Use of Literature to Teach Social Injustice, Research Paper Example

Educating students about social injustice is an important aspect of teaching in today’s high schools and higher education institutions (Bracher 463).  The below essay is designed to evaluate critical pedagogical approaches that are designed to implement literature in the curriculum. The two works that the author is reviewing below are To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Roll of Thunder Hear Me Cry by Mildred B. Taylor. Both of the works were selected because they depict and reflect on social injustice in a way that is suitable to understand on the cognitive and emotional level. According to Rybakova, Piotrowski and Harper (39), “young adult literature often depicts emotionally difficult topics such as racism, sexism, abuse and assault, even genocide”. It helps students understand complex social issues, become open to current issues and reflect on prejudice, stigmatization, discrimination, as well as the motivations and ideologies behind them. Therefore, the author of the current study would like to create a research-based recommendation for educators for implementing literature focusing on social injustice within the subjects of English Language Arts and Social Studies.

To kill a mockingbird

There are several representations of social injustice in the book. One of them is regarding race: Black people are regarded less worthy and less valuable, truthful than Whites. While social status plays an important role in the scene below, the author does represent injustice and unequal chances of being heard.

“The only thing we’ve got is a black man’s word against the Ewells‘ (p. 48). Even though the father does believe in the innocence of the man, he does not believe that the jury of the racist town will let him go. This is one of the points that could be discussed in class; either English Language Arts or Social Studies.

The next theme to examine related to this book is the conversations between Black and White people. In front of the jury, Mayella starts her report on what happened, she describes the conversation as follows: ““I said come here, nigger, and bust up this chiffarobe for me, I gotta nickel for you” (p. 96). As a response, Atticus states: “She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man”. This scene should be discussed in the class to check upon students’ understanding on social injustice and inequality. Why does Atticus state that it is unspeakable for a white girl to kiss a black man? Is it right?

Stereotypes and especially negative ones related to Black people should be examined and discussed during lessons when implementing the book in school curriculum: Atticus talks about assumptions that “all niggers lie” and Black men should not be trusted around white women. He calls this assumption a lie. Students would be asked whether or not they agree with this statement. The argument should be also examined from the aspect of Atticus’ closing statement, referring to Jefferson. He states:

“Thomas Jefferson once said that all men are created equal, a phrase that the Yankees and the distaff side of the Executive branch in Washington are fond of hurling at us”.

Finally, it is important to cover the stereotypes and prejudicial behavior of the children towards Boo Radley. Children make assumptions based on partial information and not facts. They assume that the man is ugly, fierce and heartless, who “eats children”. It takes them a long time to realize that they were mistaken. In today’s society, several of these prejudices based on social status, behavior or lack of knowledge about others exist. The human pattern of being afraid of something that we do not know should be examined as well during class. This might be a basis of school based bullying behavior. Assuming that because somebody does not behave the same way others do, they will be evil and bad is similar to racial discrimination based on different skin color. This theme is related to the allegory of a mockingbird in the book. Students would be asked to associate different characters with the “mockingbird” based on the description agreed by Miss Maudie and Atticus below:

“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (p. 49).

Taylor (2013) developed an education plan of implementing the text of the book in English Language Arts education. The instructional questions found the most relevant to educating 9^th grade students about social injustice are listed in Appendix A and have been found to be suitable for instruction during social studies and English classes.

Standing up for other human beings is another strength of Atticus and other characters that needs to be examined in class. Because he “laws for niggers”, he is judged and frowned upon by the society. Nobody understands why he does it if everyone else is racist. Explaining the behavior of Atticus and the children standing up for him will be another theme to be examined during the class.

Roll of thunder hear me cry

Social injustice is referred to in the beginning of the book, by representing the self-belief of the black girl in the world. The problem with whites is summarized by “Papa” as follows:

“Cause white folks mean trouble. You see blacks hanging ’round with whites, they’re headed for trouble. Maybe one day whites and blacks can be real friends,      but right now the country ain’t built that way”.

This is a hopeful statement, indicating that the father does believe that social injustice will ease and there will be no confrontation between White and Black men. Based on the above quote, students would be asked whether they think that the predictions have fulfilled themselves and we are living in a society that is more equal than people in the 30-s’ America.

While the author depicts not only institutional and individual racism, but social inequalities, poverty and financial hardship during the Great Depression, Further, it provides an understanding of history for students about the segregation in the 30-s, 40-s and 50-s. They will understand that equal rights, representation are the achievement of modern society, and America should be proud of this accomplishment. Students would also be asked to compare the situation of the Logan family and an average, hard-working family in today’s America. What opportunities are open for them? What are their rights? How can they represent their interest?

Social injustice is represented by the children’s conversation about their status in the school society. Students would be asked to reflect on the conversation below and determine what the reason for the children’s exclusion is: are there any valid clains that they have no rights to ride on the bus:

“How’s come they did that. Stacey, huh!’ he asked. dusting himself off. ‘How’s     come they didn’t even stop for us !’

”Cause they like to see us run and it ain’t our bus.’ Stacey said, balling his fists

and jamming them tightly into his pockets.

‘Well, where’s our bus !’ demanded Little Man.

‘We ain’t got one.’ (p. 8)

The book can also be suitable to talk about bullying and racism. The Logan children are bullied and teased on the bus, and they take a revenge. The Wallace boys target Blacks. The family starts a boycott against the store of the boys, however, they appear to get no support, They stand up for themselves, but do not achieve their goals. Indeed, society does not accept the fact that Black people are human beings as well.

Institutional racism appears several times in the book, and this needs to be understood by today’s generation. The school fires Mrs Logan and the bank makes the family pay off the mortgage early, which forces Uncle Hammer to sell his new car. At the same time, Harlan Granger stands up for the Whites, as if they did not do anything wrong; as if it was acceptable to kill Black people  but an outrageous sin to boycott a store owned by White people. As “Mama” says:

“You think by shopping up at Vicksburg you gonna drive them Wallaces out, then you got no idea of how things work down here. You forgetting Harlan   Granger backs that store”.

The above is another clear representation of social injustice: Mama thinks that all efforts are in vain to get justice in an unjust society. The family is under-represented, has less rights than rich families around: not to mention that the law stands by the whites. Students would be asked to reflect on the above quote. They will be asked whether there was really no way to fight back?

The author offers a solution: financial independence. As the Logans own their land, they can be independent. However, this is not completely true. They are dependent on the shop, school system; the whole society. They need to face racism in every aspect of life. Students will be asked to list episodes in the book where open discrimination and racism is represented. They will also need to compare today’s situation with today’s society’s perception on racism. They should develop an essay what the outcome of a lynching attempt would have been if it happened yesterday.

Conclusion

Implementing the study of the above examined two literary works reflecting on the social injustice in he 1930-s within English Language Arts and Social Studies would not only help students understand how racism, prejudice and stereotyping works in modern societies, but also helps them understand the historical development of human rights in the United States. By answering questions related to the texts outlined above, they could learn to critically evaluate social issues and reflect on injustice. As Rybakova et al. (p. 43) confirms: “Taking on subjects relating to social justice such as genocide, bullying and suicide, and dysfunctional families makes students the problem solvers our democracy needs”.

Works Cited

Bracher, M. (2006) “Teaching for Social Justice: Reeducating the Emotions Through Literary Study” JAC Online Journal. 26.3-4 (2006)

Lee, Harper “To Kill a Mockingbird” (first published in 1960) 1988. Print.

Rybakova, K., Piotriwski, A., Harper, E. “Teaching Controversial Young Adult Literature with the Common Core” Wisconsin English Journal Volume 55, Number 1 Spring. 2013. Print.

Taylor, A. “To Kill a Mockingbird: A Ninth Grade Common Core State Standards Unit with Companion Texts” Leon’s County Schools’ Office of Curriculum Services. 2013. Web.

Taylor, M. “Roll of Thunder Hear Me Cry” 1976. Print.

Appendix A

Source: Taylor, A. (2013) To Kill a Mockingbird: Ninth grade core state standards unit with companion texts. p. 3.