Should To Kill A Mockingbird Be Taught In Schools

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is a heartbreaking, timeless novel that examines stereotyping and its consequences. The novel shadows Atticus Finch, a small-town lawyer, as he defends a black man, Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping a white woman in racist Maycomb, Alabama. Frequently, To Kill a Mockingbird has been banned for use in many schools because of the racial content in it. In the novel, racial tension and slurs are used frequently. Although the novel does contain these things, To Kill a Mockingbird should definitely be taught in schools because it represents accurately what it was like before blacks received their civil right, it teaches valuable life lessons, and it shows how novels like To Kill a Mockingbird helped the civil rights movement. To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in a rural southern town in the 1930s, when racism was commonly accepted. Blacks were

On page 39, Atticus tells Scout, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view." This is a good life lesson because Atticus is trying to convey to Scout not to judge people and their views. Everyone is different and has their own way of viewing things. Another life lesson Atticus teaches Scout is to fight with her head, not her hands. On page 101, he says, "Try fighting with your head for a change"(Lee 101). By fighting with her head, it can save Scout from a lot of trouble. One of the most valuable life lessons in To Kill a Mockingbird is about courage. Courage is not always physical, it can be mental too. After Mrs. Dubose passes away, Atticus tells Jem she was the bravest person he knew. Atticus says," According to Mrs. Dubose views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody” (page 149). To Atticus real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. This is an important life lesson everyone should