Atticus Finch Relevant Today

Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is well known for being on the list of banned books. This is because it is centered around racism and does use profanity, however it is still more than relevant. In the 1930’s, when this book takes place, the great depression is happening and there is still heavy racism. However there are good people like Atticus Finch that are accepting of everyone regardless of the color of their skin. To Kill A Mockingbird is still relevant in schools today because the book gives many events for learning: the coming of age journey from diverse, intriguing characters, the lesson of accepting others aside from differences and the difficult road of American racism.
Scout Finch is the narrator of To Kill A Mockingbird
that tells the story of her childhood in Maycomb. She encounters some pretty awful events that bring her to the person she is today. She grew up in the time of the Jim Crow South that was highly discriminant of colored people that started her coming of age journey. Many will claim that Harper Lee’s novel is not relevant to today’s society, that students won’t understand the chain of events led in the story. However, the characters in this book are people that kids can still relate to. Scout, Jem and Dill are characters that are growing up in a rural area with a lot of conflict going on. The characters are engaging and different than most.
Nicholas Karolides states in the article, In Defense of To Kill a Mockingbird, “The children in the story … worry about their own identification, they defy parental rules, and they cry over injustices.” Jem and Scout were so upset by the event of Tom’s trial that it sculpted their characters from this point. Tom’s trial is the point when the reader and the characters lose their innocence. They learn that not everything in life is fair. There will always be injustices. There will always be consequences for actions in one way or another. In Chapter 10, Scout learns a lesson from Mrs. Maudie, “That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Mrs. Maudie about it. “Your father’s right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in our corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 94). Scout realized the lesson in this. You don’t need to hurt something that doesn’t hurt you. Before this conversation Scout was fighting at school and arguing, then she became more considerate of others. The writer of Westport News explains the relationship between the readers and the characters in the book as, “We are the observers -- we see others who act in a manner that we find admirable or despicable and mold our own characters accordingly. We know that we can never be Atticus Finch, but we can adopt similar principles and values. We hope we'll never be like Bob Ewell, and discard those attributes.” The writer was showing the relevance of To Kill a Mockingbird through human nature. The reader mature’s by reading this novel by seeing everyone’s traits as well as the kids in the story. To Kill a Mockingbird is still relevant through it’s coming of age journey that kids in today’s society can still relate too.
To Kill a Mockingbird also portrays the idea of acceptance in this discriminate time in history.
Even though there is a lot of judgement going on in this novel, someone always teaches to look from someone else's perspective. For example, when Miss Caroline was unintentionally making fun of D.C. for his appearance and hygiene at school without knowing about his home life and Scout attempted to stand up for him. In Chapter 3, Atticus explains to Scout, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view--...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." (Lee 30) He was trying to help Scout, his daughter understand that you don’t have the right to judge someone because you never know what is going on in their life. Atticus was a major part of his kids’ coming of age. He was a very intelligent man with an open mind and kind heart. He wanted his children to have those traits as well so they could go through life making the world a better place. In Chapter 9, Atticus says, "This time we aren't fighting the Yankees, we're fighting our friends. But remember this, no matter how bitter things get, they're still our friends and this is still our home." (Lee 102) He always knows what to do and always makes the right decisions. Just because there was conflict, that didn’t mean that they he needed to entirely befriend others with different opinions than him. When the reader gets to know Atticus and learn his morals, they look up to him as a role model and want to have the same open minded
attitude.
Racism was a very serious issue during the 1930’s and Harper Lee’s novel is a great representation of that. Even though some people can't/don't want to accept the fact that colored people were treated so badly and terribly discriminated, they were and still are. Mrs. Dubose expresses her feelings toward Atticus when she says, "Your father's no better than the niggers and trash he works for!" (Lee 110) Mrs. Dubose compared Tom Robinson to trash for the color of his skin. Because of that, Atticus was treated unfairly for standing up for what he believed in. He believed that Tom Robinson should’ve gotten a fair trial because he is a human. Others thought Tom was guilty because of the color of his skin. This happens quite often in today’s society. For example, there are many police officers that shoot colored people because they just assume that they are guilty of a crime because they are black.Harper Lee’s novel has been banned in many southern areas, for example, it was “challenged in the Normal, IL Community High School's sophomore literature class (2003) as being degrading to African Americans.” To Kill a Mockingbird is not about degrading people of color. This novel is about giving everyone a fair trial in life. It is about accepting others. It is about standing up for what you believe in. It is true that people like Bob Ewell and most of the white folks in the courthouse assumed Tom Robinson was guilty because he was colored. However, that is besides the point that Atticus did whatever he could to prove he was innocent for a crime he obviously did not commit. Racism caused colored people to be treated like trash, especially to the the dominant race.
Harper Lee’s novel should definitely still be read in schools. To Kill a Mockingbird is relevant to today’s society and should still be a part of high school literature curriculum for the coming of age journey from young diverse characters, the long life lesson of acceptance and the history of racism. If students are not informed about such topics as these, then there is a good chance that history will repeat. Our youth is the future. They deserve to be educated on tough topics like racism so they can pave a safe road for the upcoming generations.