Killing a Mockingbird

Mmehardy
3 min readSep 28, 2021

It’s Banned Books Week. I found that out from a writing prompt book. The reasons for the book bans vary, but racial slurs and sexual content seem to top the list. There are certainly books I would avoid. But when I saw “To Kill a Mockingbird” on the list, my heart sank.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” ranks as one of my all time favorite novels. It is a classic that has stood the test of time and has remained on schools’ required reading lists for years. My own book club has read it twice.

Why is it so beloved? I believe it is because it is told through the eyes of six year old Scout Finch. Having her as the narrator gives the entire book a sense of innocence and wonder. Her real life education comes through her father, Atticus. It’s a tough education as she and her brother Jem are taunted by the neighborhood children for having a “N-word”-loving father. I understand that the N-word is highly offensive to a person of color, especially if it were being read aloud by a teacher or student. The solution is to not read aloud the sections with racial slurs and to have the teacher explain that the term was once commonplace, but is now, of course, completely inappropriate.

Another controversy of the book is that Atticus Finch is set up as a “white Savior” to the black community. This may be true and it would be better to have an African-American Savior to Tom Robinson’s character. But the reality is that during the Depression in Alabama this would not have been possible. In today’s vernacular, Atticus would be considered an ally to people of color in such a racist time and place, and I consider him courageous for taking on Robinson’s case amidst the town’s outcries for justice. If I were African-American, I might be more sensitive to the issue of race in this book. I hope my friends of color will consider the time period and setting and give this book a pass.

The book’s title hearkens to the theme of innocence. Pivotal character Miss Maudie explains: “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Some literary analysts point out that there are a few “mockingbirds” in the story including Jem, Tom and Boo Radley. Boo is an interesting character because if he were living in our time, he might receive services and not be closed up in his house.

Reading and studying books like this one reminds us of how far we have come in accepting peoples’ differences. Even though we have a long way to go, especially on the issue of race, it would be a shame to snuff out all of the important themes running through this classic by banning it.

It would be like killing a mockingbird.

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Mmehardy

Wife, mother and grandmother who loves adventure and discovery