Joshua Barrow

Joshua Barrow
Mr. Boyatt
Period: 1
April 27, 2020
TKAM Essay
(Reflection) The writing process of this essay wasn’t any harder or easier than any other
essay. Being quarantined at home didn’t make the writing process any different. The most
difficult part of the process was writing commentary because commentary is always different
every essay. If I was to score my essay I would rate it ⅚, one point off in commentary/evidence,
and I can’t wait for AP lang.
Books past their prime are prevalent in our school systems teaching this generation
outdated ideals. However, Harper Lee’s critically acclaimed novel To Kill a Mockingbird fits this
depiction perfectly. To Kill a Mockingbird is about a girl named Scout witnessing a brutal trial
spurred on by racism in the city of Maycomb county during the 1960s. This book continues to be
taught in classrooms as teachers believe it has a good insight on racism and teaches valuable life
lessons, but this seems to not be the case for many reasons. To Kill a Mockingbird should not be
taught in schools because it is an old piece of text with many outdated ideals, can cause
discomfort to some students, and there are other, better books that tackle racism.
Harper Lee back in the 1960s had many forward thinking ideas that were implemented in
her writing however now these ideas seem outdated. To Kill a Mockingbird contains many poor
depictions of characters that “reinforce the very stereotypes about black men and impoverished
women that teaching the book is supposed to combat,” (Source E). Characters such as Tom
Robinsion, Calpurnia, and Mayella Ewell are all characters that represent a minority that can be
misinterpreted by students. Even with an excellent teacher, some students may get the wrong
idea; for example, a black student who aligns themselves with Tom Robinson may be led to
believe that they will not get a fair trial even though that is unlikely now. To Kill a Mockingbird
is not a children’s book and to try and ask a student to decipher and fully understand “Mayella
Ewell’s lies, which are the crux of the false charges brought against
Tom Robinson, are far more complicated — too complicated for the eighth grade, perhaps even
with an excellent teacher,” (Source E). During the trial and after, Harper Lee presents the notion
that people should have doubted Mayella Ewell because she was in fact lying. On the other hand,
for a young impressionable student this notion may lead them to believe that a rape victim should
be doubted. Concluding, To Kill a Mockingbird contains elements that were revolutionary in the
past, but now these elements seem old-fashioned.
To Kill a Mockingbird is taught in schools all over the United States as people see it as a
well written commentary on racism, however compared to other books that tackle racism it is
subpar. To Kill a Mockingbird because of its adoration “pushes out more recent texts that are
excellent both for reading and discussing:Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give, Jacqueline
Woodson’s Hush, and Walter Dean Myers’s Monster, Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely’s All
American Boys,” (Source G). To Kill a Mockingbird is kept in school districts for reading
material due to its themes and message against racism even though it was made in the 1960s.
They're many books made during this time period that are able to capture and reflect racism as it
is seen today, however school boards remain blind to these books. To Kill a Mockingbird has
overshadowed other controversial books that take a stance on racism “for instance, Monster, a
1999 novel by award-winning African-American novelist Walter Dean Myersthat also takes
place in a courtroom,” (Source E). Both Monster and To Kill a Mockingbird have been censored
by schools for the use of uncomfortable language and content. However, the difference between
these two books is that Monster is not as widely praised as To Kill a Mockingbird, which is
probably due to Mockingbird being considered a cult classic and loved by many schools in
teaching valuable lessons, even though Monster succeeds in the lessons aspect far greater than
Mockingbird and has more nuisance as it was made in 1999. All in all, To Kill a Mockingbird
falls short compared to the influential books of today and should be reconsidered as a reading
book for schools.
To Kill a Mockingbird is filled with scenes or language that some may deem
uncomfortable and many believe this is needed for students to learn the valuable lessons,
however this may do more harm than good. Some believe “we need to embrace that discomfort
in order to really appreciate the lessons of prejudice and inequality that it wants our students to
learn,” (Source B). Mockingbird addresses themes of racism and in the process uses language
that is offensive to many. This language, though offensive, is argued as demonstrating in
Mockingbird the cruelty of some of the characters to teach students lessons regarding racism. On
the other hand, “the black child who has been verbally abused by being called a ______ in the
schoolyard could be more hurt hearing that word taught in the classroom,” (source E). This word
used in Mockingbird isn’t inherently the problem, however everyone responds differently to this
word with some being offended or hurt while others could care less. Even with a good teacher it
is hard to make a student not hurt by this word when they are verbally abused by it and why
should this student have to suffer for the sake of a lesson taught in other books. In closing, To
Kill a Mockingbird filled with writing that brings discomfort to some does not teach lessons
worth the discomfort to some.

Overall, To Kill a Mockingbird lacks in both ideals and writing that brings unpleasant
language to replace an inability to display a theme that books of today do not struggle in
displaying. To Kill a Mockingbird is filled with ideas of the past that seem wrong to today’s
standards, struggles to hold up to today’s books that tackle social issues, especially racism, and
brings discomfort to some with its language. To Kill a Mockingbird needs to be removed from
school districts’ curriculum because of these blatant issues that are presented.

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April 27, 2020

and I can’t wait for AP lang.

past, but now these elements seem old-fashioned.

book for schools.

that is offensive to many. This language, though offensive, is argued as demonstrating in

worth the discomfort to some.

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