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Pros And Cons Of To Kill A Mockingbird

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School is a place where students have the opportunity to learn. In fact, the entire point of attending school is to learn about the past, the present, and to prepare students for the future. With this said, taking important factors away from the past--whether they are negative or not--does not benefit academic learners. In some schools, To Kill A Mockingbird has been removed from curriculum or even banned because of the use of repetitive racial slurs and “uncomfortable” situations. Recently, many people have dove straight into debating the pros and cons of this novel. Though some may argue that To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee should not be taught in school, this book should continue to stay in english and literature curriculum as it teaches …show more content…

Although racial slurs and bad language may seem unsettling and inappropriate for young adults, the usage throughout To Kill A Mockingbird actually helps readers understand the racial injustice and prejudice that occurred, and why it is not tolerable. One of the main characters Atticus Finch, defends a black man in court--Tom Robinson--who was falsey accused of raping a white woman. The main idea of this book is to represent racism in the U.S during this time period and how it unfortunately happened very often. The book proves that black people deserve just as many rights as white people do, so when people argue that the language isn’t necessary, it truly only contributes to understanding the cruelty and actions of realistic characters. Harper Lee describes “As you grow older you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life…but whenever a white man does that…he is trash (224). This piece of information shows that an influencer and leader in the town of Maycomb, as well as a positively written character by Harper Lee, wants his own children to respect black people. Even though prejudice occurs frequently in the novel, it is also one of the biggest concepts to explain that is not right or fair in the time period, as well as current day. This is similar to The Power of Words lesson when Professor Neal Lester wrote, “Words have power and there are certain ways in which when we authenticate a historical moment that that word is very powerful,” (12). This shows that even in To Kill A Mockingbird, the depth and hideous meaning behind the N-word and other racial slurs still exists, but if students never learn about words and their deep history, they won’t understand why it is never okay to use those terms. The opposing views upon racial slurs have a major impact on the decision of

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In the book to kill a mockingbird the author harper lee portray racism for what it is cruel and morally wrong. In the story to kill a mockingbird takes place during the 1930's in maycomb alabama, Tells the view of racism and segregation through the point of view girl names scout finch, whos dad later end’s up defending a black man names Tom Robinson in court who is accused of rape. It shows the moral effects on people of segregation being forced to live in a crappy side of town.

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475 Words | 2 Pages

Should Harper Lee's How to kill a mockingbird book be a part of the school's required book curriculum? The issue with the book is the language and the time the book takes place and how black characters are treated in How To kill a Mockingbird. How to kill a mockingbird should not be a part of a school's curriculum in today's world. Why should How to kill a MockingBird not be a part of the school's curriculum? First off because the book is outdated and it does not represent our society today.

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930 Words | 4 Pages

Rosa Parks once said, “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome”. Many instances within the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” relate to the topic of racism and how it is introduced to children. During the Great Depression, there was an excess amount of stigma that people of color were inferior to white people. This racism in the time period seems to have inspired Harper Lee to write a novel which encompasses this topic.

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620 Words | 3 Pages

Some people think that to kill a mocking bird should/should not be taught in classrooms , Many schools teach To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee as part of their curriculum; however, some people think that this book is inappropriate for use in schools to teach this novel , it is important because It helps students understand how life was in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird; the book (should not/should) be taught in schools because bad language, you can learn from it, and it teaches not to hate people for what others did. first off, some people think to kill a mockingbird is not a good story to be taught, because of the bad language for example, in a recently published article( by Brian M). , he says “I turn the channel on TV at home when language gets harsh and my five-year-old daughter is sitting next to me”, However, he changes the channel because he wants his child to grow up with virtues he wants her not to be exposed to that kind of stuff Therefore, he doesn’t want his child to grow up with bad language and bad influences but tkam can be looked as a good influence when you can see the mistakes people made that is why to kill a mockingbird should be taught in classrooms.

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2250 Words | 9 Pages

Various books have been censored within the American education system due to their controversial subjects or the use of profane language, examples of this could include “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee being banned in certain school districts [Pen America]. Many people see this book as being a significant portrayal of how growing up and understanding other points of view can benefit one and make them into a better person later in life, which is an important life lesson this book teaches despite its language and controversy. To Kill a Mockingbird not only considers racial issues, but also gender norms and the importance of getting to know someone, so why ban the book? Lisa Fink who authored an article for the National Council of Teachers of English argues that we should stop acting as though To Kill a Mockingbird is progressive regarding racial indifferences, she states “...the messages about race and the status quo are so very outdated.” (Fink) when that could not be further from the truth.

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Ever wonder about real life lessons and what comes with having them, well the essay you 're about to read will teach you about them. First of all many lessons from older times have been taught today in school, some may not have been. To kill a mockingbird is a great lesson that teachers shouldn 't teach today for example the book has old fashioned and very sophisticated writing like on pg(31) “Jems free dispensation of my pledge..”, what high schooler in 10th grade is going to know what that word even means. If teachers are going to teach a lesson to their students then the kids should actually be able to understand the writing. Another example why to kill a mockingbird shouldn 't be taught in schools today is because kids would read this book and most likely not even be able to relate to the book, the whole racism thing we wouldn 't understand mainly because in our times everyone is treated the same, color doesn 't matter.

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731 Words | 3 Pages

Hello, my name is Zac, and today I will be speaking to you all about why To Kill a Mockingbird should not be banned in schools. To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written and published by Harper Lee in 1960. The novel takes place during the three years of the great depression in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. The novel deals with serious issues of rape and racial inequality. To Kill a Mockingbird should not be banned in schools because students such as myself need to exposed to the themes that are in the novel because the novel’s themes have relevance in today’s society.

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872 Words | 4 Pages

This book should be taught to High School students across the country, and it should not be a banned book. To Kill a Mockingbird teaches students morals, and ethics. The book is still partially accurate to what some people go through even in today’s world, and what the books reads is still a part of history that should not be covered up and tucked away. To Kill a Mockingbird should still be taught in school systems, and should not be a banned book because the novel focuses on a part of history that should not be ignored.

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1719 Words | 7 Pages

In the text of To Kill a Mockingbird, the theme of racism is conveyed to the reader and is prevalent throughout the text. It handles the theme well, and it is shown that racism in the 1930s was taken into account when the author was writing it. The way racism is conveyed to the reader is through the constant name-calling and insults Scout witnessed towards her father and the scenes that witnessed the trial. Before and during the trial, Atticus is called numerous names. Often, people pick at him for defending a black man in a court case and trying to properly defend him instead of just acting the part as a lawyer.

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860 Words | 4 Pages

The novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” was written in 1960 by Harper Lee in the point of view of a young innocent girl named Scout. One of the main messages that Lee has (need a new word than – indicated or set out) is racism, it plays an important role which strongly impacts many character’s lives unfairly and changes the relationship between two. Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” shows that it is wrong to hurt someone who does no harm to you, for example, black people are innocent but no way did they have as many rights as white people did. Black people lived hard lives because society was judgemental, irrational and most importantly, racist. As Scout and Jem grow older they learn to cope, take responsibility and are introduced to new aspects of life, one of which is racism.

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1538 Words | 7 Pages

The book has been used in school curricula since its release date, and has won the Pulitzer prize. Books with such fame as this are often thrown into the spotlight, picked apart, and criticized no matter their content. To Kill a Mockingbird, however, contains large amounts of potentially offensive and inappropriate information, making it one of the most controversial books ever to be discussed. Of course, the book deals with many important life lessons as well. A story of coming of age, the book helps to bring young readers to a better understanding of themselves.

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1233 Words | 5 Pages

In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird there is evidence of a racist past that is still brought up to this day. There are many lessons to be learned from this book that are still relevant today such as inequality in the justice system and underlying racism. In modern day society, historian Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor talks about how the “n-word” is used by many but most of the time people do not know the harm or history behind the word. I believe that Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird is still relevant to this day and that it can help teach future generations to stray away from using the “n-word” by learning from its racist past. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird brings about the unfairness of the justice system for African

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1187 Words | 5 Pages

Being able to completely understand and follow the different language in To Kill a Mockingbird is one thing, but to decide whether or not it’s still relevant is another thing. Well this book still is relevant and yes some may say that this book is history and we should be reading about the future and present not about the past, but our past is the most important because we can read about the mistakes made and not make them again. To Kill a Mockingbird is based around the civil rights movement and that means that there was a lot of racism happening during the novel. Even though To Kill a Mockingbird is considered an “older” novel and currently it’s the 21st century and not all students enjoy reading this book in their schools but the novel should stay in these curriculums because of the hard times in the civil rights movement

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833 Words | 4 Pages

That is all in the eyes of the reader, and depends a lot on the age of the reader. The book "To Kill a Mockingbird" was published and became available in 1960 during a time of intense racial issues in the United States. This book featured a topic in which a white lawyer who had to represent an African American man in a court case could not decide to help or not because of the towns views towards the man. The whole book was considered controversial and it was not long after this book came out that it was quickly banned from schools and nearly almost all stores in the country. Now, in many high schools around the nation the book is being used as a point of teaching simple morals and as a great literacy novel to read and use in the classroom.

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635 Words | 3 Pages

This shows that they are defined by their name which could be a good or bad thing. Those on the opposing side argue that To Kill A Mockingbird should not remain on the banned book list because it has very important standards of life that are taught within the book. Although this is true they fail to realize that these standards are taught in daily life and within these standards that are expressed in the novel it is taught in a very negative way using racism and prejudice ways surrounding these life lessons.

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