I believe that some people may find TKAM objectionable because of the views expressed by the characters in the novel. They consider black people as inferior and there is a constant use of the word "nigger" throughout the novel. The NAACP would most likely find it unfit for students for that reason, and because it is a way of demeaning blacks and may teach children that it is okay to use the word whenever they feel like it. I believe that TKAM is fit for people of all ages, and especially for ninth graders because it expresses a way of viewing how unfair discriminations against blacks in the past were. So by ninth graders understanding this it leads them not to want to be as blind from racism that their ancestors were. TKAM is a novel that expresses the views on quite a few different types of discrimination. By reading it, hopefully ninth graders can benefit by understanding that these discriminations were fueled by all of the jokes and fear and anger that people expressed towards a group of people, or a type of people. If a student can understand this and realize that it is wrong, then maybe there is hope that in the future there will be much fewer discriminations and racisms in the world. Since the children are the future of the world, and if they are educated on the harmful effects and unfair outcomes of unnecessary discriminations, then they will educate their offspring and so on, causing the amount of racism and segregation in the world to decrease drastically through time. Of course, this is only a hope for the future, but if it were even to affect one person in their views on racism, then that is still a step in the right direction.
5.25.2008
Small Victory No. 4
As one of their journal entries, I ask my GT English 9 students to consider why some people believe To Kill a Mockingbird to be objectionable, why the NAACP declares it is "unfit" for students, and whether they think ninth grade students should read it. This is one African-American student's response.
I believe that some people may find TKAM objectionable because of the views expressed by the characters in the novel. They consider black people as inferior and there is a constant use of the word "nigger" throughout the novel. The NAACP would most likely find it unfit for students for that reason, and because it is a way of demeaning blacks and may teach children that it is okay to use the word whenever they feel like it. I believe that TKAM is fit for people of all ages, and especially for ninth graders because it expresses a way of viewing how unfair discriminations against blacks in the past were. So by ninth graders understanding this it leads them not to want to be as blind from racism that their ancestors were. TKAM is a novel that expresses the views on quite a few different types of discrimination. By reading it, hopefully ninth graders can benefit by understanding that these discriminations were fueled by all of the jokes and fear and anger that people expressed towards a group of people, or a type of people. If a student can understand this and realize that it is wrong, then maybe there is hope that in the future there will be much fewer discriminations and racisms in the world. Since the children are the future of the world, and if they are educated on the harmful effects and unfair outcomes of unnecessary discriminations, then they will educate their offspring and so on, causing the amount of racism and segregation in the world to decrease drastically through time. Of course, this is only a hope for the future, but if it were even to affect one person in their views on racism, then that is still a step in the right direction.
I believe that some people may find TKAM objectionable because of the views expressed by the characters in the novel. They consider black people as inferior and there is a constant use of the word "nigger" throughout the novel. The NAACP would most likely find it unfit for students for that reason, and because it is a way of demeaning blacks and may teach children that it is okay to use the word whenever they feel like it. I believe that TKAM is fit for people of all ages, and especially for ninth graders because it expresses a way of viewing how unfair discriminations against blacks in the past were. So by ninth graders understanding this it leads them not to want to be as blind from racism that their ancestors were. TKAM is a novel that expresses the views on quite a few different types of discrimination. By reading it, hopefully ninth graders can benefit by understanding that these discriminations were fueled by all of the jokes and fear and anger that people expressed towards a group of people, or a type of people. If a student can understand this and realize that it is wrong, then maybe there is hope that in the future there will be much fewer discriminations and racisms in the world. Since the children are the future of the world, and if they are educated on the harmful effects and unfair outcomes of unnecessary discriminations, then they will educate their offspring and so on, causing the amount of racism and segregation in the world to decrease drastically through time. Of course, this is only a hope for the future, but if it were even to affect one person in their views on racism, then that is still a step in the right direction.
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