I’ve heard some criticism of To Kill a Mockingbird as promoting a “white savior” narrative. I would be interested in hearing what this community’s thoughts are on this widely taught novel.
I’ve heard some criticism of To Kill a Mockingbird as promoting a “white savior” narrative. I would be interested in hearing what this community’s thoughts are on this widely taught novel.
That’s a good point. But if you look outside the context of the novel itself, Atticus is written almost an archetypal example of a white savior, of a white person doing unquestionable good for the black community. It’s like a way of saying, “here, look, not all white people are racist. Many of us are good!” If you decide to take Go Set a Watchman into account, it only gets more problematic. I’m just playing the devils advocate here, I’ve really liked To Kill a Mockingbird each time I read it.
Oh for sure. Obvi we can’t veer off too far into the radlib territory of race-essentialism, so it would be worth reading something about what differentiates white saviorism from just good comrades.