The n-word can be dated back to the 17th century. Its evolution began as a derogatory word, to now as a "friendly" term, some may say. This common word can be heard in everyday talk, in the media, or in hip-hop music. Although it’s a common word, many people feel uncomfortable with it or say it has a double standard. In the article we discussed in class, I picked up on a few points that stood out to me. One topic was about the double standard that blacks can say it, but white cannot. I believe that this double standard came to be because of the derogatory word used in earlier times. Many people now think that when a white says it, it is meant to be an insult. A second topic I saw was when to use it or whom with. I think it all depends on comfort level, and how you grew up hearing about the word. If one is brought up in an environment where the n-word is used frequently, whether from music or conversation, that person may be more comfortable in saying it. One who was not brought up like that may feel like they cannot say it. …show more content…
In the setting of To Kill A Mockingbird, whites use the n-word as an insult to the blacks because they feel superior to them. This word stands out and gives the reader a better affect than the other derogatory words used in the text, like the b-word, etc. I think this is because of the "double standard" of the n-word. At the time in To Kill A Mockingbird, the n-word was commonly used just like it is commonly seen today. However, the n-word today is used more "friendly" than derogatory. I believe that Lee included these words to emphasize the discrimination and injustices in To Kill A
If you ask two different people what the n word meant you would probably get two completely different responses. One might say it is insulting and degrading, another might say it is a term of endearment. Throughout Huck Finn this word was used a total of 219 times. If the n word were not a degrading term there would not be so much controversy about banning and censoring Huck Finn. However, the word has been altered since it was used in the time period of Huck Finn.
Teachers should just focus more upon what the book is actually about and relax a little more about the use of the offensive term. Some people just try to change the n word to “slave” to make the word more acceptable, but that is not how the word was used back then, so they do not need to change it
According to Lemon, African American should stop using the n-word especially if it does not pertain to the conversation. “By promoting the use of that word when it 's not germane to the conversation, have you ever considered that you may be just perpetuating the stereotype the master intended acting like a nigger?” This claim is strong because it causes the reader to think about how saying that word may really be feeding into the stereotype. Also, he includes a scenario that gives the reader an example of how the word is used so casually. “…on my way home when I exited the subway in 125th Street in Harlem.
Now it has a positive meaning behind it, such as many colored people calling a close friend there nigga, now it is equivalent to calling them a brother. Another reason it is so popular in today’s music is because of the rhythmic presentation as well as the history that falls behind the word itself. Saying the word for an African American today is like taking away all of the power from everyone else as opposed to allowing to still mean a racist term and affect them negatively. In conclusion, I believe this word that was once used to undermine and degrade many races, has now been empowered. During the Civil Rights Movement it was used in R&B, rap, and rock songs played by African Americans to take out the negativity and portray the emotions they felt about being suppressed and impairer.
• I never had any encounters with another race in my neighborhood, all the people around me were very kind. When and where did you first hear the word, “nigger,” or other similar racial slurs? • The first time I hear the word “Negro” “Black” was when I was about 13 years old, when my grandma ask me if I like that black guy.
Out of the Normal Society has a set of actions as what they see as “normal” and socially acceptable. They define this set of unspoken rules as social norms. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, a reader will often find many characters breaking the social norms of Maycomb County, Alabama. The defiance of these social norms help the young protagonist, Scout, learn valuable life lessons of equality.
According to Matt Seitz, the word “Negro” started to fall out forty years ago. He mentions that “the word negro was easier for people
Don’t censor To Kill a Mockingbird Rosa Parks once said, “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.” In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird the author Harper Lee uses the n-word 48 times and negro 54 times. This alone could cause readers to feel uncomfortable, along with the vulgar language and references to sexual activities. Some people may think that the best solution to these problems are to take out these words and censor the whole book.
In the article, “In Defense of a Loaded Word”, the author Ta-Nehisi Coates claims the use of the n-word should be exercised exclusively among African-Americans. Although Coates claims the word should be used, it shouldn’t be for several reasons. Firstly, the origins of the word came from a very dark time period in America when slavery was yet to be abolished. Second, because of the fact that Coates believes only African-Americans should only use this word and no other race can is a double standard. If, for example, a black person addresses another black person with the n-word, the context of the word is taken as a friendly greeting, but if a white person were to say the n-word to a black person, then the context of the word would change and be perceived as an insult to the black person just because a white person said it.
The oxford dictionary had much to say about the word “nigger.” The oxford dictionary said, slave masters got the name “nigger” from the Latin word “Niger” meaning black. They also got the word “Negro” from the meaning of the Spanish diction meaning “black” also. They used the word “black” to describe African American’s instead of letting them have their names or giving them an actual name. It wouldn’t be so bad
Hypocrisy In To Kill a Mockingbird Hypocrisy is the "moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess." In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there are many instances of hypocrisy. Many people, at the time were very prejudiced against African-Americans and as a result there were many hypocrites in the Southern States. Some examples of hypocrisy and hypocrites in the book are Aunt Alexandra, Miss Gates, and Mrs. Merriweather.
In society, there are very few people who have the unwavering dedication to stand up for what they believe. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, a black man was convicted and accused of a crime he didn 't commit, raping a white women, which is not in anyway tolerable in society. In Harper Lee 's To Kill A Mockingbird, the author used point of view and symbolism to acknowledge how the the several social divisions which make up much of the adult world are shown to be both irrational and extremely destructive. To begin with, the short story To Kill A Mockingbird, used point of view to show how the many social divisions in the world are irrational and destructive. Scout; a first grade student at the time, was telling the story from her point of view and what had occurred from her childhood perspective.
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout asked Atticus if he was a N-word lover and Atticus was trying to explain to her that he loves everyone equally. Atticus says to Scout. ” I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody… I’m hard put, sometimes thinks is bad names.
Now I believe that anyone can say it but the context it is being said in matters a lot. I hear the n-word a lot now because I listen mostly to rap music. In music it is usually being used positively by a black person. When I hear the word now, and I know that it is not being used to oppress or demean, it does not make me uncomfortable.
Option 2 Literary Analysis To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel set during the 1930s in a small town in Southern Alabama called Maycomb. The story is told through the narrator, Scout, a young girl who lives with her father, a lawyer, and her older brother Jem. As a child, Scout is portrayed as a stubborn and obnoxious little girl who loves to read, play with her brother Jem, and fantasize about her mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. However, her life gets turned upside down when Scout’s father agrees to do something that is deemed unacceptable in the south; he agrees to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who is accused of raping a white girl. Instantly, Atticus and his family go from being respected and beloved by their town, to being