“To Kill a Mockingbird,” the 1960s novel by Harper Lee, sheds light on racial injustice, moral values, and empathy against the cruel backdrop of the Southern unequal system and is one of the unquestionable American literature classics. Though the book has gained lots of acclaim and is now employed in most classrooms, the novel has still been subjected to controversies and has gone through censoring due to the controversial scenes. The depicted scenes range from racial slurs to violence (Kailah). This wave of controversy is a microcosm of the entire debate and the situation in education where the different concerns intermix, generating combat directing to appropriateness, cultural sensitivity, and intellectual freedom. But during these arguments, we cannot entirely neglect the lasting significance of “To Kill a Mockingbird” as a masterpiece of literature that, in addition to being a venue for giving a commentary on historical and societal issues, can also promote a lot of empathy, critical thinking, and meaningful discussions. Thus, despite its contentious nature, banning “To Kill a Mockingbird” would deprive students of essential learning opportunities and stifle intellectual growth.
“To Kill a Mockingbird” portrays a world where racism was rampant during the 1930s segregated South when schools, services (including water and toilet), and transport were for whites only, and black children and people were treated like second-class citizens. Through the fictional Maycomb, Alabama, Lee touches on the actual events and opinions of the society chronologically. The novel brings to life an intruding racial discrimination as symbolized at the trial of an innocent black accused of raping a white woman somewhere, a black man. Lee shows that the judicial system has deeply embedded injustice and personal prejudice inside it through Atticus’ struggle to find justice for Tom (Kailah). Moreover, the character of Boo Radley provides a heartbreaking reflection on the effects of you being isolated in the entire community and the risks of prejudice. Lee employs many literary devices, including symbolism and metaphor, to increase the novel’s influence, and the readers can dig deeper into the themes and detect the parallels between them and the present view of society (Downs). Thus, “To Kill a Mockingbird” is a remarkable depiction of the natural histories of racial segregation, social unfairness, and moral complexities of societies, requiring readers to face the unhappy truths and strive to make the necessary changes.
“To Kill a Mockingbird” actually succeeds in reminding you that empathy and critical thinking are the factors that make you survive in this world because of the way they feature different characters and their experiences. An empathy for a protagonist who is undoubtedly as confusing and innocently inquisitive as Scout and Jem Finch is created amongst the readers as they grapple with the complexity of race, class, and accountability in Maycomb (Harris and Alter). Atticus Finch’s unshakeable integrity serves as the vehicle for the book’s progressive message that readers are encouraged to examine other points of view and challenge the status quo. Similarly, the ethical conflicts that the characters go through bring, for example, one of the themes that bother Atticus is his decision to defend Tom Robinson despite the solid disapproval from the people around him (Sell). Through the creation and deployment of these quotes and such instances, the novel promotes empathy, a skill that, in its own right, provokes critical thinking, which empowers readers to fight prejudice and oppression in their daily lives.
The novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” plays a role in the conversation that matters as it makes readers face complex societal topics, such as racism, unfair treatment, and moral panorama. The occurrence of the novel in which injustice and discrimination are depicted urges readers to think over the entire matter and have a more comprehensive vision of these phenomena in today’s world and society. Adding to this, dialogue and the discussions in the book have gone beyond their cover to be commands for educators to address real-life situations that portray the existing racial injustice and prejudice structures in society (Sell). In an open discourse that probes and enables critical reflection, “To Kill a Mockingbird” strengthens readers’ acceptance and tolerance while asking them to look deep into their biases and show empathy to others. Just like this, the book’s examples make clear the fact that the book has stirred up community participation and clamor for reforms. Through this process, they acquire a richer understanding of the core themes of a book and how they relate to challenging people’s behaviors and fairness as a pathway to a world without social distinctions.
Among the numerous reasons for prohibiting reading “To Kill a Mockingbird,” one is that it employs racial epithets and tackles issues like rape and violence through its story. Critics state that giving students the chance to be conversant in and steadfast to this is the most erroneous or improper, especially in schools. They express anxiety by mentioning that sensitive and vivid content can burst like an atomic bomb and, therefore, reveal an inconsistency with the young readers’ physiological and emotional conditions (Sell). However, others believe that the novel is merely a reflection of the times it was written in, and it continues the racism and prejudice of the era as opposed to fighting against the said stereotypes and attitudes. As these worries are founded, it is admitted that at the same time, complex facts and critical discussions are educational rather than exposing people to perilous plights; the latter is usually the case when censorship happens. The prohibition of this novel would leave students the chance to practice the use of tough questions and thus deprive them of spiritual and intellectual growth.
Prohibition of “To Kill a Mockingbird” will result in students losing excellent knowledge and progressive engagement in this noble novel. The novel creates an opportunity for a person to reflect on uncomfortable truths, which allows and promotes thinking and empathy development, vital traits needed in understanding a diverse world. When putting a limit on possessing and reading the book, we jeopardize students’ picture of reality because they are not well prepared to comprehend the issues of racism or injustice that are omnipresent in the historical or contemporaneous background (Harris and Alter). Furthermore, the protection of free expression sets the fundamental ground for intellectual freedom, and it is an opportunity to create a culture of openness and acceptance. Likewise, it would be more effective to use the teachable moments that the work provides rather than banning the text altogether in the hope that it would ignite critical discussions and positive social transformations.
To sum up, “To Kill a Mockingbird” shouldn’t be banned because it is too precious for students and society regarding social and cultural learning. By its classification of historical and societal problems, reinforcement of empathy and critical thinking ability, and aggregation of such discussions, the novel confronts the profound truth, and it is one of the most essential steps for personal and societal growth. By exposing the disturbing habit of skirting unpleasant theories and defending censorship, “To Kill a Mockingbird” continues to be critical for steering progress, learning, and development within our society and school institutions.
Downs, Kenya. “‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ Remains among Top Banned Classical Novels.” PBS NewsHour, 19 Feb. 2016, www.pbs.org/newshour/education/to-kill-a-mockingbird-remains-among-top-banned-classical-novels.
Harris, Elizabeth A., and Alexandra Alter. “Book Ban Efforts Spread across the U.S.” The New York Times, 30 Jan. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/01/30/books/book-ban-us-schools.html.
Kailah. “Why We Need to Stop Banning ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.'” The Odyssey Online, The Odyssey Online, 23 Oct. 2017, www.theodysseyonline.com/stop-banning-kill-mockingbird.
Sell, Ashley. “To Read or Not to Read: Navigating Young Adult Literature in the Classroom in the Age of Trigger Warnings and Banned Books.” Honors Projects, May 2021, digitalcommons.bridgewater.edu/honors_projects/61/.