Racism In Harper Lee S To Kill A Mockingbird

Many of the world's most studied works of literature are deeply entwined with a significant social issue, and viewing such works through the lens of that issue enriches and broadens a reader's understanding.

Seminar paper from the year 2019 in the subject Didactics - English - Literature, Works, grade: 4.1, , language: English, abstract: In Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird", the theme of racism is highlighted in various interactions between the characters. The story is narrated through the eyes of the protagonist, Scout, who resides in a fictional town in Alabama named Maycomb with her father Atticus and brother Jem. In the novel, various aspects of the vice are depicted, mainly in the conflict between the whites and the African-American community. Most of the misunderstandings in the town are caused by stereotypes that are told by members of opposing races. Thus, the narration details how prejudices and injustices along racial lines can impede social harmony. The discrimination against individuals based on their race was a common phenomenon in the 1930s. In history, people of color, particularly the blacks, were not accepted in white society. The white majority exercised supremacy over the black minority, and the latter was mainly involved in manual labor.

#1 New York Times Bestseller “Go Set a Watchman is such an important book, perhaps the most important novel on race to come out of the white South in decades." — New York Times A landmark novel by Harper Lee, set two decades after her beloved Pulitzer Prize–winning masterpiece, To Kill a Mockingbird. Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch—“Scout”—returns home to Maycomb, Alabama from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise’s homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town, and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt. Featuring many of the iconic characters from To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman perfectly captures a young woman, and a world, in painful yet necessary transition out of the illusions of the past—a journey that can only be guided by one’s own conscience. Written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman imparts a fuller, richer understanding and appreciation of the late Harper Lee. Here is an unforgettable novel of wisdom, humanity, passion, humor, and effortless precision—a profoundly affecting work of art that is both wonderfully evocative of another era and relevant to our own times. It not only confirms the enduring brilliance of To Kill a Mockingbird, but also serves as its essential companion, adding depth, context, and new meaning to an American classic.

Voted America's Best-Loved Novel in PBS's The Great American Read Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork of honor and injustice in the deep South—and the heroism of one man in the face of blind and violent hatred One of the most cherished stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than forty million copies worldwide, served as the basis for an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father—a crusading local lawyer—risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime.

Reevaluates the legal and cultural significance of an iconic American film

Teaching Mockingbird presents educators with the materials they need to transform how they teach Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Interweaving the historical context of Depression-era rural Southern life, and informed by Facing History's pedagogical approach, this resource introduces layered perspectives and thoughtful strategies into the teaching of To Kill a Mockingbird. This teacher's guide provides English language arts teachers with student handouts, close reading exercises, and connection questions that will push students to build a complex understanding of the historical realities, social dynamics, and big moral questions at the heart of To Kill a Mockingbird. Following Facing History's scope and sequence, students will consider the identities of the characters, and the social dynamics of the community of Maycomb, supplementing their understanding with deep historical exploration. They will consider challenging questions about the individual choices that determine the outcome of Tom Robinson's trial, and the importance of civic participation in the building a more just society. Teaching Mockingbird uses Facing History's guiding lens to examine To Kill a Mockingbird, offering material that will enhance student's literary skills, moral growth, and social development.

The New York Times best-selling book exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality. In this “vital, necessary, and beautiful book” (Michael Eric Dyson), antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility and “allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to ‘bad people’ (Claudia Rankine). Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.

Rooted in examples from their own and others’ classrooms, the authors offer discipline-specific practices for implementing antiracist literature instruction in White-dominant schools. Each chapter explores a key dimension of antiracist literature teaching and learning, including designing literature-based units that emphasize racial literacy, selecting literature that highlights voices of color, analyzing Whiteness in canonical literature, examining texts through a critical race lens, managing challenges of race talk, and designing formative assessments for racial literacy and identity growth. “Sophia and Carlin’s book is startling in how openly and honestly it takes up the problem of how to teach about racism, using literature, in White schools. As I read, I kept marveling at how courageous and direct and clear their writing is.” —From the Foreword by Timothy J. Lensmire, University of Minnesota “Letting Go of Literary Whiteness unpacks the necessary responsibility of exploring race for all teachers. Borsheim-Black and Sarigianides center this work in English classrooms, exploring the kinds of literature, discussions, and difficult instructional decisions that teachers make every day. This book emphasizes that racial justice is a shared responsibility for teachers today and, through myriad practical examples, offers guidance for centering equity in schools.” —Antero Garcia, Stanford Graduate School of Education