"The ironic, enduring legacy of banning 'To Kill a Mockingbird' for racist language'

1. The text engaged with reason and emotion by presenting the opposing sides in the controversy surrounding the banning of 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. On one side, reason engages with the issue in the sense that there are people who emotionally overlook the use of racial slurs because they know that the book was written in another time period, and therefore, that it can make us uncomfortable now but has a lot to teach us. Logically, they overlook the emotional hinderances that language can pose to learning, and rather, decide to look at the book as art that perfectly captures racism in America in the 30's. They see the book as a vehicle for understanding America's racist past better, and henceforth, utilize it as a means of reflection and solutions to America's present ongoing racist nature. On the other hand, emotion engages with this through art as a way of knowing. Those who feel uncomfortable by the use of racial slurs want to ban it because they are stirring their decisions based chiefly on their emotions. They rely on the fact that art should not be made to make the audience uncomfortable. Hence, if it results offensive in any shape or form, it should not be part of schools' curriculums.

2.  Those that do not want to ban the book claim that they know the book is a vehicle for learning about history, a knowledge that relies on the fact that the book was written in a different historical context and hence, that it captures the past. This is a valuable lesson, hence, for learning about America's racist past in the present. On the other side of the coin, those who support banning the book claim that the book is offensive due to its use of racial sluts, a claim that arises from the historical oppressive value that slur has. Nevertheless, in the present, this knowledge relies on their emotions, as their feeling of uncomfortable overpowers their use of reason.

3. The knowledge I have about reason and emotion as ways of knowing and art as an area of knowledge aid in helping me better understand the arguments each side has. On the one hand, those relying more on reason do so because they believe that language should not hinder learning. Furthermore, they rely on the fact that the book was written in a different historical context, and thus take the book as a learning, building opportunity. On the other hand, those relying more on emotion do so because they fail to look past the racial slurs because it makes them uncomfortable and makes them feel offended due to the historical value the word possesses. What this comes to reveal about art as a way of knowing is that different reactions will always arise, something that usually occurs when the artwork/piece of literature can have an uncomfortable effect on the audience.


4. To what extent can art teach us about history?
To what extent can language hinder learning/reason?
To what extent does language create emotion?
Is art more effective its purpose if it upsets the audience?

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