Controversy In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Veronica Palmer Mrs. Louise Gash Advanced English 9 9 December 2014 To Kill a Mockingbird Controversy Dozens of classic novels out there such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men and many more have been challenged by the American Library Association to which has caused much controversy over the issue. During the time period in To Kill a Mockingbird, events such as the Great Depression, the Jim Crowe Laws, and racism took place. These events made life hard and caused discrimination against African Americans. Harper Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. To Kill a Mockingbird is about not judging someone until you’ve walked in their shoes and the book teaches important life lessons (Lee 39). It also includes a court trial featuring Atticus…show more content…
There are certain words used in To Kill a Mockingbird that are put there for the simple purpose of showing the dialect used in the 1930’s. It’s also used to make the reader feel as if they were in that time period. Such as the word scuppernong that is used in chapter 4, “…helping ourselves to someone’s scuppernongs was part of our ethical culture, but money was different” (Lee 47). That was the dialect that they used in Maycomb, Alabama at the time. Another example is when Bob Ewell is accusing Tom Robinson of raping his daughter and uses dialect in there that people in today’s times don’t say. “-I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella!” (Lee 231). The racial words used in To Kill a Mockingbird can still be found offensive to people today, as it makes you relive the past. These words are not appropriate to read or teach students. Those racial and inappropriate words show the time period where African Americans were degraded and discriminated…show more content…
This means that you have to see everything from the character’s perspective and not judge them until you see what they see. One example of this is Tom Robinson, people assumed and judged him without knowing the real story. Yet, the message is not ruined when Tom is killed. “… you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view”(Lee 39). The racial and adult themes in To Kill a Mockingbird may be too much for middle or high school students to read. Though the offensive themes throughout To Kill a Mockingbird are inconsistent and minor compared to the major themes, such as stepping into another’s shoes. Through Tom Robinson’s death the life lessons aren’t
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