Monday, April 20, 2015

Why to Kill a Mocking Bird is Still Being Taught



   




     The novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is over 50 years old, and yet it is still taught in schools around the world. There are many reasons why this novel is still being taught around the world but a few of the most prominent are Racism, Gender Discrimination and, Coming of Age.

     The most prominent subject in To Kill a Mockingbird is racism.  Racism is still potent in America but not as prominent as it was during the Depression in the 1930's. One example of racism in To Kill a Mockingbird is Tom Robinson's trial. In Tom Robinson's trial there is evidence that  makes it clear that Tom Robinson did not rape Mayella Ewell. Even though there is this evidence the fully white jury decides to convict him of rape. As you read this book you realize the full extent of Racism back then and it makes you think about how racism is still coursing through our modern day society. For instance in modern day news there has been a lot of reports of racism in the police force. We still have a long way to go if we want to be fully cured of racism.

     Another reason why this book is still being taught in high schools across the country is to bring awareness to Gender Discrimination. Compared to the 1930's, we have come so far, but we still have aways to go. One example of this in our society today is wages. Studies show that women get paid 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. This is a major sign that Gender discrepancy is not fully flushed out of America's system. We have come a long way though, for instance in To Kill a Mockingbird women are not allowed to be in the Jury and they also couldn't vote. We still have a long way to go until everything is equal.

     Last but not least To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming of age novel for many reasons. The most prominent of these reasons is the process of little innocent Scout Finch becoming mature by learning about racism and gender discrimination. Another reason is the fact that scout is a tomboy and as she grows up she will have to learn to wear fancy dresses and corsets. These are the two most prominent signs of this novel being a coming of age novel.

     These three things are the reasons why To Kill a Mocking Bird is still being taught in school to this day.


6 comments:

  1. Awesome job as usual William the only things I noticed were a couple of awkward sentences but you mad valid points and explained them well. gr8 b8 m8 I r8 it 8/8

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  2. Nice job mate, I enjoyed your statistic between the amount men make compared to women, as well as the style you used to acknowledge the issues of racism and gender discrimination.

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  3. this is the best part (Last but not least) but no joking this is well written

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  4. Nice job will you gave good examples and nothing about this was creepy I was very surprised and damn you Keegan i was going to use that joke.

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  5. I think for what you have, it was very good. You expressed what you wanted to say well. I only wish you had a few more topics so that I could hear your opinions other things.

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