We ban books because we feel that they are unfitting or dangerous for society. “To Kill a Mockingbird” was banned simply because it says “nigger” more than just a few times. This I just don’t understand there are many other things that are much more dangerous than this book that should probably be banned. The word “nigger” along with several other words that are offensive, degrading, and downright disrespectful are in our music, on our phones, social media, and on television every day; so, if we are using this logic shouldn’t all of that be banned to? I mean seriously if this is your reason for banning this book then we have a lot of things that should be banned. “To Kill a Mocking Bird” is not only a great book but also a book that portrays a clear and concise message. This book is about the murder, immense persecution, and hatred towards an innocent man, Tom Robinson. This book Written by Harper lee is about a rape case against an African American man during the years of 1932 to 1935 in Maycomb, Alabama. These years were filled with racism, hatred, and segregation. A rape charge against a black man, Tom Robinson, with the victim being a white woman, Mayella Ewell, was ultimately a death sentence during these times no matter the actual truth to the incident or if it even occurred in the first place. This story portrays the truth of racism and the extreme level of tyranny directed towards African Americans. Lee lays out in detail the entirety of Tom Robinson’s case from the
‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is a novel written by Harper Lee. It is set during the early 20th Century in the fictional town of Maycomb. Lee has decided to write the novel from a child’s point of view because a child is innocent but as the novel progresses the narrator, Scout, loses her innocence as she deals with the complications of her father being a lawyer. The novel revolves around racism and Scout sees discrimination wherever she goes whether it is racial or social prejudice. The town’s people agree with the idea that whites are superior to blacks. An example of this is when Atticus, Scout’s father, has to defend a black man who is accused of raping Bob Ewell’s daughter.
Throughout the book To Kill A Mockingbird Lee discusses the effects of ignorance and the toll it takes on people such as Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Scout herself, and many more. Through her examples of sexism, prejudice, and racism, from the populist of poverty stricken Southerners, she shows the readers the injustice of many. The victims of ignorance are the ‘mockingbirds’ of the story. A good example of this injustice is the trial of Tom Robinson, who is falsely accused of raping a white girl and is found guilty. The book is from the point of view Scout, a child, who has an advantage over most kids due to her having a lawyer as a dad, to see the other side of the story. Her father tells her in the story, “you never really know a man until
Decades ago, in the 1930s, people of color were not treated fairly. Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird took place in the 1930s in the fictional place of Macomb County, Alabama. It was narrated through a young girl named Scout Finch. Throughout the novel, Scout, her older brother, Jem, and their good friend Dill discover realities of society. Scout and Jem’s father, Atticus, was appointed to be the attorney of a black man. Because of the time period, the case was almost hopeless, but Atticus fought anyway. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird displays universal themes such as racial intolerance and innocence of youth.
Tom Robinson’s case contributes to how he resembles a mockingbird and shows the injustice of society. Tom Robinson, an African-American man accused of raping a girl named Mayella Ewell, has his case taken to court. Tom is tried in front of a jury of twelve white men along with a white judge which does not display a fair representation of his peers. This results in them finding Tom guilty and sentencing him to death, even though all evidence points to him being innocent. Tom later gets shot while trying to escape prison. Atticus Finch, Tom’s lawyer, says in the beginning of the book, “‘It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird’” (Harper Lee 119). Using the word “sin” shows harming an innocent being would be a very cruel thing to do, especially coming from Atticus. This relates to Tom Robinson’s situation because every piece of evidence from the trial proves he is not guilty, yet he still gets sent to jail and ends up being shot. The town’s newspaper publisher, Mr. Underwood, writes about Tom’s death and says, “ [I] likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children” (Lee 323). This quote emphasizes the similarities between Tom’s case and a mockingbird. Equally important, it uses words like “senseless” and “slaughter” to further highlight the severity of harming a creature who did nothing wrong. Lee compares Tom Robinson to the “songbirds” because both of them have positive effects on their surroundings and do nothing but be beneficial. Through the case of Tom Robinson, Lee shows the connection with the innocence of Tom to the symbol of a mockingbird.
To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel written by Harper Lee, tells the story of a little girl named Scout. Set in Alabama in the 1930s, Maycomb county, Scout’s home, is a sleepy place, that hides a dark streak of racism. Maycomb gets pulled into a whirlwind court case of sexual assault consisting of an African American man getting accused of beating and raping a white girl. Scout, whose father defended the African American, learns of the deep problems in society. Still in the mindset of constant racism, the jury ruled against the black man, even though the evidence clearly proved that the girl’s father beat her. Unfortunately, this racism survives today, and one only has to take a peek at the news, or a glance outside to notice it. Racism still exists today, as seen through brutality against
Remember when one was taught that one shouldn't be afraid to speak up? Or speak about what one believes in? Well, censorship breaks apart all of that freedom we fought for, and learned throughout the years. Here is why censorship should not be implemented in the United States. Throughout the years, many innovative authors have created masterpieces and best sellers, such as Cujo, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and many other classic books from Stephen king, mark twain, and other great authors. Unfortunately, many books have been challenged and banned due to the violence, gruesome, and sexual content. In 1960 “To KIll a Mockingbird” was released and immediately became successful. However, it’s one of the most controversial and challenged book due to the fact that many schools, parents, teachers claim that the book provides content that is racially, and sexually inappropriate for young readers. Still to this day, Harper Lee's “To Kill a Mockingbird,” remains among one of the top banned books. This is why Books shouldn't be censored because mature readers won't get the opportunity to read the books that they can handle.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a book that takes place in the Deep South during the early 19th century. Throughout the book, we learn about the ideas and mentality of southerners especially towards issues like race. An ongoing theme in the book is the symbol of a “Mockingbird” which supposedly symbolizes goodness, beauty, innocence and vulnerability. One of the main characters named Tom Robinson can be portrayed as a Mockingbird. He is vulnerable by simply being black in the south; and his goodness and innocence are both illustrated during the court case. Most African Americans are mistreated in Maycomb county, and Tom Robinson is no exception. He has been accused of raping a young lady named Mayella Ewell which shows his vulnerability.
The 1930's were a turbulent time for race relations in America. The book To Kill A Mockingbird takes place during this time period. Written by Harper Lee To Kill A Mockingbird is a story that is set during the times of the 1930s in Maycomb, AL. The story is a flashback told through the perspective of Scout Finch, the daughter of Atticus Finch, a successful lawyer, and the sister of Jem Finch. In a part of Scout’s flashback, she recalls the trial of Tom Robinson, who was defended by her father. Tom Robinson was an African American who was accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell, daughter of Bob Ewell. Unfortunately, this trial is unfair and biased with an unjust outcome because of the jury and racism.
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is a timeless, touching novel that examines stereotyping and its consequences. The novel shadows Atticus Finch, a small town lawyer, as he defends a black man, Tom Robinson who is accused of raping a white woman in racist Maycomb, Alabama. In this small town, hypocrisy is brought out tremendously. Prejudice and stereotyping flows throughout this book. The idea of people as "trash" is discussed throughout the story.
In the historical novel To Kill A Mocking Bird, By Harper Lee, justice and racism are recurring subjects. Lee uses characters such as Calpurnia and Mr. Raymond to show how often people are denied rights because of racism. The African American’s are portrayed as the scapegoat, many characters are being blamed for things just because they are African American. This reflects the characters’ attitude to the African American population. Lee uses the setting and culture in To Kill a Mockingbird to express the social class of 1930’s Alabama, negatively to show how racist some characters’ were.
The book To Kill a Mockingbird has been fought over for many years. Many people think it should be banned for its language and storyline, which in fact does not make sense at all because those themes exist in real life as well, and we can’t erase them from history. It has many important values imbedded in the story for us to learn, as well as a lot to teach us about our history. This 1960’s novel is a classic with what was a controversial plot at the time. To Kill a Mockingbird is a great novel and should not be banned from schools.
The trial of Tom Robinson is a big event in To Kill a Mockingbird, where it clearly shows how African Americans are viewed as inferiors during the 1900s. This very trial was inspired by a real event when Lee was 10 years old, when a white women accused one African American man of raping her, leading the man to be convicted and sentenced to death. However, after
To Kill A Mockingbird is a 1960 novel written by Harper Lee. The novel presents difficult issues in the world through the young eyes of Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. The novel revolves around a criminal case between a black man and a white woman. The woman, Mayella Ewell, claimed that Tom Robinson raped her. When Tom is found guilty, he is given the death penalty. In our world today, rape isn’t usually a capital crime, but in the time of the novel, it was. “Jem was shaking his head. “I know it’s not right, but I can’t figure out what’s wrong--- maybe rape shouldn’t be a capital offense” (Lee, 294). The history of the death penalty plays a large part in why Tom was sentenced to death.
The little southern town of Maycomb was embedded with such rich racism against the population of poor African Americans. Literary critic, Joseph Crespino recounts “In the twentieth century, To Kill A Mockingbird is probably the most widely read book dealing with race in America, and its protagonist, Atticus Finch, the most enduring fictional image of racial heroism” (1). Racism is clearly shown in Lee’s novel when angry white mobs aim to execute black male, Tom Robison. When word gets around that Scout and Jem’s father, Atticus Finish, is going to defend Tom Robinson in court, they have to deal with racist taunts from their classmates, as visible in this remark, “Cecil Jacobs made me forget. He had announced in the schoolyard the day before that Scout Finch’s daddy defended niggers. I denied it, but told Jem (Lee 99). However, it is not Cecil’s fault he is so ignorant against racism. He is a young child. Little children tend to learn from their surroundings. Cecil had to have been taught from his parents that defending a black man was unsuitable. Again, Crespino delineates “the enduring career of To Kill a Mockingbird as a story of racial justice, and of Atticus Finch as a racial hero, reveals much about American racial politics in the second half of the twentieth century. From 1960’s liberalism…Atticus Finch has been both admired and scorned by liberals and conservatives alike” (2) Atticus’s
In the story, “To Kill a Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee, it is filled with a variety of lessons and symbolism. The biggest lesson takes place in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. The time takes place in the 1930’s where the race of white people overrule African Americans. Atticus Finch, lawyer and the father of the main characters Jem and Scout, teaches that to kill a mockingbird is a sin because all they do is make music for us to enjoy. The mockingbird in the story is very important to show how the life of an innocent black man is taken out of hatred and racism. The mockingbird in the story is Tom Robinson for the reasons that he is thoughtful and kind to Mayella Ewell, brought to court for a crime that he did not commit, and is discriminated