I don't think it should be required reading. If used in the classroom at all, I think it should be used in contrast with better, antiracist books. I'll admit to liking the book quite a bit the first time I read it when I was a kid, but I wasn't reading it critically. There are plenty of other books that could easily replace it.
No. Books that cover racism should be selected through the lenses of those who experienced racism, no throughout perceptions of those who didn't. It is fine to discuss about what others feel towards racism or discuss the book itself, but not this book which in a way normalizes racism.
Rather than being racist, it portrays a historical view of the racist society of the time. We can not change or hide our history but, exposing the events that happened back in time, is not equivalent to being racist.
The part that’s racist is continuing to teach this book as if it’s the end all be all on racism or race relations back then or now. Mildred D. Taylor, a Black author, wrote much more accurate and less one-dimensional, Black-centered novels about the same subject and time period. And plenty of other past and contemporary authors have covered this topic better.
Of course this novel should be taught in schools. It is not to be judged as a memoir, or a political essay/manifesto devoted to social justice. If it were a memoir and she failed to mention her father's politics, then I would agree that she was being dishonest. But it is fiction. Do we not understand the role of fiction? It is an inside look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of a small southern town during the 1930s. Life in small town Southern U.S. was not progressive. That's part of the reality of America. As activists we try to move society forward with programs/strategies/tactics to improve lives, but it's a never ending struggle. What we do in the political arena cannot be a simplistic overlay on works of art. Art loses its power when it becomes a tool of the state or the powerful or the 'politcially correct'. I don't want novels or music or other cultural artifacts to purposely mold my presumed empty head with 'correct' thoughts. I want to see the truth as perceived by writers, musicians, painters, etc. They should be free to create what they want without interference. This is not a novel about an adult activist trying to lay bare the essential flaws of America's caste system. It is based on someone's lived experience as seen through the eyes of a gay child (an outsider) with a gay companion Dill (Truman Capote in real life) and centers around a central theme; it gives life to the notion that being principled and moral is the core of who we are and it often comes with a price. Sadly, most of us are not willing to pay any price for our beliefs. That is patently obvious to anyone who knows history. Scout (as a 6 to 9 year old) isn't calling for revolutionary upheavals. She's questioning her environment. The novel forces young readers to question their own morality. How would you feel if your parent was ostracized by your community? Would you defend your parent or would you disassociate yourself from them? How would you cope being a lesbian girl in a community that didn't allow for that? How do you treat the mentally ill? How would you deal with an old enfeebled nasty person who cursed you out? Would you retaliate or would you consider the larger picture. If if so, how do you determine the larger picture? How many variables would you consider? Or would you go for the tried and true tit for tat? (a chance to discuss Game Theory) How does it make you feel to see Black people not being respected as human beings? What civil rights laws were passed in the 60s and what sacrifices were made? How many people were murdered in these struggles and what were their names? The themes and topics are endless when discussing this book. A well written novel can really pull you out of your head and force you to confront serious questions. So yes, this is an ideal book for young readers. As for unfair/sad endings, this is the stuff of novels. Tom's death is intolerable--it's called catharsis. (Another topic which could be linked with discussing Brecht who purposely denied his audience catharsis.) There are many novels with unhappy or ambiguous endings. "If Beale Street Could Talk" by Baldwin leaves us marginally hopeful, but sad. And what about "Native Son". No happy ending for Bigger Thomas either. That is one complex and exciting book that many found fault with. Even James Baldwin wasn't happy with it. Should it no longer be read? One last comment, your criticism that the Black characters aren't fully fleshed out is strange because it is a story told through the eyes of a young white child growing up in the segregated south and her interactions with the Black community were modest and also prohibited. She was constantly told she could not visit Cal's home, for example. She wanted to learn about the people in her town, but was impeded every step of the way. I grew up a Mexican kid in NorCal in the 50s. If I wanted to write a first person semi-autobiographical novel about race in my small hometown, it would have to be centered on my Mexican family. Yes, there were Asians and poor whites, but they would not be fully fleshed out characters because I didn't really know them well enough. (Remember the adage "Write What You Know") And it would be irresponsible to write about cultures I'm not fully entrenched in or educated about. I think authors can write about other races, but they have to do the homework. America is a segregated society, so it comes with serious obstacles. Then there is the inevitable backlash. The author of "American Dirt" was crucified by my Latinx Overlords for not writing the book they wanted her to write, even though she has a Latina grandmother. I think this book will always be read and I'm not too worried about it being removed from reading lists. It captures childhood and southern life too well to be forgotten. I just read it again for book club and it is as wonderful as I remembered it. Too many of us feel this way about the book and the movie, for that matter.
I think the exsistence should be taught but not required reading. Weather it's racist or not the book is highly political and deep in some issues and not every kid is in a place to read that stuff
I think you are right, but I also think it is important to still read the book. Teach it in the context of its times, and while not exactly a coming of age novel, it can be taught as a novel about an important episode in a little girl’s life. In teaching we can still point the both the obvious and the more subtle racism.
I am not American, but this book was compulsory reading at school. Frankly, the analysis provided here of the book is so far removed from all the details I remember as to look like an example of gaslighting.
Wow, some of these points are a real reach. It’s important to note that TKAMB is not a manifesto, it’s a story, and it’s one that rings authentic - how stupid would it have been if racism was solved in the town at the end the way you want, when we have history that tells us different? It’s a snapshot of a time and place bearing all the uncomfortable truths that people of that time lived alongside, and Atticus teaches the kids to empathise with EVERYONE, even the old woman he makes Jem read to. Your assessment is way off.
Watch the video again. I think you missed my point about the book being outdated, overrated, and problematic due to the racist tropes it perpetuates. It is not a snapshot of anything but a distorted version of a White woman’s coming of age story. Black people and racism are merely narrative tools to make the reader sympathize with the White characters-including the racists and otherwise morally reprehensible ones. Those who are interested in learning about this period would be better served by other authors.
I think to kill a mocking bird really needs to be retired as a book about racism. However I don’t think that the book doesn’t have merit, I’m actually a big fan of it, but it is not a good book about racism. I think it’s a book about developing empathy written from the perspective of a white girl in 1930s Alabama and it needs to be treated as such when it’s being taught. It uses other marginalised communities to get that message across including black people, mentally ill people and people in poverty. The book examines a child realising that the world is not fair and there are people who don’t have the privilege of being treated equally. The book is a starting point in a way, but it’s not the racial justice novel people claim it is. I think the larger issue is that we’re using a book that isn’t really about people from marginalised communities to teach ourselves about them. We need more diversity in media, more black authors need to be taught in school, more black stories need to be listened to.
I do agree that a book about the 1930s written in the 1960s is not going to be the end all be all about racism in 2021. I also agree with everything in the above comment.
I'm a year late but let me just point out To Kill a Mockingbird was written in 1960. That being said, it was actually a trailblazer for the civil rights movement and was extremely ahead of its time when it came to calling out racism. Harper Lee based the book off of her father. I'm not saying it's not a white savior book, but in the time when this took place (great depression), being a white savior was a thing sadly. Black people were given freedom but were still treated as less than human. I come from a line of teachers and I absolutely think this should be still taught in schools. It is a book about acceptance and fighting for what is right.
So you completely missed all of the points I made in the video and think your take a White woman should matter more than what many Black people having saying since this book was first published. Got it. You should check out our video called Racist Teacher Mistakes. It sounds like you center Whiteness in your pedagogy.
Okay, I totally understand but it was my favourite book ever and I feel like my world is crushed just by listening to this I mean you are not wrong but I feel like how Scout felt when she learned what Atticus did. I just learned a lot of life lessons and it held a huge part in my life and now that I am just heart broken...
I hate it when people call me a "white ally" I mean I technically am but I dont want my worth to the matter to be judged by my skin color. But it is fair because as white person I can't fully understand the hurt that minorities go through. And I won't ever understand because I won't ever go through it. But I still hate being called that because I don't want to be seen as someone making up for the debts of the past white people. I want to be seen as someone who actually cares even if the issue at hand or surprised group is pointed to him.
I agree the book and film need to be better contextualized, e.g. the white savior myth and the lack of agency of the African Americans, but feel that much of the criticism is excessive. I might agree it feels slightly outdated, but still believe it is important enough for students to read and/or watch the film, both to understand one aspect of the history of those times, but also the history of the film and book and its salient effect on culture. To me, your criticisms unreasonably demand perfection from the film by requiring it to represent all angles fairly, when that is not its point - it is one story based partly on reminiscences of one woman of an old racist South, and I think it presents expertly the ugliness of the racism, and the difficulty and impossible legal task that Atticus Finch faced in trying to overcome the prevailing sentiments. Both the ugliness and the difficulty in overcoming it are highly relevant today. It's also a coming of age story beautifully told filled with tenderness and love. I think how Lee envisioned Atticus Finch as a racist (see Go Set a Watchman) is irrelevant to the narrative of Mockingbird, where Lee deliberately chose to represent Finch in an entirely different and noble manner - a character that has inspired many to become lawyers. I understand the wisdom of the publisher who rejected the cynical and unappealing Watchman and instructed Lee to write a more appealing narrative from Scout's perspective that eventually turned into the classic Mockingbird. If Lee had chosen the cynical route for Atticus, would anyone care? Because Lee chose the aspirational route for Atticus, i.e. a kind, loving and enlightened character that many would aspire to be, the rest is legend.
Hi! I'm Shraddha, from India and I really really appreciate your thinking but I think that this book really should NOT be called outdated and overrated because I feel it's a masterpiece and every child should read it...no offence...btw I love your videos!❤️❤️❤️
I have to admit, I like the content but I can agree to disagree here. As someone who grew up with two different families, that being my argument, I really enjoyed the book. At first it made me uncomfortable, but what was written (to me) seems rather plain. About 3 minutes in you commented on a "word used by ignorant people" I mean that commentary is correct, that isn't poor communication when you should teach what is frowned upon. Also, as for the "original" script or plan for the book, I was completely unaware, but that content was never given to me. I'm primarily talking about the content I have read and seen. And yes, black people are powerless in the book because it's set in a time period. This is my opinion.
Hi! Thanks for watching and commenting! The point I was making there is that Atticus’ response is an oversimplification that implies that racism is a function of manners or class. No. There are fancy rich White folks who say the n-word in private and in their minds. The bottom line is that Black people have far more to teach you about how racism operates than any White author every could or has. So many Black people wrote about their experiences growing up in the south during this period, yet folks put Harper Lee and TKAM on a pedestal-it’s another form of White supremacy. Stop it. I get nostalgia. But I’m telling you that this book harms Black children. Why don’t Black people’s voices and outcomes matter more that preserving Whiteness and relics thereof?
I agree with you on this. It is a book that first and foremost promotes the dangers of bayesian thinking. In other words, confirmation bias. This theme is aptly illustrated through the eyes of a child living in a very structured time and place. She only has her father as a guide. It is obvious that his character does not reduce racism to manners. He understands his role as a lawyer and practices it in order to uphold right from wrong. His kids are almost killed for this!
Totally agree with all this. However, I think we should still read it and teach with this context, and use more modern literature on the subject as a contrast.
I fear you've missed the whole point of the book. Racism is part of and still is a part of our society. It's a historical novel. History with all it thorns has to be taught as it happened. Revisionist History doesn't help people learn how shitty humanity can actually be. We learn by doing and learning. Knowledge is power we need to know history as it happened. Putting powered sugar on a road apple may make it look sweet but I wouldn't want to swallow it.
I fear you’ve missed the point of my video, which is that TKAM is an outdated, overrated, and problematic book to continue mandating and using to teach the themes, period, genre, or whatever value is meant to be gleaned. Nowhere in the video do I advocate for revisionist history or sugarcoating. Instead, I call into question why this particular book has had the American literary canon in a chokehold for 60 years, when there were/are other, better books we could be using to teach about these issues. Mildred D. Taylor and Lillian Smith’s novels are prime examples of texts with non-Whitewashed portrayals of racism in the American south during the same period in which TKAM is set.
I wanted to check out a few more videos since I left a rather lengthy comment disagreeing with you on a different video. You are on point with this one. I assume when it was written it was done to spoon feed some sense of racial tolerance (not equality) to children in a way that the parents of the day found acceptable. Now it should be moved up to high school level to challenge students to analyze (preferable in mixed groups) the hidden narrative underneath its simplistic storytelling.
Thanks for watching and commenting! It’s interesting that this video resonates you. I got lots of pushback from White educators who love TKAM and cape for it, like you did with Soul. This book is still mandatory reading for most American high school students, as well as in some European countries. IMO, we can give this one a rest and find other texts to teach about racism.
I'd be really interested to know your take on 'Go Set a Watchman' if you've read it. I found it really interesting how upset a lot of people got by Atticus's bigotry in it, (being upset by him being a bigoted character rather than finding the bigotry itself inherently upsetting, that is) while to me it seemed likely based on his character. I also 100% agree that school reading lists desperately need to be updated. Irregardless of if you consider it to be a good book or not, there is no reason for this history to be taught through the words of a white woman.
That’s a fact! Thank you so much for watching! I haven’t read GSAW, but I’ve read about the scandal behind its publication and the backlash surrounding Atticus Finch’s character. To your point about his bigotry, I think the original editor/publisher’s changes to the character in TKAM were attempts to bury the nuance of what it means to love a racist. A part of me wants to read it because it’s likely a more honest narrative, but then again Harper Lee has taken up enough of my attention for the time being haha.
Hi, student from Germany here! I really liked your video, and you definitely gave me a new outlook on things! I was already aware of some of the issues (e.g. Calpurnia as a contented slave, the one-dimensional portrtayal of the black community), but since I'm white I didn't pick up on all of this. I really enjoyed reading To Kill A Mockinbird because it was an interesting read and showed up many issues apart from racism (sexism, class systems...). I do think it should remain a read in class, but the racism inside of it should be addressed. My teacher barely did that, but in a presentation we held afterwards, we at least tried to address parts of the racism in the book (again, we're all white, so definitely didn't catch all of it, but we mainly focused on literary critics anyways). I understand that the way it is taught in class at the moment is definitely flawed, but if you use it as an example on how racism was in the 1960s, and also point out and discuss the racist points of it in class, it can still be read. I think it's always important to point out problematic aspects in novels, so that the students don't take away the wrong messages from it, but the right ones. For example, you could maybe say sth like "walking around in someone else's shoes and showing empathy is important, but both for black and white people, unlike portrayed in the book". I think a more differentiated view on it is necessary if it is continued to be taught at schools. So thank you for this video, this was highly educational even though it was short, and it was very easy to listen to you!!! Thi little essay is just my opinion, and I hope I didn't phrase it in any kind of offensive way, because I can also totally see yours!!!
I haven't read this book yet but I think this kind of book shouldn't be introduced to students in schools especially if the content will not contribute something that would benefit the students.
I know I'm gonna be in a minority here, but honestly, after reading Go Set a Watchman, I can't help but view To Kill a Mockingbird as a watered down version of what Harper Lee originally set out to write. Mockingbird cloaks its failure to say virtually anything with maudlin sentimentalism. To be perfectly honest, I think Watchman is a vastly superior book. It's rougher around the edges in terms of writing, but that book actually manages to make serious statements about the thought processes behind the society of its time. By making Scout a child in Mockingbird, Lee basically excused herself from having to actually make any kind of argument or statement about the subject matter. In Watchman though, having Scout be an adult allows a much more mature confrontation of the issues the books deal with. Neither book is perfect, and neither one adequately condemns racism as much as it should, but at least Go Set a Watchman provides serious insight into the mindset behind such a society. Definitely the more valuable book, I think.
I agree with this take. The publisher definitely warped her original text to tell a more sanitized version of this story, which allowed Lee/Scout and father to absolve themselves. Thank you so much for watching and commenting!
I am required to read this for my AP English Literature and Composition summer assignment. I just finished part I. Before I watched this video, I already had thought that this book did not age well. I did not like how Atticus was telling his children that everyone is entitled to their own opinion when the children would ask about other characters word choices, such as Mrs. Dubose. While I do agree with the statement that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I disagreed with the way Atticus painted racism as an “opinion” that society should just tolerate. Once your opinion goes against humanity, you are no longer entitled to it. Jem and Scout were never taught that racism was not okay. I also did notice how he did not tell his children that the N-word meant something far more than a word used by ignorant people. I’m excited to read part two to see how the rest of the book goes down. Im excited to point out how it did not age well to my APELAC class.
I just finished reading the book and do not see what you see.( Isn't art great! ) I did not see Atticus saying that racism was ok or that it was an merely an opinion. There are many passages in the novel where he explains to his kids that to be a true human being you cannot support the mistreatment of others. He says he cannot hold his head high if he doesn't defend Tom. He lives his beliefs. His kids are learning by his example. He put his life and the life of his kids on the line by defending Tom from lynching! Jem and Scout were shown how to treat others regardless of race or class. They are surrounded by people who fail in this regard. The aunt calls poor whites trash and tells Jem and Scout not to interact with Blacks. Obviously, the point being made here is that Atticus is the moral compass of the novel and rejects this thinking whether it relates to poor people or blacks. Mrs Dubrose was an addict and he wanted his kids to see that she dedicated herself to beating addiction.She is obviously extremely flawed, but she could be respected for getting clean at her enfeebled age. Saying you should understand people does not mean you should forget your own principles or forgive their failings. It means that we do not live in a cartoon world where people are either angels or devils. People suck, as we all know, but since we are all of us flawed, we should at least try to understand why some people are so hateful. Are they lost to their hate forever or can they be reformed. Mr. Cunningham is a poor white who throws in with his white terrorist buddies, but then has a glimmer of an awakening. Maybe he fights this glimmer and goes about his murdering ways or maybe not. We are not machines. People can change in spite of their narrow viewpoints. Do you not know anyone like this? Have you read or seen documentaries about skinheads who saw the light?
In Germany we watched the film in English lessons. Last lesson we finished it and didn't even talk about what we think about the film, but we were just asked: "Do you think it was ok to say that Mr Ewell fell on his knife without a trial against Boo?". Now Atticus is in my class something like a hero. I also hated it that the protagonist of a film/book about racism must be white. And I mean: Why is it even a white author? How tf could she know what racism really was? Aren't there enough english books by black authors? What I as someone living in Germany also found weird was why we watch a film about racism especially in America. I mean, doesn't that wrongly suggest that racism is not only something what was only in the past, but also something that is only far away? Like Racism would be an american thing and in Germany such a thing wouldn't exist. On the other hand, we watched it as already mentioned in English lessons, where it is normal to topic the USA. What do you think about it? In Germany we have also the problem that because of our Nazi past, society almost completely forgot our colonial past, although German Reich was one of the most brutal colonial powers. I hope, after christmas holidays we will have the ability to speak about the film. Thank you for this video! It really helps to know that I am not the only one thinking like that
i have to do my exam on it! i read tkam and roll of thunder hear my cry, and boy is roll of thunder hear my cry a much better commentary and condemnation of racism in 1930s southern, small town america. written by a black author so it just makes it so much better.
I was also thinking the way Calpurnia was portrayed in the book was quite racist, giving her a mammy stereotype just didn’t sit well. One of the main black characters in the story was given the role of a caretaker and her role in the story really didn’t go past that, but this does go back to your point of the black characters in this story being portrayed as one dimensional.
We had to read the book and watch the movie for our curriculum in my school (in Greece) back in the 90s. I actually loved it back then and I continue to have the same feelings for it today even after watching the video (sentimentalities). That said, there might be some use for it today, but I agree that it is outdated. Back then it was considered that the only way to get a white person to empathise with victims of racism was to get them to have a look through the eyes of another white person; today I think that we can agree that everyone is familiar with the concept (even if for some reason they don't agree with it). Do you have any suggestions as alternatives to TKAM? (that you could teach in school I mean; say grades 7 to 9)
Thanks for watching! My favorite books about this period are The Logan Family Saga books by Mildred D. Taylor. But some other books include: The Hate You Give, Angie Thomas Brown Girl Dreaming, Jacqueline Woodson Count Me In, Varsha Bajaj Ghost Boys, Jewell Parker Rhodes Black Brother, Black Brother, Jewell Parker Rhodes A Good Kind of Trouble, Lisa Moore Ramée Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, Jason Reynolds The Only Black Girls in Town Monster, Walter Dean Myers The Skin I’m In, Sharon G. Flake Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Readers), Bryan Stevenson American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang
@@TheAntiracismAcademy These are all well reviewed and widely read books. School libraries and public libraries purchase multiple copies and include them in book discussions. And they are read in classrooms as well. It's been great to witness the many multicultural titles that have come out since the 70s. When I was a teen I read a lot. The first time I really 'related' ( a word we over used in the 70s) to stories about growing up in poverty were novels set in China and Mexico and also titles by Dick Gregory. That being said, the more novels to read and dissect the better. I abhor totalitarian governments that demand you shun 'bad art'.
I agree I’m not even halfway through the book and while it is enjoyable I did not understand why it centers white protagonists in a story about racial injustice. Also, the passive and overt racism does take me out of the narrative sometimes because it’s at best irritating.
You put out such excellent content. I've been watching past videos from your library and it's taking gumption like you wouldn't believe for me not to comment on every single one of them. So good! Please continue on with this excellent channel because I AM certainly watching! I looking forward to future offerings.
2:54 I was told of that garbage excuse before. The person who told me about the n word not meaning something was so ignorant, she doomed another black person who was trying to move on by being called n word and humiliated by a very disturbed figure.
I hate that you had to be subjected to that trash.😤It's super insulting for anyone to say it doesn't mean anything when it clearly holds so much weight and always has.
I'm only on page 83 of the book. But from what I've read so far is that it is anit racist... For it's time. Which is not saying much. I see that it repeatedly uses the n word and racial slurs unnecessarily. Mabye it was suppose to be used to show how casual racial slurs we're back then but I don't see it that way and when the words are used there is no real conversation which tells me that the author doesn't intend to highlight the hate around this word and why it's so terrible. (Btw I'm white and I can't say I can fully understand the hurt of being called that as a Black person but I can still empathize with the victims and help to stop it.) From what I read I don't really see how Atticus is telling them to empathize or " jump in their skin" with a racist. Mabye the book changes this fact but from what I read I think Atticus was telling scout to empathize with people who are poor and don't always know when their next meal is. Walter did not come across as racist to me but I wouldn't be surprised if he was. But even if he was I don't think Atticus was telling him to feel bad for him because he is racist. I think Atticus wants him to sympathize with what it's like to not have a stable home or to live in a poor environment. Like I said this is just speculation on my part I'm not locking in my opinion fully because I'm not done with this book. I definitely see scout as she is though as a supremacist. I see that she thinks she is better than other people because of their misfortune like how she showed this behavior with Walter. I found it kind of shocking that the maid taught scout the n word. Harper Lee made a book that clearly had an impact but I think that a lot of people still sldebate over the legacy of that book
I feel like tkam is my favorite book I have read in school. I feel like it is very subjective to how people feel, mainly because the teacher who taught me made it so much better because of how she was able to give the characters a little more depth
Your right it’s super outdated for us to read and learn abt racism through a white persona eyes. We need a book who shows us the not so obvious actions of racism.
Yup. It's required reading in most American public and private schools. I actually really liked it when I had to read it in high school, it wasn't until I got to college that I realized how problematic this book is. I anticipate a ton of backlash on this one haha.
I really enjoyed this. Never seen To Kill a Mockingbird broken down this way but I also didn’t read it in high school. I did buy it once upon a time when I thought I would go on a quest to read all the high school books that we didn’t get to.
i was required to read to kill a mockingbird and honestly was just shocked and mad about how this book perpetuates racism. I'm writing an essay critiquing it and this gave me even more insight, thank you!
It was mandatory for us aswell in Hessen, Germany writing my finals on it on Friday. Great Video we did discuss the depiction of the black population in class ourselves but not as thoroughly as it is here, anyways cool video!
Thanks so much for watching! Same. I think “The Help” would have been the result had Harper Lee given the character more to say/do-representation, but still problematic it’s own right.
I've really enjoyed this video and it gave me a new perspective on the book. I picked it up some days ago and as soon as I finished it(also while i was reading it) I kept wondering what is so amazing about it. I read it for the first time now at 25 (we don't get it as a book to read in Italian schools) and all my life I'd heard it was an amazing book about racism. I fail to see it that way, also because 80% of the book is just Scout and Jem doing children stuff. I also really hated how they treated the black characters in the story (Tom Robinson for sure, but even Calpurnia? Like she was basically their slave??) Anyway what I would like to read now is a book written by an actual black person that knows what they're talking about and not a white woman. Please send me recommendations if you have any :)
Well said. I thought the book was a disappointing bore even though it somehow was #1 on PBS The Great American Read of 100 American novels. I am a 72-year-old white male and even I thought it reeked with racism.
Hi, I loved it! I just finished To Kill a Mockingbird and it also was presented to me as groundbreaking but i just found it boring and not good enough for it's porpouse. This analysis helped me see a new very needed point of view so thank you very much :)
I loved the breakdown and you’ve brought many points up that I hadn’t considered however I think you’ve failed to consider the book from “inside another persons skin” so to speak. I would imagine a racist person reading this and it being pretty thought provoking as well the literature hitting more home for them as they would be able to identify more with the white characters that it focuses on and then be able to translate that to the black characters that Scout observes throughout the book. I can’t excuse everything as the book isn’t perfect but I believe it serves a purpose being read in schools nonetheless. I don’t think this book would damage anyone’s outlook on the world in a negative way and it would only serve as a means to open more thought provoking opportunities for the students. It obviously doesn’t touch on the true horrors of the lynchings and other hate crimes but just to put it frankly it’s very hard for most people to stomach that imagery, much less highschool students.
I didn’t fail to consider how White folks receive the book. I considered and criticized the book for this reason. Racist people have been reading this book for decades. Black characters shouldn’t have to be “translated” through the lens or experiences of White characters. It has caused much damage to people’s outlook and it has not moved the conversation about race forward. Instead of trying to invalidate my perspective, try listening.
I has to read it in school late 2000s U.S. As a black kid, the book and the "lessons" were so threadbare and obvious to me. I couldn't believe my white classmates in the south were getting something out of the book. I also felt like the way the lessons were set up couldn't work for a POC as it was about white guilt.
I love your videos, as I always learn something. I will never see To Kill A Mockingbird again, a good thing apparently. {I read the book in Grade 10 English Class)
That story is pathetic. I am very upset with how it portrays both black and white people during the past, and how it mocks with the black culture too much. The Mockingbird symbolism is awful and only made that French movie The King and the Mockingbird feel better. Too many dumb and lousy schools have purposely let this story be a crutch to learning.
Do you think To Kill A Mockingbird should still be taught in schools? If so, why? If not, why?
I don't think it should be required reading. If used in the classroom at all, I think it should be used in contrast with better, antiracist books. I'll admit to liking the book quite a bit the first time I read it when I was a kid, but I wasn't reading it critically. There are plenty of other books that could easily replace it.
No. Books that cover racism should be selected through the lenses of those who experienced racism, no throughout perceptions of those who didn't. It is fine to discuss about what others feel towards racism or discuss the book itself, but not this book which in a way normalizes racism.
Rather than being racist, it portrays a historical view of the racist society of the time. We can not change or hide our history but, exposing the events that happened back in time, is not equivalent to being racist.
The part that’s racist is continuing to teach this book as if it’s the end all be all on racism or race relations back then or now. Mildred D. Taylor, a Black author, wrote much more accurate and less one-dimensional, Black-centered novels about the same subject and time period. And plenty of other past and contemporary authors have covered this topic better.
Of course this novel should be taught in schools. It is not to be judged as a memoir, or a political essay/manifesto devoted to social justice. If it were a memoir and she failed to mention her father's politics, then I would agree that she was being dishonest. But it is fiction. Do we not understand the role of fiction?
It is an inside look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of a small southern town during the 1930s. Life in small town Southern U.S. was not progressive. That's part of the reality of America. As activists we try to move society forward with programs/strategies/tactics to improve lives, but it's a never ending struggle. What we do in the political arena cannot be a simplistic overlay on works of art. Art loses its power when it becomes a tool of the state or the powerful or the 'politcially correct'. I don't want novels or music or other cultural artifacts to purposely mold my presumed empty head with 'correct' thoughts. I want to see the truth as perceived by writers, musicians, painters, etc. They should be free to create what they want without interference. This is not a novel about an adult activist trying to lay bare the essential flaws of America's caste system. It is based on someone's lived experience as seen through the eyes of a gay child (an outsider) with a gay companion Dill (Truman Capote in real life) and centers around a central theme; it gives life to the notion that being principled and moral is the core of who we are and it often comes with a price. Sadly, most of us are not willing to pay any price for our beliefs. That is patently obvious to anyone who knows history.
Scout (as a 6 to 9 year old) isn't calling for revolutionary upheavals. She's questioning her environment. The novel forces young readers to question their own morality. How would you feel if your parent was ostracized by your community? Would you defend your parent or would you disassociate yourself from them? How would you cope being a lesbian girl in a community that didn't allow for that? How do you treat the mentally ill? How would you deal with an old enfeebled nasty person who cursed you out? Would you retaliate or would you consider the larger picture. If if so, how do you determine the larger picture? How many variables would you consider? Or would you go for the tried and true tit for tat? (a chance to discuss Game Theory) How does it make you feel to see Black people not being respected as human beings? What civil rights laws were passed in the 60s and what sacrifices were made? How many people were murdered in these struggles and what were their names? The themes and topics are endless when discussing this book. A well written novel can really pull you out of your head and force you to confront serious questions. So yes, this is an ideal book for young readers.
As for unfair/sad endings, this is the stuff of novels. Tom's death is intolerable--it's called catharsis. (Another topic which could be linked with discussing Brecht who purposely denied his audience catharsis.) There are many novels with unhappy or ambiguous endings. "If Beale Street Could Talk" by Baldwin leaves us marginally hopeful, but sad. And what about "Native Son". No happy ending for Bigger Thomas either. That is one complex and exciting book that many found fault with. Even James Baldwin wasn't happy with it. Should it no longer be read?
One last comment, your criticism that the Black characters aren't fully fleshed out is strange because it is a story told through the eyes of a young white child growing up in the segregated south and her interactions with the Black community were modest and also prohibited. She was constantly told she could not visit Cal's home, for example. She wanted to learn about the people in her town, but was impeded every step of the way. I grew up a Mexican kid in NorCal in the 50s. If I wanted to write a first person semi-autobiographical novel about race in my small hometown, it would have to be centered on my Mexican family. Yes, there were Asians and poor whites, but they would not be fully fleshed out characters because I didn't really know them well enough. (Remember the adage "Write What You Know") And it would be irresponsible to write about cultures I'm not fully entrenched in or educated about. I think authors can write about other races, but they have to do the homework. America is a segregated society, so it comes with serious obstacles. Then there is the inevitable backlash. The author of "American Dirt" was crucified by my Latinx Overlords for not writing the book they wanted her to write, even though she has a Latina grandmother.
I think this book will always be read and I'm not too worried about it being removed from reading lists. It captures childhood and southern life too well to be forgotten. I just read it again for book club and it is as wonderful as I remembered it. Too many of us feel this way about the book and the movie, for that matter.
I think the exsistence should be taught but not required reading. Weather it's racist or not the book is highly political and deep in some issues and not every kid is in a place to read that stuff
I think you are right, but I also think it is important to still read the book. Teach it in the context of its times, and while not exactly a coming of age novel, it can be taught as a novel about an important episode in a little girl’s life. In teaching we can still point the both the obvious and the more subtle racism.
I am not American, but this book was compulsory reading at school. Frankly, the analysis provided here of the book is so far removed from all the details I remember as to look like an example of gaslighting.
You need to reread the book and learn the definition of gaslighting. But thanks for watching.
Wow, some of these points are a real reach. It’s important to note that TKAMB is not a manifesto, it’s a story, and it’s one that rings authentic - how stupid would it have been if racism was solved in the town at the end the way you want, when we have history that tells us different? It’s a snapshot of a time and place bearing all the uncomfortable truths that people of that time lived alongside, and Atticus teaches the kids to empathise with EVERYONE, even the old woman he makes Jem read to. Your assessment is way off.
Watch the video again. I think you missed my point about the book being outdated, overrated, and problematic due to the racist tropes it perpetuates. It is not a snapshot of anything but a distorted version of a White woman’s coming of age story. Black people and racism are merely narrative tools to make the reader sympathize with the White characters-including the racists and otherwise morally reprehensible ones. Those who are interested in learning about this period would be better served by other authors.
I think to kill a mocking bird really needs to be retired as a book about racism. However I don’t think that the book doesn’t have merit, I’m actually a big fan of it, but it is not a good book about racism. I think it’s a book about developing empathy written from the perspective of a white girl in 1930s Alabama and it needs to be treated as such when it’s being taught. It uses other marginalised communities to get that message across including black people, mentally ill people and people in poverty. The book examines a child realising that the world is not fair and there are people who don’t have the privilege of being treated equally. The book is a starting point in a way, but it’s not the racial justice novel people claim it is. I think the larger issue is that we’re using a book that isn’t really about people from marginalised communities to teach ourselves about them. We need more diversity in media, more black authors need to be taught in school, more black stories need to be listened to.
Thanks for watching!
I do agree that a book about the 1930s written in the 1960s is not going to be the end all be all about racism in 2021. I also agree with everything in the above comment.
I'm a year late but let me just point out To Kill a Mockingbird was written in 1960. That being said, it was actually a trailblazer for the civil rights movement and was extremely ahead of its time when it came to calling out racism. Harper Lee based the book off of her father. I'm not saying it's not a white savior book, but in the time when this took place (great depression), being a white savior was a thing sadly. Black people were given freedom but were still treated as less than human. I come from a line of teachers and I absolutely think this should be still taught in schools. It is a book about acceptance and fighting for what is right.
So you completely missed all of the points I made in the video and think your take a White woman should matter more than what many Black people having saying since this book was first published. Got it. You should check out our video called Racist Teacher Mistakes. It sounds like you center Whiteness in your pedagogy.
Okay, I totally understand but it was my favourite book ever and I feel like my world is crushed just by listening to this I mean you are not wrong but I feel like how Scout felt when she learned what Atticus did. I just learned a lot of life lessons and it held a huge part in my life and now that I am just heart broken...
I hate it when people call me a "white ally" I mean I technically am but I dont want my worth to the matter to be judged by my skin color. But it is fair because as white person I can't fully understand the hurt that minorities go through. And I won't ever understand because I won't ever go through it. But I still hate being called that because I don't want to be seen as someone making up for the debts of the past white people. I want to be seen as someone who actually cares even if the issue at hand or surprised group is pointed to him.
I agree the book and film need to be better contextualized, e.g. the white savior myth and the lack of agency of the African Americans, but feel that much of the criticism is excessive. I might agree it feels slightly outdated, but still believe it is important enough for students to read and/or watch the film, both to understand one aspect of the history of those times, but also the history of the film and book and its salient effect on culture. To me, your criticisms unreasonably demand perfection from the film by requiring it to represent all angles fairly, when that is not its point - it is one story based partly on reminiscences of one woman of an old racist South, and I think it presents expertly the ugliness of the racism, and the difficulty and impossible legal task that Atticus Finch faced in trying to overcome the prevailing sentiments. Both the ugliness and the difficulty in overcoming it are highly relevant today. It's also a coming of age story beautifully told filled with tenderness and love.
I think how Lee envisioned Atticus Finch as a racist (see Go Set a Watchman) is irrelevant to the narrative of Mockingbird, where Lee deliberately chose to represent Finch in an entirely different and noble manner - a character that has inspired many to become lawyers. I understand the wisdom of the publisher who rejected the cynical and unappealing Watchman and instructed Lee to write a more appealing narrative from Scout's perspective that eventually turned into the classic Mockingbird. If Lee had chosen the cynical route for Atticus, would anyone care? Because Lee chose the aspirational route for Atticus, i.e. a kind, loving and enlightened character that many would aspire to be, the rest is legend.
Hi! I'm Shraddha, from India and I really really appreciate your thinking but I think that this book really should NOT be called outdated and overrated because I feel it's a masterpiece and every child should read it...no offence...btw I love your videos!❤️❤️❤️
You are entitled to your opinion, but that doesn’t change mine. Thanks for watching!
I have to admit, I like the content but I can agree to disagree here. As someone who grew up with two different families, that being my argument, I really enjoyed the book. At first it made me uncomfortable, but what was written (to me) seems rather plain. About 3 minutes in you commented on a "word used by ignorant people" I mean that commentary is correct, that isn't poor communication when you should teach what is frowned upon. Also, as for the "original" script or plan for the book, I was completely unaware, but that content was never given to me. I'm primarily talking about the content I have read and seen. And yes, black people are powerless in the book because it's set in a time period. This is my opinion.
Hi! Thanks for watching and commenting! The point I was making there is that Atticus’ response is an oversimplification that implies that racism is a function of manners or class. No. There are fancy rich White folks who say the n-word in private and in their minds. The bottom line is that Black people have far more to teach you about how racism operates than any White author every could or has. So many Black people wrote about their experiences growing up in the south during this period, yet folks put Harper Lee and TKAM on a pedestal-it’s another form of White supremacy. Stop it. I get nostalgia. But I’m telling you that this book harms Black children. Why don’t Black people’s voices and outcomes matter more that preserving Whiteness and relics thereof?
I agree with you on this. It is a book that first and foremost promotes the dangers of bayesian thinking. In other words, confirmation bias. This theme is aptly illustrated through the eyes of a child living in a very structured time and place. She only has her father as a guide. It is obvious that his character does not reduce racism to manners. He understands his role as a lawyer and practices it in order to uphold right from wrong. His kids are almost killed for this!
Totally agree with all this. However, I think we should still read it and teach with this context, and use more modern literature on the subject as a contrast.
I don't think it should be required reading because not every kid can handle the dark subjects in the book
I fear you've missed the whole point of the book. Racism is part of and still is a part of our society. It's a historical novel. History with all it thorns has to be taught as it happened. Revisionist History doesn't help people learn how shitty humanity can actually be. We learn by doing and learning.
Knowledge is power we need to know history as it happened.
Putting powered sugar on a road apple may make it look sweet but I wouldn't want to swallow it.
I fear you’ve missed the point of my video, which is that TKAM is an outdated, overrated, and problematic book to continue mandating and using to teach the themes, period, genre, or whatever value is meant to be gleaned.
Nowhere in the video do I advocate for revisionist history or sugarcoating. Instead, I call into question why this particular book has had the American literary canon in a chokehold for 60 years, when there were/are other, better books we could be using to teach about these issues.
Mildred D. Taylor and Lillian Smith’s novels are prime examples of texts with non-Whitewashed portrayals of racism in the American south during the same period in which TKAM is set.
I wanted to check out a few more videos since I left a rather lengthy comment disagreeing with you on a different video. You are on point with this one. I assume when it was written it was done to spoon feed some sense of racial tolerance (not equality) to children in a way that the parents of the day found acceptable. Now it should be moved up to high school level to challenge students to analyze (preferable in mixed groups) the hidden narrative underneath its simplistic storytelling.
Thanks for watching and commenting! It’s interesting that this video resonates you. I got lots of pushback from White educators who love TKAM and cape for it, like you did with Soul. This book is still mandatory reading for most American high school students, as well as in some European countries. IMO, we can give this one a rest and find other texts to teach about racism.
I'd be really interested to know your take on 'Go Set a Watchman' if you've read it. I found it really interesting how upset a lot of people got by Atticus's bigotry in it, (being upset by him being a bigoted character rather than finding the bigotry itself inherently upsetting, that is) while to me it seemed likely based on his character.
I also 100% agree that school reading lists desperately need to be updated. Irregardless of if you consider it to be a good book or not, there is no reason for this history to be taught through the words of a white woman.
That’s a fact! Thank you so much for watching! I haven’t read GSAW, but I’ve read about the scandal behind its publication and the backlash surrounding Atticus Finch’s character.
To your point about his bigotry, I think the original editor/publisher’s changes to the character in TKAM were attempts to bury the nuance of what it means to love a racist. A part of me wants to read it because it’s likely a more honest narrative, but then again Harper Lee has taken up enough of my attention for the time being haha.
Hi, student from Germany here! I really liked your video, and you definitely gave me a new outlook on things! I was already aware of some of the issues (e.g. Calpurnia as a contented slave, the one-dimensional portrtayal of the black community), but since I'm white I didn't pick up on all of this. I really enjoyed reading To Kill A Mockinbird because it was an interesting read and showed up many issues apart from racism (sexism, class systems...). I do think it should remain a read in class, but the racism inside of it should be addressed. My teacher barely did that, but in a presentation we held afterwards, we at least tried to address parts of the racism in the book (again, we're all white, so definitely didn't catch all of it, but we mainly focused on literary critics anyways). I understand that the way it is taught in class at the moment is definitely flawed, but if you use it as an example on how racism was in the 1960s, and also point out and discuss the racist points of it in class, it can still be read. I think it's always important to point out problematic aspects in novels, so that the students don't take away the wrong messages from it, but the right ones. For example, you could maybe say sth like "walking around in someone else's shoes and showing empathy is important, but both for black and white people, unlike portrayed in the book". I think a more differentiated view on it is necessary if it is continued to be taught at schools. So thank you for this video, this was highly educational even though it was short, and it was very easy to listen to you!!! Thi little essay is just my opinion, and I hope I didn't phrase it in any kind of offensive way, because I can also totally see yours!!!
Thank you for watching!
I haven't read this book yet but I think this kind of book shouldn't be introduced to students in schools especially if the content will not contribute something that would benefit the students.
I agree 100%. Thank you so much for watching!
I know I'm gonna be in a minority here, but honestly, after reading Go Set a Watchman, I can't help but view To Kill a Mockingbird as a watered down version of what Harper Lee originally set out to write. Mockingbird cloaks its failure to say virtually anything with maudlin sentimentalism. To be perfectly honest, I think Watchman is a vastly superior book. It's rougher around the edges in terms of writing, but that book actually manages to make serious statements about the thought processes behind the society of its time. By making Scout a child in Mockingbird, Lee basically excused herself from having to actually make any kind of argument or statement about the subject matter. In Watchman though, having Scout be an adult allows a much more mature confrontation of the issues the books deal with. Neither book is perfect, and neither one adequately condemns racism as much as it should, but at least Go Set a Watchman provides serious insight into the mindset behind such a society. Definitely the more valuable book, I think.
I agree with this take. The publisher definitely warped her original text to tell a more sanitized version of this story, which allowed Lee/Scout and father to absolve themselves. Thank you so much for watching and commenting!
this whole time i imagined scout as a black girl tho.
Lol. I like this comment. Thanks for watching!
I did too, until I learned that the writer was white. For the first few chapters I thought she was a black girl lol
I am required to read this for my AP English Literature and Composition summer assignment. I just finished part I. Before I watched this video, I already had thought that this book did not age well. I did not like how Atticus was telling his children that everyone is entitled to their own opinion when the children would ask about other characters word choices, such as Mrs. Dubose. While I do agree with the statement that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I disagreed with the way Atticus painted racism as an “opinion” that society should just tolerate. Once your opinion goes against humanity, you are no longer entitled to it. Jem and Scout were never taught that racism was not okay. I also did notice how he did not tell his children that the N-word meant something far more than a word used by ignorant people. I’m excited to read part two to see how the rest of the book goes down. Im excited to point out how it did not age well to my APELAC class.
I just finished reading the book and do not see what you see.( Isn't art great! ) I did not see Atticus saying that racism was ok or that it was an merely an opinion. There are many passages in the novel where he explains to his kids that to be a true human being you cannot support the mistreatment of others. He says he cannot hold his head high if he doesn't defend Tom. He lives his beliefs. His kids are learning by his example. He put his life and the life of his kids on the line by defending Tom from lynching! Jem and Scout were shown how to treat others regardless of race or class. They are surrounded by people who fail in this regard. The aunt calls poor whites trash and tells Jem and Scout not to interact with Blacks. Obviously, the point being made here is that Atticus is the moral compass of the novel and rejects this thinking whether it relates to poor people or blacks.
Mrs Dubrose was an addict and he wanted his kids to see that she dedicated herself to beating addiction.She is obviously extremely flawed, but she could be respected for getting clean at her enfeebled age. Saying you should understand people does not mean you should forget your own principles or forgive their failings. It means that we do not live in a cartoon world where people are either angels or devils. People suck, as we all know, but since we are all of us flawed, we should at least try to understand why some people are so hateful. Are they lost to their hate forever or can they be reformed. Mr. Cunningham is a poor white who throws in with his white terrorist buddies, but then has a glimmer of an awakening. Maybe he fights this glimmer and goes about his murdering ways or maybe not. We are not machines. People can change in spite of their narrow viewpoints. Do you not know anyone like this? Have you read or seen documentaries about skinheads who saw the light?
In Germany we watched the film in English lessons. Last lesson we finished it and didn't even talk about what we think about the film, but we were just asked: "Do you think it was ok to say that Mr Ewell fell on his knife without a trial against Boo?". Now Atticus is in my class something like a hero. I also hated it that the protagonist of a film/book about racism must be white. And I mean: Why is it even a white author? How tf could she know what racism really was? Aren't there enough english books by black authors? What I as someone living in Germany also found weird was why we watch a film about racism especially in America. I mean, doesn't that wrongly suggest that racism is not only something what was only in the past, but also something that is only far away? Like Racism would be an american thing and in Germany such a thing wouldn't exist. On the other hand, we watched it as already mentioned in English lessons, where it is normal to topic the USA. What do you think about it? In Germany we have also the problem that because of our Nazi past, society almost completely forgot our colonial past, although German Reich was one of the most brutal colonial powers.
I hope, after christmas holidays we will have the ability to speak about the film. Thank you for this video! It really helps to know that I am not the only one thinking like that
i have to do my exam on it! i read tkam and roll of thunder hear my cry, and boy is roll of thunder hear my cry a much better commentary and condemnation of racism in 1930s southern, small town america. written by a black author so it just makes it so much better.
Yesss! Mildred D. Taylor does a much better job covering this subject and time period.
I was also thinking the way Calpurnia was portrayed in the book was quite racist, giving her a mammy stereotype just didn’t sit well. One of the main black characters in the story was given the role of a caretaker and her role in the story really didn’t go past that, but this does go back to your point of the black characters in this story being portrayed as one dimensional.
Exactly! Thank you so much for watching and commenting.
We had to read the book and watch the movie for our curriculum in my school (in Greece) back in the 90s. I actually loved it back then and I continue to have the same feelings for it today even after watching the video (sentimentalities). That said, there might be some use for it today, but I agree that it is outdated. Back then it was considered that the only way to get a white person to empathise with victims of racism was to get them to have a look through the eyes of another white person; today I think that we can agree that everyone is familiar with the concept (even if for some reason they don't agree with it).
Do you have any suggestions as alternatives to TKAM? (that you could teach in school I mean; say grades 7 to 9)
Thanks for watching! My favorite books about this period are The Logan Family Saga books by Mildred D. Taylor. But some other books include:
The Hate You Give, Angie Thomas
Brown Girl Dreaming, Jacqueline Woodson
Count Me In, Varsha Bajaj
Ghost Boys, Jewell Parker Rhodes
Black Brother, Black Brother, Jewell Parker Rhodes
A Good Kind of Trouble, Lisa Moore Ramée
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, Jason Reynolds
The Only Black Girls in Town
Monster, Walter Dean Myers
The Skin I’m In, Sharon G. Flake
Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Readers), Bryan Stevenson
American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang
@@TheAntiracismAcademy These are all well reviewed and widely read books. School libraries and public libraries purchase multiple copies and include them in book discussions. And they are read in classrooms as well. It's been great to witness the many multicultural titles that have come out since the 70s. When I was a teen I read a lot. The first time I really 'related' ( a word we over used in the 70s) to stories about growing up in poverty were novels set in China and Mexico and also titles by Dick Gregory. That being said, the more novels to read and dissect the better. I abhor totalitarian governments that demand you shun 'bad art'.
I agree I’m not even halfway through the book and while it is enjoyable I did not understand why it centers white protagonists in a story about racial injustice. Also, the passive and overt racism does take me out of the narrative sometimes because it’s at best irritating.
You put out such excellent content. I've been watching past videos from your library and it's taking gumption like you wouldn't believe for me not to comment on every single one of them. So good! Please continue on with this excellent channel because I AM certainly watching! I looking forward to future offerings.
Thank you so much! Please remember to subscribe!
@@TheAntiracismAcademy Subscribed!
2:54 I was told of that garbage excuse before. The person who told me about the n word not meaning something was so ignorant, she doomed another black person who was trying to move on by being called n word and humiliated by a very disturbed figure.
I hate that you had to be subjected to that trash.😤It's super insulting for anyone to say it doesn't mean anything when it clearly holds so much weight and always has.
I'm only on page 83 of the book. But from what I've read so far is that it is anit racist... For it's time. Which is not saying much. I see that it repeatedly uses the n word and racial slurs unnecessarily. Mabye it was suppose to be used to show how casual racial slurs we're back then but I don't see it that way and when the words are used there is no real conversation which tells me that the author doesn't intend to highlight the hate around this word and why it's so terrible. (Btw I'm white and I can't say I can fully understand the hurt of being called that as a Black person but I can still empathize with the victims and help to stop it.) From what I read I don't really see how Atticus is telling them to empathize or " jump in their skin" with a racist. Mabye the book changes this fact but from what I read I think Atticus was telling scout to empathize with people who are poor and don't always know when their next meal is. Walter did not come across as racist to me but I wouldn't be surprised if he was. But even if he was I don't think Atticus was telling him to feel bad for him because he is racist. I think Atticus wants him to sympathize with what it's like to not have a stable home or to live in a poor environment. Like I said this is just speculation on my part I'm not locking in my opinion fully because I'm not done with this book. I definitely see scout as she is though as a supremacist. I see that she thinks she is better than other people because of their misfortune like how she showed this behavior with Walter. I found it kind of shocking that the maid taught scout the n word. Harper Lee made a book that clearly had an impact but I think that a lot of people still sldebate over the legacy of that book
I feel like tkam is my favorite book I have read in school. I feel like it is very subjective to how people feel, mainly because the teacher who taught me made it so much better because of how she was able to give the characters a little more depth
Your right it’s super outdated for us to read and learn abt racism through a white persona eyes. We need a book who shows us the not so obvious actions of racism.
💯 Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
I’m Canadian so this book was not part of our curriculum. This book is still mandatory for high school students in the USA...?
Yup. It's required reading in most American public and private schools. I actually really liked it when I had to read it in high school, it wasn't until I got to college that I realized how problematic this book is. I anticipate a ton of backlash on this one haha.
@@TheAntiracismAcademy It looks like a lot of work remains to be done here.
I agree with you. I still think the book can be used to teach the points you illustrate on passive racism.
Yeah, but aren’t there better books / ways to teach about these things? Thank you so much watching and commenting!!
@@TheAntiracismAcademy Agree! But I like the way you broke it down!
Oooweee!!! You tore it up!! I absolutely love it!!! And if taught, it should be taught THIS way!!!! Love it!!! Keep it up!!!
I really enjoyed this. Never seen To Kill a Mockingbird broken down this way but I also didn’t read it in high school. I did buy it once upon a time when I thought I would go on a quest to read all the high school books that we didn’t get to.
Thank you so much for watching!! I'm so glad you enjoyed the video.
i was required to read to kill a mockingbird and honestly was just shocked and mad about how this book perpetuates racism. I'm writing an essay critiquing it and this gave me even more insight, thank you!
Great video by the way❤️I will apply what I learned here to the rest of the book
Thanks for watching!
It was mandatory for us aswell in Hessen, Germany writing my finals on it on Friday. Great Video we did discuss the depiction of the black population in class ourselves but not as thoroughly as it is here, anyways cool video!
Thank you so much for watching and commenting!
I dont think it should be read in schools
Agreed. Thank you so much for watching!!
Thank you for this video. I wish there were more about Calpurnia’s character.
Thanks so much for watching! Same. I think “The Help” would have been the result had Harper Lee given the character more to say/do-representation, but still problematic it’s own right.
Makes me wonder why they named that character on Greys Anatomy Atticus Lincoln and his son was named scout 😒😒🤔🤔
It is outdated overated
Yet
Message stand same
Defend helpless use power to help widows orphans and the kind
How about helping stray lives
It’s White saviorism. Atticus should be focused on dismantling the racist system that forces him to defend someone who is obviously innocent.
I've really enjoyed this video and it gave me a new perspective on the book. I picked it up some days ago and as soon as I finished it(also while i was reading it) I kept wondering what is so amazing about it. I read it for the first time now at 25 (we don't get it as a book to read in Italian schools) and all my life I'd heard it was an amazing book about racism.
I fail to see it that way, also because 80% of the book is just Scout and Jem doing children stuff. I also really hated how they treated the black characters in the story (Tom Robinson for sure, but even Calpurnia? Like she was basically their slave??)
Anyway what I would like to read now is a book written by an actual black person that knows what they're talking about and not a white woman. Please send me recommendations if you have any :)
It was quite anti racist for it's time. But yikes have changed and we can do better
Well said. I thought the book was a disappointing bore even though it somehow was #1 on PBS The Great American Read of 100 American novels. I am a 72-year-old white male and even I thought it reeked with racism.
I totally understand why this kind review..and from where ut is coming from.
I watched this movie once and never saw it again. I was in middle school.
I don't blame you. Thanks so much for watching!
Hi, I loved it! I just finished To Kill a Mockingbird and it also was presented to me as groundbreaking but i just found it boring and not good enough for it's porpouse. This analysis helped me see a new very needed point of view so thank you very much :)
Thanks for watching!
I never liked this book. However, I didn’t realize it was racist when I read it in high school.
Thanks so much for watching!!
I agree with your comment
America is paused in progress
Thank you so much for watching and commenting!!
I loved the breakdown and you’ve brought many points up that I hadn’t considered however I think you’ve failed to consider the book from “inside another persons skin” so to speak. I would imagine a racist person reading this and it being pretty thought provoking as well the literature hitting more home for them as they would be able to identify more with the white characters that it focuses on and then be able to translate that to the black characters that Scout observes throughout the book. I can’t excuse everything as the book isn’t perfect but I believe it serves a purpose being read in schools nonetheless. I don’t think this book would damage anyone’s outlook on the world in a negative way and it would only serve as a means to open more thought provoking opportunities for the students. It obviously doesn’t touch on the true horrors of the lynchings and other hate crimes but just to put it frankly it’s very hard for most people to stomach that imagery, much less highschool students.
I didn’t fail to consider how White folks receive the book. I considered and criticized the book for this reason. Racist people have been reading this book for decades. Black characters shouldn’t have to be “translated” through the lens or experiences of White characters. It has caused much damage to people’s outlook and it has not moved the conversation about race forward. Instead of trying to invalidate my perspective, try listening.
Thank you for this, we have a unit on the problematic messaging in TKaM in our English curriculum in Australia! :)
Thank you so much for watching and commenting!!
Ots not solid book in some.perspective yet a great starting point to discuss silly society we are in
It is strange fruit?
Strange Fruit is a much better book, and Lillian Smith is much more of an ally than Harper Lee.
@@TheAntiracismAcademy roots and colour purple is widely known and popularized as a classical master piece.
💯 Alex Haley and Alice Walker are two of the most influential Black authors of the 20th century (and all Black history IMO).
An other book to the list of books I was forced to read that I hated.
Thank you so much for watching! Hopefully, teachers will see this and rethink their reading lists.
I never thought about that. Thanks for educating me and clearing up the blindspots of this book.
Thank you so much for watching!!
Your video is the lesson I wish I had had as a kid reading this book.
Thank you so much for watching! I’m so glad you found it helpful.
Yeah it is overrated and the black character are one dimensional . Great video !!!!
Exactly! Thank you so much for watching!! I really appreciate your support. ✊🏾
I has to read it in school late 2000s U.S. As a black kid, the book and the "lessons" were so threadbare and obvious to me. I couldn't believe my white classmates in the south were getting something out of the book. I also felt like the way the lessons were set up couldn't work for a POC as it was about white guilt.
Great video! I was enjoyed watching it!
Thanks for watching!
I love your videos, as I always learn something. I will never see To Kill A Mockingbird again, a good thing apparently. {I read the book in Grade 10 English Class)
Thank you so much for your support! This book should definitely be retired from the required reading lists.
Literally just had an argument with my teacher about this. This book is fucked 🙄
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That story is pathetic. I am very upset with how it portrays both black and white people during the past, and how it mocks with the black culture too much. The Mockingbird symbolism is awful and only made that French movie The King and the Mockingbird feel better. Too many dumb and lousy schools have purposely let this story be a crutch to learning.
Facts. Thank you so much for watching!
It plays in to the white saviour trope
Powerful insight into a real problem we are still facing today. Thank you.
Thank you so much for watching!