I read “To Kill a Mockingbird” as an eighth grader. At the time, I attended a predominantly white, Catholic grade school. However, this situation did not influence how I felt reading the book. Despite the fact that the novel does use the “n-word” and other derogatory statements, I did not feel uncomfortable while reading the novel surrounded by my peers who all happened to be white. “To Kill a Mockingbird” is one of my all time favorite novels. I feel that it teaches the lesson that should always be taught which is, it is not right to determine the way to treat people solely on the basis of color. This lesson needs to be taught always in order to assure that the extreme hate, fear, and ignorance associated with racism never comes to head again. Racism is a learned behavior. As long as we continue to stress the message of equality, this behavior will cease to exist.

Email: jawalker@saintursula.org

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