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Why Try Erase History?

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Submitted By Cag2014
Words 915
Pages 4
Cristal Gonzalez
Mrs. Patterson
English III - 5B
14 May 2013
Why Try to Erase History? To Kill a Mockingbird, for various reasons is marked top and a must read before you die, because of its outstanding lessons through the eyes of a little girl. This book teaches history and life lessons better than any textbook or teacher. Society strongly believes there is no reason for banning this book, because it teaches about racism, shows courage, and gives a mental vision of how society has changed since then. It’s very difficult when people have decided your verdict by just seeing the color of your skin. People shouldn’t be judged by how they look; in the end we’re all human, nothing more nothing less. There are different types of courage shown throughout the book. It ranges from how courageous a kid could be and an adult too. Society has come a long way, and it has changed for the best. When you realize in the book how society was, you think to yourself how could people be so cruel? Although years after, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself said, “…I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character…” (King). To Kill a Mockingbird, teaches racism better than any textbook, “I thought it taught things about racism and tolerance better than a history textbook,” (Oakley Ebscohost). Even though racism is a sensitive subject to some, people of today’s world need to know what kind of cruel things used to happen, that way we know it’s wrong and how much people suffered. People say the colored had the chance to learn and better their selves, that’s not true, because of their skin color they were automatically thought they wouldn’t be able to learn anything. By the way Atticus took up the case into his own hands teaches, “Sometimes we will have to stand alone like Atticus Finch. But we like him, will know it’s the right thing to do.” (Weston Ebscohost). This book teaches courage in many more ways than one. Even though Jem is scared to go in, he doesn’t want to show the fact he can be a coward at times, “Jem looked at me furiously, could not decline, ran down the sidewalk, treaded water at the gate, then dashed in and retrieved the tire.” (Lee 49). Jem and Scout tried standing up for their father, although the wrong way, but nonetheless they had the courage to speak up for Atticus. Atticus Finch alone has an incredible amount of courage by being the only lawyer that would take up Tom Robinson’s case, even after knowing he would lose, “Finch will stand up to racists. He'll use his moral authority to shame them into silence.” (Gladwell 26). Dill, a little boy, had more courage than most people today, by just running away from home since his parents didn’t pay enough attention to him. Over the years society has accomplished and wronged many things, Scout teaches us how the world used to be. “Fifty years ago there were segregated schools and off-limits restaurants and movie theaters. Racism flourished not just in the South but across the country. Interracial marriages were still illegal. Even Martin Luther King Jr. hadn't yet dreamt of a black president.” (Weston Ebscohost). If we hadn’t the chance to learn about the hardships of racism and improved our ways we would be a poor country with no values, “Fast forward to today where have a president who is the offspring of a white mother and black father. A living illustration of the harmony of race.” (Weston Ebscohost). People are ignorant and are acting like none of the themes in the book ever happened, “I think what upsets people the most about the themes in this book aren’t that they are in the book but that they did, and still do exist, outside of the pages of fiction in our supposedly modern and very real society. The truth is that these elements hit too close to home for many people and the easiest way to deal with that discomfort is to shove it back into the shadows of fear and ignorance rather than open a book, learn from history…” (Banned Books Awareness). It’s a good thing we’ve left most of that behind us and improved our ways, most people today have a more open mind when it comes to these types of subjects. For all these reasons, and others that I may have not mentioned, is why it’s important not to ban this book. Even though these are really sensitive subjects, the book shouldn’t be banned because that would just be like trying to erase all of these things that happened in our history. The students of today need to know how life used to be and how far we have come.

Works Cited
“Banned Books Awareness: To Kill a Mockingbird” Banned Books Awareness. Banned Books Awareness, 2012. Web. 14 May 2013
Gladwell, Malcolm. “The Courthouse Ring.” New Yorker. August 2009. 26-32. Print.
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Grand Central Publishing. 1960. Print.
“Mockingbird soars” Times-News (Burlington, NC). 27 Jan. 2013: Ebscohost. DHS Lib. Web. 6 May 2013.
Weston, Alonzo. “St. Joseph News-Press, Mo., Alonzo Weston column: ‘Mockingbird’ still packs a message” St. Joseph News-Press (MO). 14 Apr. 2010: Web. 6 May 2013.

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