Examples Of Controversy In To Kill A Mockingbird

Mayra Ferreira Rocha

Ms. Connolly

English Period 7

09 May 2023

To Kill a Mockingbird Controversy in Education It all started on October 29, 1929, when the US stock market crashed and left the USA in a deep standstill with complete despair. The Great Depression was an economic shock that caused unemployment rates in the USA to soar, industrial production all over the world to plummet, and left families destitute. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird, is set during the Great Depression and shows many examples of deprived families. To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee set in the town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. The story sums up the life of a little girl, Scout, her brother Jem and their father Atticus. Atticus is a promising

A big concept of US history is the extreme racism displayed in it. When Atticus explains why he loses the case to Jem, he describes that in American courts “...when it’s a white man’s word against a Black man’s, the white man always wins.”(Lee 295). Harper Lee uses simple, straightforward language when describing the prejudice towards African Americans within the American justice system. The writer does this to emphasize that during the time the story is set in, racial prejudice is very common. This would teach young American teens the discriminatory history of their country towards African Americans and why it should never be repeated. Not only did the town of Maycomb show racial inequality but also gender inequality. During the summer, Dill, a friend of Scout and Jem would come around and like the other kids would hear stories about Boo Radley, the mysterious horrifying neighborhood legend. One night Dill and Jem decided to peek in the window of Boo Radley’s house, but Scout is concerned about what could happen, so Jem tells her to “‘shut your trap or go home- I declare to the lord you’re gettin more like a girl every day.’” (Lee 69). The character’s point of view is significant because as a boy, Jem views Scout as weak for being scared of Boo Radley which he shows by saying “you’re gettin more like a girl every day”.This shows that during this time

After the trial, Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father, verbally abuses Atticus for defending Tom Robinson by saying you're “Too proud to fight, you n****-lovin‘ bastard?”(Lee 291). The N-word is intended to express the deep hatred for the Black community in the novel. The word is provocative towards black people and it has an extremely powerful detestation behind it. High School students can understand that the strong language used is a serious matter and should not be taken lightly unlike younger scholars. Since the text being banned is debated in the education system, people write about whether it should or should not be banned. One of the authors debating the banning of the story is Venice Bhain who in 2022 wrote “To Kill a Mockingbird' in the hot seat at WA school district”. In the article Venice notes that three teachers at Kamiak High School had “...concerns that characters in the book frequently use the N-word while no character explains that the slur is derogatory”(Buhain). The statement shows that To Kill a Mockingbird never explains that the N-word is offensive. When Atticus reprimands Scout for saying it all he says is that it is “common” not that it is insulting and belittling. In younger classrooms, teachers would probably do this and skip over the matter of the N-word but if kids were to repeat it, for them it could seem harmless. Truly,