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Geralynn Mendoza

Ms. Woelke

Pre-AP ELA 9

22 May 2019

To Kill a Mockingbird Is A Sin But So Is Ignoring It

The novel, ​To Kill a Mockingbird ​by Harper Lee (1960), is a classic story of injustice

and the effects of racism in the south during the Great Depression. The story takes place during

the 1930s and is narrated by the young 6-year-old Scout, a daughter of a white man who was

courageous enough to defend a wrongly accused black man. Throughout the book, the reader is

taken along on this journey through the long, slow-paced days of a calm country town to the

chaotic and violent times exhibited during the trial. To Kill a Mockingbird has been read in

schools across the country for decades and has won multiple awards such as the Pulitzer Prize, as

well as having been translated into more than forty languages and sold over 40 million copies

worldwide, so why is it suddenly becoming controversial in schools today? Recently, the

beloved book ​To Kill a Mockingbird ​is being threatened to be banned across the U.S. and the ban

has already taken place in southern states. This book contains important lessons on standing up

for what’s right and not judging others by their appearance and stereotypes has been banned due

to it making others feel uncomfortable. Despite the controversy ​To Kill a Mockingbird​ needs to

be read in all high schools because it shows real-life problems such as racism that new

generations must acknowledge and understand in order to prevent it from ever happening again.

This story, no matter how painful to acknowledge, sheds light on the struggles and

inequality African Americans faced after being freed. Although Americans aren’t proud of their
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historical relationship with African Americans they must “recognize the hard battles that have

been fought for equality in our schools and communities” (Source B) and can’t just ignore the

hardships people went through. If we try to cover up previous discrimination it is like pretending

that everything the African Americans fought for was for nothing. By taking this book out of

schools the schools are attempting to erase this part of history, therefore degrading the suffering

of black southerners in the 1930s and creating inaccurate history resulting in ignorance on these

crucial topics of U.S. history. Despite the fact that parents and teachers may be ashamed of the

history, this book “illuminate[s] our shameful past” while also being able to “better shape the

young minds of our future”(Source E). Not only does this book help children understand the

thinking of past Americans, but also teaches them why it was wrong and encourages them to

learn from the country’s past and create a better more fair society. Its harsh themes and

underlying messages can be used to teach young minds to properly react to situations and open

children up to these real-world problems. If children were not able to read this book and learn

about a complicated topic from the simplified point of view of a six-year-old then society would

not be able to move forward and instead block out the memory of these shameful times.

The story’s disturbing themes can be beneficial in producing tough discussions that, with

the teacher’s guidance, can help students to deeply interpret why certain events happened in the

past. This allows them to ask questions and talk to a responsible adult that will explain right from

wrong in a safe environment. The damages that this book supposedly causes to young minds

“can be mitigated or evaded by an excellent teacher” (Source E). With a proper and qualified

teacher reading the story to the children, these problems can be reduced and lower the chances of

misunderstandings. This safe exposure to harsh topics can eliminate the misuse of inappropriate
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language and shepard students as they dive into such critical elements of painful history.

Through these tough discussions teachers are able “to prepare students for ‘the real world,’”

because the world outside schools are “filled with [their] own share of inequalities and

injustices” of which need to be acknowledged and if society were to censor ​To Kill a

Mockingbird​ we would be depriving students from their right to feel prepared for the outside

world (Source B). Due to the strong and controversial topics portrayed in the novel youth are

unsheltered and able to explore their feelings and views on these types of matters. They will also

be able to educate one another on proper ways to adress issues of inequality and injustice. The

contentious themes are evident throughout the world today, but through this novel schools are

able to educate and guide students in order for them to be able to have well informed views on

these topics.

Those demanding for the ban of ​To Kill a Mockingbird​ argue that its use of offensive

language influences children and teaches them that it is okay to use the abhorrent language. First

of all, the original complaint never called for the removal of the books but simply requested for

the bullying of her child to end. The first complaint in 2017 “did not ask for the removal of the

book, and the actions of school officials appeared to be in violation of the district’s materials

reconsideration policy”(Source A). The parent complaint from Biloxi, Mississippi, the first city

to ban ​To Kill a Mockingbird​, was mainly to report the bullying of her child due to the use of the

racial slur included within the novel. The complaint was more concered about how her daughter

was being treated not on the themes of the story. Not only was the removal not part of what the

parent asked for but it also violated a district polic, so it should have never been censored

anyways. Also throughout the story it is taught by Atticus, Scout’s father, the effect of this word
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on people of color and that the N-word should never be used. If the language were to be

censored, it could “blind us” of the purpose for the use of the word in the writing presented

which was “not [to condone] this word, this racial slur… They’re showing the ignorance of using

that word and having this bigotry”( Source B). The author, Harper Lee, uses the N-word to teach

valueable lessons such as how it developed the hurtful connotation it has earned today as well as

to emphasis how wrong it is to say to somone. This story provides historical context and insight

on how the word was previously used to degrade a particular group of people. Due to this

language the story feels more accurate and raw, it isnt sugar-coated and lessened to make history

seem more peaceful.If schools were to ban this novel to make the new generation “comfortable”

then they would be getting rid of a perfect introduction to a proper introduction of the N-word

and why it was used as well as ruining its historical significance, thus creating and teaching

inaccurate history.

For the sake of creating a more comfortable learning environment school officials are

willing to sacrife an opportunity to introduce students to a real world problem that was faced by

many in the past and is still being faced by others today. They also lose the chance to guide them

to be on the proper path of standing up for one another and learning to accept and embrace others

differences to benefit society. By reading and learning from this story students are exposed to the

struggles of African Americans, promoted to speak about their feelings and opinions and can

prevent this injustice from occuring in the future. Although the language is harsh and offensive it

must be read in order for it to be interpretted properly to truly understand exactly why this story

is so important to the growth of our society.