we read this class in English. I agree with you Gunnar that this book has somewhat offensive and inappropriate language, but this book has to be a must read. This book has racism and pushes the reader outside of their comfort zone. Also this book is a great book and I would think that these teenagers would be able to take this inappropriate language.
ReplyDeleteGunnar, I would have to disagree with you, and say that this is a must-read book. Even though there is a lot of offensive language throughout, it is not excessive. The purpose of it is to show teens just how life was back in the south pre-1960s, and they should be able to understand that the author is correctly documenting the same abuse she experienced when she grew up in the south during this time period. The book shows how the world is, with nothing added on to make it especially offensive, which is why it should be a must-read book.
ReplyDeleteI disagree. This book should be a must read. Although the vulgarity is to a high, the message is greater. I read this book in eighth grade also at school. Our teacher told us that even though the book contains "rough" parts, the message of white men versus black men overcomes that.
ReplyDeleteGunnar, I also chose this book and wrote that it should be a must-read book. While reading it the offensive language was not enough to make me not want to read the book and I dont think it would strongly discourage anyone from reading this book. This books teaches so much that it should not be challenged, there are so many important themes and messages that need to be taught and this book teaches those messages and themes perfectly. I personally think that it could help people see what African-Americans went through back then and how we can learn from racism. Sus.
ReplyDeleteGunnar, I do not agree with argument that this should be a challenged book. You said it yourself: its message is way too valuable to dispose of. The novel teaches a life lesson that could lead to a decline in racism in schools and regular lives today. Although the racism displayed in your post is strong argument: that it's not fair for a white to come out on top no matter if a black is innocent or guilty, it is very necessary and valuable for the message of the book to get across to readers. I believe that this is a must read book because it allows readers the opportunity to realize the morality in themselves which could ultimately result in strong character building.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree. The excessive use of racism can be seen as terrible now, but if you think about it, what else could be said. Do you really expect the racists of those days to refer to black people as "African Americans''? It would be really weird, if they did.
ReplyDelete