To kill a classic – school ditches challenging Harper Lee book

The United States is grappling with the legacy of one its greatest books over fears its handling of race may make teachers and pupils uncomfortable.

School authorities have pulled To Kill a Mockingbird from a required reading list for children aged 14 to 15 because it was a ‘‘difficult book’’ that raised ‘‘thorny subjects’’. Harper Lee’s classic 1960 novel about a white lawyer defending a black man wrongly accused of rape in Alabama in the 1930s has long been a staple in schools, as well as the subject of deep controversy. It frequently appears on lists for both America’s greatest novels and its most banned. A school board in Mukilteo, near Seattle, removed the book from its ninth grade curriculum, claiming it ‘‘reflects a time when racism was tolerated’’.

The book’s use of a racial slur was also cited as a reason to remove it, while Atticus Finch, the lead character depicted as a hero in the 1962 film starring Gregory Peck, has been accused of not taking a harsh enough stance against racists.