Why Not to Ban Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird

The first influence on Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is the Jim Crow laws. The Jim Crow laws were a set of rules that perpetuated racism and segregation. These rules were sickening and appalling. The Jim Crow laws were made to keep Blacks from interacting with Whites. For example, if a white woman were to fall a black man could not offer her, his hand to help her up because it was considered rape (Pilgrim 2). Many scientists and religious leaders justified these laws. One reason was that scientist thought that black peoples brains were inferior to those of white people. Also, many religious leaders believed that Whites were the chosen people and Blacks were just there to serve them (Pilgrim 2). If you were not following these laws, there were sever consequences. People believed these punishments were necessary to “keep Blacks in their place”. One example is mass lynching. This punishment is when a mob of people would take a black person, accused of breaking a rule, and beat them, torture them, and kill them. The police didn’t just not stop these rampages, often they would participate. The Jim Crow laws can be seen in To Kill a Mockingbird in many ways. One of the laws was that a black person could not say that a white person was lying (Pilgrim). This is shown in the book when Tom is accused of calling Mayella a liar, by Mr. Gilmer (Lee 224).

“Calpurnia says that's n***** talk” (Lee 37). To Kill a Mockingbird shouldn't be banned in

To Kill a Mockingbird was once a book “every adult should read before they die.” The book is a classic, and a great example of American literature. However, many have complained about the book, too. I’ve read it and I personally think that it’s great book. I totally disagree on banning the book. Although I do think that there should be some sort of label on the book warning people about what’s in the content.

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

Society has evolved since the time of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, causing racial bias to diminish and fair assessment under the law. Harper Lee uses the unnecessary judgement of Tom Robinson by the court to show racial bias in the government. Evidence of this includes a quote from Atticus Finch, "To begin with, this case should have never come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white." (Lee 219). This quote shows that the accused was falsely criticized due to racial bias in the governmental system, and Atticus is recognizing that the only reason this trial took place was because of Maycomb's racist tendencies. Though it does not appear as often, racial bias still occurs in the government presently. A quote from the article

Controversial topics in literature have been used for many years to introduce the reader into a point-of-view that may not have been clear. Controversial topics were used greatly in novels such as The Jungle by Upton Sinclair and, most commonly known, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. To Kill a Mockingbird is a book that revolves around the unfair judgement of African Americans in Alabama in the 1950s. The book was highly controversial, and was even banned from schools for a long period of time. Today, however, To Kill a Mockingbird is hailed as an American classic, and a book with morals that everyone should stand by. The most common moral lesson in the book is the character of Atticus Finch, the narrator’s father who stands up for a young

In Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird , she recalls her experiences as a six-year-old child from an adult perspective. Scout describes the circumstances of her widowed father, Atticus, and his legal defense of Tom Robinson. Robinson was a local black man accused of raping a white woman, which arose many ethics between society. Throughout the three years surrounding the trial, Scout and Jem, witnessed the unjust consequences of prejudice and hate. Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird was published during the Civil Rights movement, and was used to implicate a Southern racist society by using rhetorical appeals and devices. Throughout the book , Harper Lee reveals her ideas concerning racial prejudice, faith in justice, and the goodness of

Some might argue that when Harper Lee wrote this book she used to much offensive language towards black people such as the word “nigger”. Here is an example from page 201, “It stood on no lonely hill, but was wedged between tyneals hardware store and the Maycomb tribune office, the jail was the only conversation piece its detractors said it looked like a victorian privy. Its supporters said it gave that town a good solid respectable look, and no stranger would care except that it was full of niggers.” However if you pay attention to the book it will teach you something and it teaches you stuff bigger than a word that racist people use. On page 119 “Mockingbirds don't do anything but make music for us to enjoy they don't eat up people's gardens, don’t nest in corncribs. They don’t do one thing but sing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. This teaches us that is bad to attack the

The cult classic book To Kill a Mockingbird is generally considered a stunning work of art, but not in the eyes of all schools. Recently the Biloxi School District has chosen to recall To Kill a Mockingbird from its curriculum because the book includes a bit of inappropriate language. Unfortunately this opinion of the book has been around for decades. Kurt Vonnegut, the author, wrote a letter to respond Drake High School deciding to burn his book. These schools should not ban this time-honored book on the grounds that it’s bad for the students in the long run.

The Banning for To Kill a Mockingbird The book called “To Kill a Mockingbird” was written by a great author Harper Lee. The book had won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961. It sold over millions of copies, and was one of the favorite novels in 1999. The book was known to make a difference in people’s lives, but then soon became known to be banned in many other states.

Imagine your child coming home and not being allowed to read a book because another person had felt uncomfortable. What would be your first action? Banning books should not be permitted because students should be mature enough to see the hidden message behind “To Kill A Mockingbird”.

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

Many aspects of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, can be seen as inappropriate for high school students, and controversial in general. The racial slurs and foul language used, are some of the disputed aspects that might contribute to making To Kill a Mockingbird a banned book. Due to the questionable words and topics in To Kill a Mockingbird, this novel should not be taught in public schools.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a banned book. It has been banned for using derogatory words and phrases to describe people of color. In class, we read it and it was amazing. Harper Lee is a prodigious writer and this book is one of the best books I have read so far. I love the story and the plot so much, there is both suspense and action in the story.

According to the article Five Reasons to teach To Kill A Mockingbird and Six Reasons Not to, To Kill A Mockingbird was, “Written at the time of the civil rights movement but set in an earlier time period, it reflects an important part of American history and exposes practices that young people may not be familiar with,” (5 Reasons, 2014). Although colored people now had rights because of the Civil Rights Movement, it didn’t mean that all the white community would treat them as equals. Slavery will forever stay as a large scar in American history, and diversity and racism will forever stay in some hearts. Though The Civil Rights Movement was harsh, it wasn’t the only major misfortune that was happening. In school, Scout and her classmates were instructed to talk about current events; Cecil Jacobs, one of her classmates, offered to talk about the current situation in Germany, “...old Adolf Hitler has been after the Jews and he’s puttin’ ‘em in prisons and he’s taking away all their property and he won’t let any of them out of the country…” (Harper Lee 1960, pg. 244). Hitler’s example taught students that no one should ever be persecuted for who they are, teachers emphasizing and expanding it. Yet in their town, they’re persecuting the colored folk. It makes the readers realize that their will always be hate in the world, no matter how much love there is. The provides the moral of telling the truth and being straightforward. Hypocrisy is an awful lie that should never be committed. Harper Lee gets that message out through a young girl who is deeply confused on how adults can just turn their backs and lie. To Kill A Mockingbird brings wisdom to all whom read it, but does everyone truly believe that it’s a wise