Abstract
The instant research paper focuses on the 1930s novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The book is in focus because it has been earmarked for censorship more so against a young readership because of the heavy racist undertones within it. The racism depicted in the book includes a negative attitude and persecution against African Americans purely because of their race. Further, there is a lot of racial epithets addressed to African Americans including the use of the word nigger. Finally, government institutions are seen to support rather than fight against racism thus, reflecting institutionalized racism. This research paper takes the position that the book should neither be censured nor proscribed because it depicts the historical reality in the Deep South during the 1930s when the book is set. Based on the research, racism in the society and government institutions was rife in the Jim Crow Deep South in the 1930s.
Introduction
Racism is dead and buried in America and like all things about the dead, talking about it is taboo thus looked down upon and when possible, banned. Because the 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, dares to talk about racism and even use racial epithets, many are clamoring for the book to be banned. There is rising and extremely vocal consternation because the book, alongside all the racism it talks about and the epithets it uses is being taught to young school children. Further, the book is set in the 1930s USA, not the 18 th century, yet it reflects institutionalized and outright racism even in the echelons of power (Lee, 1960). The perfect US criminal justice system that uses the adversarial jury system is also depicted as racist to the consternation of many modern interlocutors. The book To Kill a Mockingbird should not be banned because it presents historical accuracies about racism, institutionalized racism, and racial epithets, problems that are still prevalent in America today thus, teaching about them in school might give a chance to solving this problem in future
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Overview of the Book from the Perspective of Racism
In the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, a white young girl of 19, Mayella Violet Ewell is desperate for love because of the poor state of her family. She develops a clever ruse to seduce Thomas "Tom" Robinson, an African American from her neighborhood. Unfortunately, Mayella’s drunkard father, Bob Ewell, gets Tom talking to Mayella and is angry that his daughter is talking to an African American. As the novel is set in the Deep South and in the 1930s, the Jim Crow rules apply and the African American is by law considered to be an inferior being. Bob beats up both Mayella and Tom, then proceeds to report Tom to the local Sherriff for having raped his daughter Mayella (Lee, 1960). Based purely on the word of Bob, Tom is arrested and charged with rape. Based on the way the case is presented in the novel, it lacks any formal basis and is only given the time of day because the alleged victim is white and the alleged assailant is black. Atticus Finch, a lawyer, and a good man takes up the responsibility of defending Tom in court and does a very good job at it. Because of defending Tom, Atticus becomes the subject of major backlash and is called names such as nigger lover. Further, in spite of Atticus’ efforts, Tom is still convicted and jailed (Lee, 1960). The narrative in the book presents the existence of racial discrimination and persecution alongside the use of racial epithets, a fact that has contributed to the suggestion that it should be banned in schools.
Grounds for Suggested Banning of the Book
Racism has constantly been given as the primary basis for seeking to have the book banned. First, the direct speeches of the characters in the book include a lot of racial epithets: “ Typical of a n ****’s mentality to have no plan, no thought for the future, just run blind first chance he saw (Lee, 1960, P. 82) ” . Further, the book manifest extremism in racism and reflects a lot of racial hatred. Indeed, even white people who show concern for Black people or are seen to assist them, receive acrimony from fellow whites: Grandma says it’s bad enough he lets you run wild, but now he’s turned out a n****r-lover we’ll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb again (Lee, 1960, P. 21). Similarly, racism is not shown to be a preserve of a few unscrupulous members of the community but a common practice shared by a majority. Racism is shown to be so strong and universal that a jury would be willing to convict a man for rape thus, ruining his entire life and condemning him to jail simply because of the color of his skin. Further, the community is willing to lynch an innocent black man just because he stands accused by a white person. Finally, racism is depicted as institutionalized in the town of Maycomb where even the judge, the prosecutor, and the Sherriff seem to gang up against a hapless and clearly innocent man simply because he is black. Although the book is fictional, the depiction of racism, despite being extreme is vindicated by actual historical events in the Deep South during the Jim Crow era.
The Place of Racism in the History of the USA
Prevalence of Racism at the Time the Book is Set
Racism as depicted in the book To Kill a Mockingbird is even benign when compared to the reality of racism in the history of the USA. From a historical perspective, racism is closely intertwined with the fabric of the American society. Seeing to censure a book because it reflects the American community as being racist is an act of futility and an attempt to deny the history of the USA. Racism against black in America begins with slavery, where Africans would be kidnapped and shipped to the American colonies to work in plantations as forced labor (Wallach, 2009). In the process, the slaves would be treated as sub-human beings, akin to property and tortured or killed at the whims of the slave owners. It is worthy of notice that even after America became independent under a constitution that declared all humans as equal, slavery and even slave trade continued in the Americas. Further, after the emancipation of all slaves at the end of civil war, Jim Crow laws were passed that allowed African Americans to be considered and treated as second-rate citizens ( Huston, 2005). Under the Jim Crow laws that were still in existence in the 1930s when the novel is set, a high level of impunity existed in regards to how white people treated the African Americans. Racism, therefore, is not an invention of Harper Lee in the book, but a depiction of the reality on the ground. Indeed, based on what happened, including wanton lynching, the depiction by Lee in the book where the black man Tom gets a trial by a jury after being accused of raping a white girl is the benign exception. Further, the use of racial epithets at the time was not only common but generally accepted (Gritter, 2014). The fact that racism is still an issue and the subject of social conflict in modern America vindicates a book reflecting the extremities of racism being taught to children.
Institutionalized Racism in Jim Crow Deep West
Government institutions and agencies such as the police have been accused of racism in the modern times, a reflection of a problem that existed in the setting of the canvassed book, hence the justification of it being taught to children currently. To Kill a Mockingbird presents a scenario where Bob Ewell not only gets a free hand to persecute Tom but also gets assistance to do so from the state. Bob is a drunkard and a lawbreaker (Lee, 1960). Tom is a law-abiding citizen whose only crime was being colored. When the white drunkard, known to break the law makes a complaint against the law-abiding black man, every benefit of the doubt is given to the white man. The same benefit of the doubt is extended in the courtroom leading to the conviction and incarceration of Tom. This depiction by Lee in the novel is, however, not a historical anomaly. The law itself provides that African Americans were second-rate citizens, a hangover from justifications of slavery. “ Since at least the 1830s, and probably starting in the 1870s, white Southerners had justified slavery primarily on the basis of the alleged racial inferiority of African s” (Huston, 2005, p.404). The available law enforcement organs not only gave whites impunity to persecute blacks but also enabled them and to some extent, assisted them. Lynching, for example, would take place with the full knowledge of law enforcement with no fear of repercussions (Hobbs, 2017). Therefore, the presentation of America as a society together with its government institutions being racist in themselves is not a historical anomaly that should be censured but rather a reality that should be remembered. American children should be allowed to learn of this reality as it was so hence the contention that the book To Kill a Mockingbird should neither be censured nor banned.
Conclusion
It is clear from the foregoing that the extreme racism that includes racial epithets and institutionalized racism as depicted in the book To Kill a Mockingbird is congruent with the historical happenings when the book is set. It would, therefore, be hypocritical to seek to censor the book, based on these elements of racism when the same is clearly historical in nature. The book is set in the Deep South during the 1930s. At the time, the Jim Crow laws were in place, racism against the African American community was the norm rather than the exception and government institutions openly exhibited racism. The book presents the historical reality and should be embraced , not censured or proscribed . The primary argument is that the book presents racism in a graphical and extreme manner which should not be exposed to children. This argument seems to protect the modern children from the ugliness of past racism, more so in the period on which the book is set. However, the problem of racism is still felt today, over half a century after the end of the Jim Crow era. Hopefully, by giving children an impression of how ugly racism can get, they can learn how to avoid it in their generation thus, eliminating the problem in totality. To Kill a Mockingbird is an extreme book, just like the problem of racism. Instead of turning a blind eye on the problem of racism, an approach where racism is discussed openly should be adopted with a view to ending the vice.
References
Gritter, E. (2014). To render invisible: Jim Crow and public life in New South Jacksonville. The Journal of Southern History , 80 (3), 740-742
Hobbs, T. B. (2017). Hanging bridge: Racial violence and America's Civil Rights Century by Jason Morgan Ward. Journal of Southern History , 83 (3), 734-735
Huston, J. L. (2005). An alternative to the tragic era: Applying the virtues of bureaucracy to the reconstruction dilemma. Civil War History , 51 (4), 403-415
Lee, H. (1960). To kill a mockingbird. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co publishers
Wallach, J. J. (2009). Race in the American South: From slavery to Civil Rights. Journal of Social History , 42 (4), 1051-1052
