Social Commentary On To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird; An Analysis on Analysis

Without discrediting the book or anything said within it, one could reflect on the social commentary and how this novel has been glorified in the way it has been. Over the years, To Kill a Mockingbird has been hailed as a classic, a timeless piece of literature, an exposing piece on racism in our justice system. The novel explores themes of justice, courage, fear, growing up, loneliness, and other elements that could create a “classic”. The story follows a young girl, age 6 to 9 from summer to summer as she grows up. We meet characters who amplify certain characteristics to teach Scout (the main character and narrator) lessons. Atticus is overly good and honest, Jem is overly boyish and

exemplifies growing up, Dill is overly childish and imaginative.

The characters bring a different aspect into Scout’s life, and provide examples of how to react in situations she faces. The main conflict is the approaching trial of Tom Robinson, an African American man who is charged with the rape and beating of a young woman (Mayella Ewell). During the trial, Scout learns about racial prejudice, as a clearly innocent Tom is convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. No one can tell you if the book is good or not. The “goodness” of a book is subjective, as each person may find a story exciting, enthralling, or “good” for different reasons. When a book receives the level of praise that Mockingbird receives, you start to wonder why? The exaltation of this text is the main focus of this essay; is To Kill a Mockingbird as good as people say it is? Does this novel deserve the great honors it’s been given? My short answer; no. This book simply isn’t accessible to most students who are meant to read it today, as it doesn’t make the world-wide connections that could give it that credibility, the story itself is not unique, difficult to comprehend and engage in, extremely dense, and perhaps most controversially, it doesn’t give a POC (person of color) perspective on its main

issue of injustice and discrimination in the justice system.
While a book doesn’t need to be relatable for everyone, labeling it as a classic when a large majority of the current population can’t relate seems to be a miscredit. The split won’t even be 50/50. Most students who read this will not have experienced the things that Scout experiences in the novel, and while they may feel a connection, they will not be able to personally relate on a level that is not incredibly broad or vague. A good example of this is when it is mentioned that the Radleys do not go to church. This is meant to be a way of showing us that the Radleys are a strange family. While this is explained to us, that fact holds no significance for us in a society where many of us do not attend church, and religion is not an essential part of life. It becomes impossible for students who are not religious, or grew up in a non-denominational society or region, such as the Bay Area, to relate to the text. This, however, is not the only group that may feel a disconnect with the story. 1930s southern culture is massively different from any other culture, and the heavy influence of that culture on the novel makes it difficult to bring the story out of context and relate. The language used by the characters is unfamiliar to the point where students may spend more time laughing at the way the characters talk than actually dissecting and gathering information from it. It can be hard to relate to someone who acts and talks nothing like you-not impossible, but it makes it a lot more difficult. How can a book be so amazing if the audience can’t enjoy or relate to it? The culture is so specific, it has to be taken in that context only, and can’t be applied to other situations or modern worldwide issues. If you can’t take a situation out of context, how can you relate to it? If you believe a classic is a book with a message that stays relevant throughout time, then this book does not pass the test.
To Kill a Mockingbird is not a unique or extremely well written book.

Revisiting the earlier list of themes, TKAM “explores themes of justice, courage, fear, growing up, loneliness, and other elements that could create a “classic”. “ There are a whole host of books that cover those exact same topics, so why is this one considered so special? Perhaps the fact that the topic was so controversial at the time brought about a lot of popularity for the book, but now that open discussion of the same controversial topics is encouraged, the novelty has worn off. Why this book? The themes this novel covers are common themes in many books, presenting no new ideas. Newer novels, that may be more relatable or accurate to our time period might present a better scope of these themes. It is such an intensely dense piece of literature, it often appears daunting to readers. This novel’s unyieldingly heavy nature also makes it hard to enjoy the plot and theme when the reader is buried under page after page of slow description of unnecessary objects and places. There is no room for interpretation in this book, the imagination is done for you, and so it is hard to get engaged. If a reader is told every last bit of a story down to the minute detail, then what more is there to discuss about the novel itself? Unless the reader by some circumstance experiences/knows someone/owns an object fitting these exact descriptions set forth, then it will be hard to engage and imagine themself in that

situation. In addition to leaving no room for the reader to imagine, it is boring. A slow paced plot makes most readers want to put it down before the book’s begun. The main conflict (Tom Robinson’s trial) seems unimportant, as it is such a slim portion of the book. The exposition takes the first half of the book and then some, the conflict about four or so chapters, and then the resolution continues for another few chapters, with a brief thrown in attempt at shock value in the last two chapters with Bob Ewell’s attack on the children. You are given so little time to digest the last thrown in conflict that it seems a last ditch effort to tie in the meaningless characters from the beginning of the story.
Many critics consider To Kill A Mockingbird to be a revolutionary piece on racism and race issues, to such an extent that it is held as a focal point for any student of racial prejudice in the southern states during the civil rights era. However, for all its perceived genius, To Kill A Mockingbird was written by a white author, hugely limiting any insight it could offer.While the story does give an insight into the discrimination in the justice system, but referring to it in such high esteem on the topic of race issues, it falls short. Yes, it covers the topic of race and racism in southern states in the 30s, but the actual person under scrutiny appears so briefly, and needs to be saved by a white person. The character (Tom Robinson) then goes on to try and run from the guards, and is shot. While the black characters in the novel are portrayed in semi-high regard, their perspective is never actually shown, and can never be properly represented while the author is white. Why don’t students read a book by and about a person of color experiencing racism in our court system? Atticus’ attitude towards the trial is one of someone who is fighting, but knows he will lose, and there is no fire, no anger about that. We are not shown the true disservice that is done in our justice system, because it is presented as common. They will lose the trial, Tom Robinson will be convicted because he’s a person of color, and Atticus is not angry. He never shows anger about this, and that teaches us that it is okay to be calm and to refuse to fight and be angry, making it acceptable to stay ruthless and fail to challenge the norm. This means that society’s expectations are not forced to progress. Tom Robinson’s perspective is one of expecting to lose, and that fact is angering. That is upsetting. The white perspective from which the book is written doesn’t show us this anger, just calm and casual disappointment. It shows people allowing the same things to happen because it’s the way society is, and since they are white, and they aren’t the oppressed group, it’s okay. It’s just how life goes. Calling on this as an exposing piece on racism when there is no anger showed about and towards that racism is nothing less than a misnomer.
The claim that To Kill a Mockingbird should be and therefore is a staple of American literature is unfounded. A book that isn’t relatable to the intended demographic would in any other circumstance be considered a failure, yet this book receives praise. If an outdated textbook can’t be used in a classroom, neither can an outdated novel. The dense writing would put it on par with a dictionary, not something that everyone wants to/should read. The allegation that it is an unmatched piece on racism and discrimination is a deception, when there is no perspective from any character of color in the novel. Students read this book, and are expected to analyze and discuss the literature. If it holds no value or significance for them, what will they gain from evaluating it? When a novel takes such a weak stance on racism, how are students supposed to gain knowledge from it? When a book is so dense students don’t want to read it, how will they engage and enjoy talking about it? The answer is that they won’t. Students’ writing analysis skills increase when they are interested and can identify with the text they’re analyzing. There is so much emphasis placed on forcing students to analyze texts they are forced to read. Our education system shoves these “classics” down students’ throats, convincing generation after generation that these are the novels that define our nation, when in reality they retain their fame only through this low and yet incessant level of mental conditioning. The only reason that certain books, including To Kill A Mockingbird, are seen as staples for any reader is because no one is willing to challenge the status quo, a chilling reminder of the morals in Lee's novel. It is remarkable that our system manages to teach the themes of this book to countless students, whilst disregarding them in practice. Data has shown that students will dislike reading when they’re forced to do it, and he exercises done on those books will be less effective. If a student gets to pick their novel, pick a book they identify with, they can enjoy discussing that novel and produce work they will be proud of.