Novel Prejudice: Why To Kill A Mockingbird Was Banned
To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Nelle Harper Lee, was published in 1960 and immediately became successful. However, starting in 1977, the book was challenged and even banned from many school districts due to the themes presented by the novel such as profanity, rape, and most importantly, racism (American Literature Association). Challenges and critiques of the novel were common up until the mid 2000s, but To Kill A Mockingbird was banned because of the timeframe it was published in, and the failure of the censor’s part to really understand the message that Harper Lee was trying to convey. (May)
The novel is in first person point of view and the speaker is Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. In …show more content…
Much of the profanity comes from Scout, for example, “Don’t pay any attention to her, Jack. [Scout’s] trying you out. Cal says she’s been cussing fluently for a week, now.” However, according to the American Library Association, most of the reasons for the ban were really the themes of rape and racism in the book. The profanity only adds an extra reason to ban the book. The main two reasons why the book was banned are its themes of rape and racism (American Library Association). But because of the time period, racism is the most prominent complaint. When southern parents discovered the novel, they filed complaints and seek to drive it out of the education system. (May) In the 1960s and 70s, racism and social prejudice declined and more blacks were winning political offices. Racism was becoming more and more frowned upon because of equality fighters such as Martin Luther King. Three black parents have actually resigned from the town’s Human Relations Advisory Council when the book was not removed from the school system saying, “[To Kill A Mockingbird] does psychological damage to the positive integration process and represents institutionalized racism.”(May) However, people feel the need to censor To Kill A Mockingbird due to their flawed perspective, “They …show more content…
She wrote the book to criticize racism, but the flawed interpretation of the public caused the book to banned due to profanity, its references to rape, and racism. People thought of the book as, “degrading to African Americans,” (American Literature Association) but that’s what Harper Lee wanted, to show how wrong it is in the perspective of Caucasians. Lee used symbolism to bring out the theme of racism, and this plus its complex plot ultimately led the novel to win the Pulitzer
To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Nelle Harper Lee, was published in 1960 and immediately became successful. However, starting in 1977, the book was challenged and even banned from many school districts due to the themes presented by the novel such as profanity, rape, and most importantly, racism (American Literature Association). Challenges and critiques of the novel were common up until the mid 2000s, but To Kill A Mockingbird was banned because of the timeframe it was published in, and the failure of the censor’s part to really understand the message that Harper Lee was trying to convey. (May)
The novel is in first person point of view and the speaker is Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. In …show more content…
Much of the profanity comes from Scout, for example, “Don’t pay any attention to her, Jack. [Scout’s] trying you out. Cal says she’s been cussing fluently for a week, now.” However, according to the American Library Association, most of the reasons for the ban were really the themes of rape and racism in the book. The profanity only adds an extra reason to ban the book. The main two reasons why the book was banned are its themes of rape and racism (American Library Association). But because of the time period, racism is the most prominent complaint. When southern parents discovered the novel, they filed complaints and seek to drive it out of the education system. (May) In the 1960s and 70s, racism and social prejudice declined and more blacks were winning political offices. Racism was becoming more and more frowned upon because of equality fighters such as Martin Luther King. Three black parents have actually resigned from the town’s Human Relations Advisory Council when the book was not removed from the school system saying, “[To Kill A Mockingbird] does psychological damage to the positive integration process and represents institutionalized racism.”(May) However, people feel the need to censor To Kill A Mockingbird due to their flawed perspective, “They …show more content…
She wrote the book to criticize racism, but the flawed interpretation of the public caused the book to banned due to profanity, its references to rape, and racism. People thought of the book as, “degrading to African Americans,” (American Literature Association) but that’s what Harper Lee wanted, to show how wrong it is in the perspective of Caucasians. Lee used symbolism to bring out the theme of racism, and this plus its complex plot ultimately led the novel to win the Pulitzer