What Are The Main Issues In To Kill A Mockingbird

In a society that is divided upon its political views, it is difficult to see further division in classrooms over books that could be replaced. One such controversial book is Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird that receives backlash for its use of sensitive vocabulary and its misinterpretations of racism. To Kill a Mockingbird follows the narrative of a white child named Scout in the fictional setting of Maycomb, Alabama. The story follows the narrator Scout through her coming of age story in which she learns about the injustices of southern American society post great depression. The book is often used in classrooms to teach about American society subsequent to the great depression and about the racism that occurred during that time. However,

For example, during the scene in which Atticus is confronted by a mob of people in front of the police station Scout tells the mob that, “‘entailments are bad’” to which Mr.Cunningham responds, ‘“Let’s clear out,’...’Let’s get going boys’” (Lee 205-206). Mr.Cunningham’s simple response to Scout’s ignorant response incorrectly teaches racism to children as it portrays racism as something simple that could be dispersed by a child’s words. Not only does Harper Lee incorrectly portray racism in this scene but also limits the reader’s understanding of the situation as the story is being told from the perspective of a child. Young readers would be unable to grasp that the mob was there to lynch Tom Robinson and committ violence creating a skewed idea that racism in the south was not that bad. Additionally, in Ako-Adjei’s article on why Lee’s novel should not be taught in schools he makes the claim that, “Lee, like many other southerners lays the blame of racial animus only at the feet of poor whites. Remember that Bob Ewell, the poorest of all Maycomb’s residents, was the most racist…” (Ako-Adjei). Ako-Adjei’s claims show that Lee’s book not only creates an incorrect portrayal of racism but also the false idea that only poor white people were racist. This scapegoating of the poor white people incorrectly educates children that only poor white people were racist while creating the idea that rich white people such as Atticus were righteous. This incorrect stereotyping of the poor white people could be detrimental to kids as they may foster the idea that rich white people are not racist even though racism was relevant whether rich or poor. As seen through Harper’s oversimplification of racism and her portrayal of poor white people being the most racist, she also creates the