Current Events > Are books like To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Sawyer, etc racist?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Anyone who's read the books would obviously tell you no they are not, however, is discussing them racist? For example, I and a few others were talking about them recently, and one of my friends mentioned N-Jim. If you read Huckleberry Finn you know who that is. Well a few other people called him a racist for saying that, as he said the entire thing. I defended him, as I've known this guy since middle school, and he doesn't ever use the word, at all. It's the first time I've ever heard him say it at all. He wasn't using it to describe anyone or anything besides the character, and then I was labeled a racist for defending him. Is it really racist to discuss racism within literature?

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If they were being written today I'd say they are racist but since they were written as contemporary novels at the time, they are just reflective of the time's racial climate.

It's one thing when Sam Clemmons uses the N word and another when Quentin Tarentino does.

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No it's not racist, but when discussing him nowadays he should be referred to literally as "N-Word Jim"


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IIRC to kill a mockingbird was supposed to be an anti-racist book

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Wii_Shaker posted...

It's one thing when Sam Clemmons uses the N word and another when Quentin Tarentino does.

I completely agree. Unfortunately, not everyone does. Judging by the groups reaction, context is irrelevant, and it makes you a racist regardless.

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He's never called "[N-Word] Jim" in the novel. It was Ernest Hemmingway referring to him as "the [n-word] Jim" in his personal critique of the novel. The term stuck and people retroactively think it's his proper title. The novel does use that term, but not as part of Jim's name.


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is history racist?

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pojr posted...

IIRC to kill a mockingbird was supposed to be an anti-racist book

It was. Also one of my favorites. Atticus Finch inspired me to become a lawyer.

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Atticus Finch was racist

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MT_TRAEH posted...

is history racist?

Depends on who you ask.

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Irony posted...

Atticus Finch was racist

No he wasn't. In the book he was nothing but an upstanding man.

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I mean, its not racist to discuss it. But you should probably have the good sense to realize that regardless of context, certain words carry a very strong charge in society, and regardless of intent, can harm people.

if youre talking about N Word Jim and you offend somebody, dont complain about the merits of literary discussion. Just say youre sorry like an adult and adjust how you refer to the character, if you truly had no ill intent lol

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rahasperj posted...

No he wasn't. In the book he was nothing but an upstanding man.

Author said he was. Word of God. So I assume you became a racist lawyer too?

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rahasperj posted...

Depends on who you ask.

so discussing it is not racist, the racist part depends on who reviews it

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Irony posted...

Author said he was. Word of God. So I assume you became a racist lawyer too?

oh. Topics about to turn into a death of the author argument. Ill grab the popcorn

<_<

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rahasperj posted...

Depends on who you ask.

It's abundantly clear that history is racist.

There wouldn't need to be a civil-rights act in the US if it wasn't racist to begin with.

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Irony posted...

Author said he was. Word of God. So I assume you became a racist lawyer too?

Source? There's nothing in the book to indicate he was a racist. Also, I mostly took away from Atticus the idea of helping those who can't help themselves jackass.

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rahasperj posted...

Source? There's nothing in the book to indicate he was a racist.

The sequel has him portrayed as a racist. But that book has been questioned on if Harper Lee even wrote it or if people were taking advantage of her in the last part of her life. The time of release for the book being very suspect.

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Kastrada posted...

The sequel has him portrayed as a racist. But that book has been questioned on if Harper Lee even wrote it or if people were taking advantage of her in the last part of her life. The time of release for the book being very suspect.

Given that I didn't know a sequel existed until now, I'm going to only make comments with the information presented in TKAM.

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Kastrada posted...

The sequel has him portrayed as a racist. But that book has been questioned on if Harper Lee even wrote it or if people were taking advantage of her in the last part of her life. The time of release for the book being very suspect.

If he was racist why would he have even represented a black man in the first place when he knew he was going to lose?

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Kastrada posted...

The sequel has him portrayed as a racist. But that book has been questioned on if Harper Lee even wrote it or if people were taking advantage of her in the last part of her life. The time of release for the book being very suspect.

It's been generally accepted as a first draft of To Kill a Mockingbird despite the publisher trying to initially push it off as a sequel.

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Has anyone here actually read the sequel?

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EmbraceOfDeath posted...

If he was racist why would he have even represented a black man in the first place when he knew he was going to lose?

So a few months after Harper Lee's sister/caretaker died, her publisher somehow "uncovered" the long lost sequel to Mockingbird.

In the book, he's apparently some kind of pro-segregationist racist. The idea being that 1. It's a sequel to an American classic and 2. The beloved main character is a racist would equal a lot of sales. That's the conspiracy theory at least.

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Kastrada posted...

So a few months after Harper Lee's sister/caretaker died, her publisher somehow "uncovered" the long lost sequel to Mockingbird.

In the book, he's apparently some kind of pro-segregationist racist. The idea being that 1. It's a sequel to an American classic and 2. The beloved main character is a racist would equal a lot of sales. That's the conspiracy theory at least.

Sketchy as all hell in my opinion.

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Even if they arguably are, we have free speech in America.
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m4uPgLMVI posted...

Even if they arguably are, we have free speech in America.

Yeah, but just because you can say someone, doesn't mean you should.

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pojr posted...

IIRC to kill a mockingbird was supposed to be an anti-racist book

this

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No. The books feature racist characters who say racist things, but that doesn't make the book racist.
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