To Kill A Mockingbird Controversy Can you honestly say you??™ve ever truly enjoyed a book so much you couldn??™t put it down Well that is one that teaches you lesson after lesson but does it with so much interest it is like learning without even noticing it Harper Lees novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, did just that for me! This book was always at my fingertips! I feel very strongly that this book was astounding and the lessons it teaches are very important and it should defiantly be kept as a mandatory 10th grade read. This book is aggressive and has some foul language throughout it but when you are a sophomore in high school you should be mature enough to handle it and see past the bitter language and catch a glimpse of the wonderful messages the story is putting fourth. Moral values, racism, and the way of life in a small town are just a few of the subject I pulled from the story to help argue this controversy. To begin with, there were two main moral values I observed in this story, one of which being the judgmental nature most young maturing kids have.
Atticus helps scout mature by talking to her about judging other from what she sees on the outside and how it is never ok. ??? You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.
(Pg. 30)??? he says to her. From then on scout tries to put Atticuss advice into practice and to live with sympathy and understanding toward others. At the end of the book, she succeeds in comprehending Boo Radleys perspective and feels for him and realizes that when she judges people it hurts them and she doesn??™t get the chance to see the person for who they really are. The next moral lesson taught that caught my attention was the bravery and courage Atticus displayed. In chapter 10 Heck Tate, the sheriff, gives Atticus the rifle and tells him to shoot the mad dog running up the street, despite the people around and the problems that could be caused if he happened to miss Atticus shot the rifle and took the dog down. This showed how being brave can get you through almost any situation.
As well as the bravery it took for him to pull that trigger it also took a lot of courage for Atticus to represent Tom Robinson in the trial. He went into the trial knowing he was going to lose and this just goes to show that even if you know something may not work out exactly as you would like it still stand up strong for anything and everything you believe in. All in all this book was a great source for learning numerous moral lessons two of which being bravery and courage. Secondly, the novel To Kill a Mockingbird demonstrates many themes that ultimately become lessons, but racism is the strongest. The racism in this story teachs of the hardships a black person must go threw which helps teens see what this formality of judging does to a community.
In the book, racism takes the form of physical, emotional, and institutional discrimination. The three main discriminations in the novel include the unfair life of a black person in Maycomb, Mrs. Dubose??™s attitude towards the Finch family when the court case started, and the Tom Robinson??™s case.
In most instances black people are only accepted in the community as servants for the white people in the town. But as for some of the black people they don??™t even get that luxury, they are stuck out far from town and walk to where they work and in some cases are harassed along the way. Mrs.
Dubose always insulted Jem and Scout as they walked by her house on their way home from school but once she came to the realization that Atticus was defending Tom Robinson, a black man, she turned the hurtful insults towards Atticus, ??? Your father??™s no better than the niggers and trash he works for! (Pg113)??? In addition, during the during Tom Robinson??™s trial that Jem and Scout watched, they realized that all the white people sat comfortably at the bottom and all the Negroes sat and stood in the gallery at the top. They also realized that there were no blacks in the jury, which shows that the white people think Negroes are not smart enough to make rightful decisions. In conclusion, the racism in this book teaches very much of the hardships a black person goes threw and its effects on some of the white people in the community.
Last, but certainly not least, living in a small town in much different than the upscale towns we all live in. Harper Lee invites you into the town through her prodigious way with words and implants into your mind just how hard and completely unsimilar the two life styles really are. When living in a small town everyone is constantly gossiping about each other. The author makes it clear that no matter what is going on the whole town will always be fully aware of your business whether it be private or not! To Kill A Mockingbird is a stupendous book! It should defiantly stay in the school district as an essential sophomore read. In being the MPS School Superintendent I think it would be a shame if you took this book out of the curriculum. As stated above it illustrates moral values, racism, and hardships in small town life.
