To Kill a Mockingbird Should be Banned

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a book that has been marred by a lot of
controversies since it was first released. It has been a success and has sold millions of copies,
with its supporters terming it as a unique book specifically based on its exceptional depiction of
racism and inequality. However, it has not just received support from a portion of readers
opposing the book, especially as a read among school children. While the book may seem to
teach valuable lessons to readers, it has elements in it that make parents uncomfortable,
considering that the book is taught mostly to eighth-grade learners. The book has been
challenged many times and banned severally in the past years. It is apparent that Harper Lee’s
Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, should be banned in middle and high
schools because it uses profane language that is inappropriate for young readers, the black
characters are not allowed to grow and develop like their white counterparts hence depicting
outright discrimination, and it depicts difficult themes of racism and inequality in a rather
controversial manner.
Lee uses profane language through the characters in the book. For instance, the N-word
has been repeated countless times in conversations between the characters. It is unfortunate that
none of the characters used by Lee explain that the slur is used in a derogatory manner. Having
such a book as a course text in a class comprising of eighth-grade or ninth-grade learners may
cause harm, especially to students of color. The book should thus be banned because students
must be taught within an environment that respects them. Teaching a book with such language is
like asking students to sit in class and endure as they read texts containing offensive terms. The
word is also used in the film severally. For instance, Atticus explains to the children why he is
defending a “negro”. According to Evans (2019), the use of the N-word in the text and film is

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troubling and traumatic, especially among black students and their parents. The banning of the
book is necessary as a way of demonstrating sensitivity to the students as well as their parents.
The black characters are not treated like main characters in the film but rather like props.
Thus, it is not just the language that is demeaning but also their depiction. The film specifically
depicts the bad treatment accorded to black people. First of all, they are kept in long shot. For
example, in one scene, Bob Ewell sends a boy to go and get Atticus Finch. When Atticus is
brought, Ewell spits in his face. Atticus is left speechless, and he stares down at him and then
drives away. While Atticus is a white lawyer who helps Tom after being accused of rape, his role
in the book lacks historical foundation. Lee depicts Atticus as a white man who defends black
people and even stops their lynching. However, no historical evidence has been found showing
that during the era in which the book is based, there was a white person who defended black
people. Thus, there is a misrepresentation of facts, and the novel outrightly denies the historical
agency of African Americans. Further, the black people in the film, specifically in this scene, are
treated like props. Close-up shots are reserved only for the white character, the villain and hero
of the story. While the book and the film depict the realities in the 1930s in small-town Alabama,
the way in which the scenes are recreated seems inappropriate for children. The book should thus
be banned as a text in high school, but it can be read in higher levels of learning where the
individuals will be better prepared to deal with the details revealed in the book. According to
Saney (2003), the book no longer meets any of the existing educational goals and should thus be
banned. It depicts black people in a degrading manner and therefore is unsuitable for classroom
instruction. Saney (2003) further argues that there exist many other books that reflect the past
history of Americans and African Americans and should thus be used as opposed to Lee’s book,
which is likely to humiliate some students and even make them uncomfortable.

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Lee depicts difficult themes of racism and inequality in a rather controversial manner.
The book does not seem to condemn racism but instead uses the suffering of black characters to
develop white characters. For instance, Atticus, the white lawyer who defends Tom, is depicted
as the ‘white savior.’ Tom, in this case, is a wrongly accused African American whose main role
is not to demonstrate the experiences of black people in the South but is for the growth of
Atticus, a white character. Atticus even says to Scout, “most people are real nice when you
finally see them” (Mulligan, 1962). He refers to himself and his savior-like behavior. The
glorification of Atticus reduces the agency of the issue of racism in the story. The plot is thus
based on the story of Atticus as an antiracist savior who works tirelessly to defend the rights of
Tom Robinson. The book is not about racial diversity. It outrightly marginalizes its black
characters as a way of validating their suffering. It depicts the white characters as the
protagonists and sidelines the black characters and consequently fails to promote any form of
diversity. Macaluso (2017) supports the banning of the book and even states that Atticus has
been viewed outside the literary context as a savior. The author notes some of the times he has
heard people, including President Barrack Obama, refer to Atticus when he gave an example of a
colleague of his who would wear a shirt with the writings “WWAD” to mean, ‘what would
Atticus do?” (Macaluso, 2017). Further, Macaluso (2017) author argues that the depiction of
Atticus as a savior is a wrong depiction of the same themes that Lee presumes to develop. The
book’s focus changes to overlooking the plight of black characters and over-glorifying the
presence of white characters.
Overall, To Kill a Mockingbird should be banned, and the educators and parents who
support this position have done so with no fear of being labeled “benign censors.” The book
should be banned for classroom instruction because it fails in many ways to support the

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educational goals being pursued within the classrooms. Lee’s use of profane language and the
specific use of the word more than forty times in the book makes it inappropriate for use in the
classroom setting. Besides, the black characters in the book have not been accurately depicted.
While the book depicts activities in the South during the early twentieth century, it does not offer
an accurate image of events taking place. The way in which the themes of racism and inequality
are developed in the book also makes it inappropriate as a classroom text.

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References

Evans, E. (2019). To Kill a Mockingbird in Columbus, Indiana: A Community Divided. In R.
Evans (Ed.), Critical Insights: Censored & Banned Literature. Hackensack: Salem.
Retrieved from https://online-salempress-com.libproxy.aum.ed
Macaluso, M. (2017). Teaching To Kill a Mockingbird today: Coming to terms with race,
racism, and America’s novel. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 61(3), 279-287.
Mulligan, R. (1962). To Kill a Mockingbird [DVD]. Hollywood; Universal Pictures.
Saney, I. (2003). The case against To Kill a Mockingbird. Race & Class, 45(1), 99-105.