
These Memes Capture the Fear of Reading Page 174 of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' Aloud
By Mustafa GatollariMay. 21 2020, Published 1:52 p.m. ET
Harper Lee's American classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, is hailed as one of America's greatest literary works and manages to blend issues of racism, social, and criminal justice issues as well as the legal system while weaving all of this together from the perspective of an adult woman narrating the events of the story, but as a young girl.
It sounds a bit confusing, but it just works. It's a book the defies genre and is a classic for a reason: it's damn, damn good. And so is Gregory Peck in the movie adaptation of the novel, too.
So why is Page 174 of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' a meme now?
If you've read the book then you know that the plot has a lot to do with racism. The book was controversial when it was first published in 1960 and it still continues to ruffle people's feathers until this very day. So you can only imagine what Harper Lee had in mind when she was writing some of the more discriminatory characters in her now-iconic book, which is set in the 1930s South.
The class while you read page 174 of to kill a mockingbird pic.twitter.com/qpIpQY3DRL
— clancy (@minecraftkid702) May 20, 2020
The protagonist of the book, Atticus Finch, was based off of Harper Lee's own father, Amasa Coleman Lee. The Alabama lawyer, like his literary counterpart, represented black defendants in a trial that was largely publicized.
In the book, Atticus is defending Tom Robinson, a 25-year-old hard-working and honest cotton field worker who is married with children. He's accused of raping Mayella Ewell, after she's caught trying to seduce Tom by her father.
did your teacher who's not black read the n word out loud while teaching to kill a mockingbird or are you normal pic.twitter.com/DPgbd7YlBf
— michelle (@fallininthedark) May 20, 2020
Shout out to Mr Kronk for never saying the n-word when reading To Kill a Mockingbird
— Madelyn Kahler (@KahlerMadelyn) May 19, 2020
Mayella and her dad make the claim that Tom aggressively came on to her, and Atticus has to navigate a minefield of discrimination in order to get the facts right about what transpired between Tom and Mayella. Overtly claiming a white woman is attracted to a black man is pretty much blasphemous in 1930s Alabama, which makes Atticus' job nearly impossible.
Teacher: Says the n-word while reading “To Kill a Mockingbird”
— Mob (@esper_mob) May 21, 2020
The whole class: pic.twitter.com/19ovUmWprL
Cancel culture twitter would read To Kill a Mockingbird and be like “OMG Harper Lee wrote the N-word in her book this bitch cancelled byeeee *posts a bunch of fancams of Korean boy bands nobody cares about*”
— Banana.slugs (@ariolimax_) May 20, 2020
The book, because it takes place in such a racially charged time period, features language that is downright reprehensible in this day and age, especially with the cavalier use of the "n-word" that a lot of characters in the novel use freely. Like when Francis, a young boy, calls Atticus Finch a "n----r lover."
The class discussing on who has to read Page 174 of to kill a mockingbird pic.twitter.com/8pfwaSivcN
— Smasher64 (@Coollego997) May 21, 2020
My favorite book is to kill a mocking bird especially page 174.
— emilramos31 (@emilramos_31) May 20, 2020
On page 174 of the book, the "n word" is used, so whenever someone in class is asked to read that section aloud, it's always a tense moment among students and teachers.
In fact, it's so controversial that some school districts have banned the book from being a part of official school curriculums all over the country.
when you’re in English class reading To Kill a Mockingbird and your white teacher says the nword with no hesitation pic.twitter.com/WUFyinmiof
— roxanne 🎯 (@w0w0kthx) June 8, 2019
when ur reading to kill a mockingbird in class and the teacher makes you read the part where scout says the n word pic.twitter.com/O6NIdpq5dF
— Kemdizzzle (@Kemdizzzle) June 3, 2019
When I was growing up, my eighth grade English teacher addressed the use of the word in the book and explained the time period in which the book was written, along with the setting of the book and what social phenomenons Harper Lee was addressing.
The white boys in my English class now that we're reading To Kill A Mockingbird pic.twitter.com/hAiSQUkQbP
— qwin (@qwinzelle) September 7, 2019
that racist kid in your middle school raising his hand in class, itching to read “to kill a mockingbird” aloud: pic.twitter.com/gcujjklBpe
— carolina (@tbhcaro) June 22, 2019
However, everyone's experience with the book and how its subject matter is handled varies greatly on the environment in which the book was read. And a lot of the memes that have been spawned from the infamous "Page 174" reflect this variegated response to Harper Lee's usage of the word.
Being the only black kid in class and the teacher says we’re reading To Kill A Mockingbird https://t.co/uudUpen6g2
— nia 🔅 (@niax_27) February 7, 2020
No one:
— Cryptic (@CrypticNoOne) September 25, 2019
The white kid volunteering to read How to Kill a Mockingbird in class:pic.twitter.com/MlE28QxnTo
Some people sadly highlight how certain students were "excited" to say the word aloud and even sadder, is how some teachers don't even address the use of the word and just say it aloud.
#GrowingUpBlack when you're reading To Kill A Mockingbird in class and "nigger" comes up pic.twitter.com/p1GuvpnHPo
— Ⓜ️K I🦈 (@Mekhi_George11) July 17, 2015
Still can't get over my JC English class when a (white) girl in my class was reading a scene from To Kill A Mockingbird where Atticus is called a "n*gger loving bastard", reads the n word aloud with ease but skips over the word bastard because she didn't want to swear in class
— megan🌙 (@megarushe) May 21, 2018
Others highlighted the weird mental gymnastics their classmates exercise while reading the book. Like this one Twitter user's classmate who had no problem saying the word, but had a big time gripe with uttering the phrase "bastard."
When we had to read “To Kill A Mockingbird” in English and my teacher pulled me and the other black girl in class aside and said “I know this is hard to hear” pic.twitter.com/rTWVo8jJwM
— KungFuChey (@cheyenethomas1) October 29, 2019
The VVhite kid in class who couldn’t wait to say the n-word during his turn to read “To Kill a Mockingbird”... pic.twitter.com/4wrUuGFgvJ
— HeReaux ✨🌱 (@daleydoseofroe) November 10, 2019
Others even recorded a classroom incident where a student asked their teacher to stop saying the "n word" while reading To Kill a Mockingbird. It became a big local news story.
RACIAL SLUR IN CLASS: A teacher at Mustang High heard saying a racial slur over and over while reading the book "To Kill a Mockingbird". A student in class asks her to stop while secretly recording the conversation. How the school and parents are reacting tonight on @kfor at 10. pic.twitter.com/hBhPiIeQBP
— Peyton Yager (@peytonyager) November 23, 2019
The controversy surrounding the novel persists to this day. I mean, here we are in 2020 and people are making memes about it, after all.