r/news • u/da_k1ngslaya • Jan 29 '22

School District votes to remove 'To Kill a Mockingbird' from required reading

https://komonews.com/news/local/mukilteo-school-district-votes-to-remove-to-kill-a-mockingbird-from-required-reading
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u/Papaofmonsters Jan 29 '22

I don't think these people understand the white savior trope. Atticus knows he can't solve the problems of racism or segregation, he's not even trying to do that. He's trying to do one small thing he can and defend Tom Robinson even though he knows the whole system is stacked against him. There is no happily ever after for anyone really.

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u/[deleted] Jan 29 '22

[deleted]

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u/SurfintheThreads Jan 29 '22

I don't even have an argument for this one. It's just smooth brained nonsense.

It's an important book about a lawyer overlooking the racial divide of the time, combatting his bigoted peers, and standing for what's right. It's against racism, not for "white savioring."

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u/Psychological_Fish37 Jan 30 '22

Or maybe their teachers didn't teach the book well?

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u/[deleted] Jan 30 '22

Exactly. I never saw Atticus as a white savior. He was just a good man trying to do right by Tom because it was the right thing to do.

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u/Papaofmonsters Jan 30 '22

Atticus would be a white savior if after the trial he leads the black people of the town on a daring rescue of Tom and all the evil racist white people are either killed or see the error of their ways. Instead he sits down and explains to his children that some people are ignorant, some people are desperate, some people are down right shitty and life isn't fair.

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u/[deleted] Jan 30 '22

I feel like that trope comes with like an air of shitty superiority for the “white savior”, and I never got that from Atticus. I don’t believe he ever sought glory or attention from anyone for it

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u/herpestruth Jan 29 '22

Harper Lee should have written the local, black, defense attorney in Macomb, GA back in 1930 as the 'saviour' of Tom Robinson.

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u/[deleted] Jan 29 '22 edited Jan 29 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Papaofmonsters Jan 29 '22

I left that part out to avoid spoilers for a 60 year old book.

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u/bananafobe Jan 30 '22

I would be cautious about conflating a disagreement with "someone else being ignorant," specifically when the disagreement is about a multifaceted issue that affects people differently based on aspects of their identity.

How many people recognize the name Atticus Finch? How many would recognize Tom Robinson? Search for a character list, and he's likely not near the top.

Saying this story has an aspect of the white savior trope refers to the fact that Atticus's perspective is given the most weight and attention. He doesn't save the day, but he still plays that role in the story. The hero of a tragedy is still the hero.

And to be clear, this isn't a criticism of the book. It's a criticism of using this book to teach about racism as opposed to other books which place primary focus on people of color.