Understanding the Censor

After finishing To Kill a Mockingbird for my second time, I find myself more understanding of those who try to censor it than I have been of people trying to censor anything else we’ve read this semester. I’m a bit surprised about this myself and I’m struggling to figure out why this book was different to me than the other things we’ve read. Though I still wouldn’t say that I support this book being censored, it’s a lot easier for me to imagine situations where one could justifiably consider censoring it a reasonable choice. I think the main reason for that is the race issue. Though I personally don’t find the novel racist, I can see how the way it deals with race could make some students very uncomfortable, and I don’t think it is fair to make students more uncomfortable than necessary when they are trying to learn. High school is hard enough as it is. I think I am also partially influenced by the fact that I picture this book being read by younger high school students (I myself read it in 9th grade) or even middle school students. There is a big difference between 9th and 12th grade and I could see why some parents might not want their 9th graders exposed to certain things in this novel. I imagined most of the other books we’ve read being read by older high school students. I think another reason why I am more understanding of the censors in this case might be the fact that To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the United States, in the relatively recent past, and told through the eyes of the child. All of these things make it strike much closer to home than something like The Crucible or Price of Salt (though that doesn’t explain why I differentiate it from Catcher in the Rye). I think when a book takes place in a time and place further from a child’s own experience, they are more likely to find what is universal in it. On the other hand, when a book is in a setting more similar to their own experiences, they could assume that everything in it is relevant to their own lives, and with certain aspects of To Kill a Mockingbird, that could be dangerous.