“[I]t’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (Lee 90; ch. 10). The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place during the 1930’s - a time heavy of prejudism. Throughout the book Harper Lee conveys a message about prejudice, telling her readers that what one may think about another is not always true. Prejudice opinions within the book affect people of different race, social class, and gender. Prejudice opinions about other races are typically formed by one's opinion of an individual. “Which, gentlemen, we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinson’s skin, a lie I do not have to point out to you.” (Lee 204; ch. 20). During the trials, it was the testimony or a black man against a white man. All black people of the time period were perceived as wrongdoers, but not all are as they are cut out to be. “You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here….” (Lee 119; ch. 12). When Lula see that Calpurnia brought the Finch kids to church with her she immediately becomes defensive. Lula is being …show more content…
Social prejudice is judging those by what one thinks about the wealth and their way of living. “The ain’t company, Cal, he’s just a Cunningham” (Lee 24; ch. 3). Walter Cunningham belongs to a very poor family, and in the town of Maycomb, they are known for not taking anything that they can’t pay back. Scout thinks that just because Walter is not apart of a wealthy family that the shouldn’t be considered a guest of any kind. “They come first day every year and then leave” (Lee 27; ch. 3). The Ewells were known for being one of the poorest families in town. Since they have no mother and only go to school one day of the year, the townspeople think that the Ewells are lazy people and that they should be sorry for them. On the contrary, one should not look at another's wealth and social class to decide how they act and who they are as a person. For some people can be the nicest, hardworking people one has ever
Another way bias is shown in To Kill A Mockingbird is when Atticus has to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. Everyone except some family members and the blacks were against Atticus because he was defending Tom. In the case of Tom Robinson everyone knows he will be guilty for the crime he had done just because he was black, and to them blacks are always guilty. Even though it's obvious he wasn't guilty they convict him as charged and he is sent to jail
Throughout How To Kill a Mockingbird there is a division in the community by race, gender, and class. Racial prejudice is shown when the jury declares Tom Robinson guilty based on his color. Gender prejudice is shown when they won 't let women serve on the jury. Class prejudice is shown when the Cunningham´s are as poor as the Ewell 's but have more moral and pride than them so they are treated better than.
Prejudice is apparent in even the church, as seen here, “Lula stopped, but she said, ‘You ain't got no business bringin' white chillun here—they got their church, we got our'n. It is our church, ain't it, Miss Cal?’” (Lee 120) When white people walk into a black church, this can draw attention. But it depends on the person’s view of others that ultimately decides the reaction. Lula was a long time member of First Purchase and was used to an all black congregation, so it can be strange to her for a white child to walk in.
Later in the book, another African American protagonist is revealed to be inferior to white folk. Calpurnia, a supporting character, is the Finch’s African American cook. "It's hard to say," she said. "Suppose you and Scout talked colored-folks' talk at home it'd be out of place, wouldn't it? Now what if I talked white-folks' talk at church, and with my neighbors?
Prejudice is having a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. This is an action that is sadly used often today. People come up with opinions from things they have heard from others personal understandings. From that they choose to judge people or things without knowing anything personally. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus Finch defends a black man, Tom Robinson, when he is wrongly accused of raping a white girl.
Through the reading, I discovered several examples that will prove how people see other people and even classify them by what they own, how much money they may have, and racial class are a few examples on how individuals are socially classified in the story. O’Connor provides context in the story as she describes some of the characters as good country people. As for me this would not be seen as an offensive remark, but others would say that it may be. Mrs. Hopewell describes the Freeman’s as good country people and if you find someone like that you had better keep them in your life (O’Connor 368). With that description, I was led to believe that they were good people, but I can also believe that the other presented them as being great help and when you have great help then you better keep them.
Racism and discrimination were very real things that Calpurnia had to deal with daily. Calpurnia has been treated like she is “lesser” than others for a long time. For example, she is forced to go to a segregated church. Calpurnia is mentoring Scout by teaching her to treat all people equal and never act like she is better than anyone. This goes for any reason, not just the color of her skin.
In To Kill A Mockingbird when at the church people are mad that calpurnia brought white children to an all black church. “You ain’t got business bringin’ white chillen here -- they got there church, we got ours. It is our church ain’t it? Miss Cal?” “ Let’s go home, Cal.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses characterization, symbolism, and irony to express the cloud in judgment prejudice causes when examining the morals of others. Scout is able to understand more about the town folk in Maycomb County through studying her teacher’s ironic and corrupted views of life around her. Lee uses Miss Gates, Scout’s teacher, to allow Scout a chance to understand the complexity of the adult world. While teaching the class about the Holocaust, Gates expresses the injustice being done to the Jews. She teaches the children that the town does not “believe in persecuting anybody” (Lee 329) because of the U.S. democratic government.
The novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” was written in 1960 by Harper Lee in the point of view of a young innocent girl named Scout. One of the main messages that Lee has (need a new word than – indicated or set out) is racism, it plays an important role which strongly impacts many character’s lives unfairly and changes the relationship between two. Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” shows that it is wrong to hurt someone who does no harm to you, for example, black people are innocent but no way did they have as many rights as white people did. Black people lived hard lives because society was judgemental, irrational and most importantly, racist. As Scout and Jem grow older they learn to cope, take responsibility and are introduced to new aspects of life, one of which is racism.
(Lee 119). In this passage, Calpurnia takes Jem and Scout to her all black church while Atticus is out of town working. Lula is hesitant to allow Jem and Scout to participate in their service. Because African American’s are not allowed to attend white churches, she believes white people should not be able to attend black churches. Because Lula, and the rest of African American society are treated unfairly, she feels as if whites should be treated similarly to that of blacks.
Many characters throughout the novel were characterized as lower class, this greatly affected how they were preserved by their fellow neighbors in Maycomb. It was especially bad because of the economic state. Based on someone's social status they would get certain perks, like the Ewells. The Ewells were allowed to get away with things that normally were illegal like hunting and trapping out of season because of how low status they were, nobody cared enough about them to do anything. This is shown when Atticus is telling Scout about the common folk
In the story, Maycomb County has many different social classes and depending on someone’s social status, they are treated and looked upon, a certain way. For example, two poor families, the Cunninghams and the Ewells, are discriminated against because of their lower status in society. For instance, after Scout beats up Walter Cunningham for getting her whipped, Jem invites Walter over for lunch. When Scout, Jem, and Walter reach the Finch's front steps, Walter, in Scout’s eyes, “had forgotten he was a Cunningham” (31). Even Scout, a six year old girl, perceives the Cunningham family as lower class.
Cultural norms are what make and shape a society. They are the guidelines, and or patterns, that are to be followed, in order to be considered a normal, typical, everyday citizen. As such, it does not matter if the norms are right or wrong. As long as the citizen is still a part of their society, right and wrong does not matter, as far as they are concerned. In the case of To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the cultural norm, of Maycomb County, embraces the wrong, in the form of extreme prejudice behavior.
In which we had to think carefully and cohesively about the characters and their backgrounds. Although Harper Lee proves the point that social prejudice was a highly regarded prejudice. Harper Lees’ novel helps us to become more aware of prejudicial situations that occurred in the