Examples Of Prejudice In The 1930's

In Harper Lee 's To Kill A Mockingbird many themes run throughout this book, but there are only a few themes that stand out. Racism, maturity, and justice. These are the central themes shown almost everywhere in To Kill A Mockingbird. One tremendous theme in To Kill A Mockingbird is racism. One example of racism is when Harper Lee writes “He 's nothin’ but a nigger lover.

To be specific, she situates the imminent feminist struggle by highlighting the legacy of slavery among black people, and black women in particular. “Black women bore the terrible burden of equality in oppression” (Davis). Due to her race, her writing focuses on what she understood and ideas that are relevant to black females. Conversely, since white men used black women in domestic labor and forcefully rape these individuals. These men used this powerful weapon to remind black women of their female and vulnerability.

The bright colors and the deformed cartoonlike style in combination with the obvious history of racial mixing suggests the ugly past that is tied to biracial people who are both black and white. The painful and ugly history of rape and the mixing of blacks and whites within slavery is not only expressed through the figures but also through the use of bright colors that clash with each other and also through the cartoonlike distortion of the figures. The ‘ugly” style is meant to express the ugly and difficult history of biracial people. The style and color choice also addressed the subject of “passing” as another lighter race and the tendency of biracial people to choose their lighter skinned heritage over their black heritage. Robert Colescott was known for transgressively playing with themes of race and sex, he was very politically aware.

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee contains various examples of racism and prejudice throughout the novel. The story takes place in the 1930's, a period when racism was a part of everyday life. Prejudice and racism in this book are represented by acts of hate towards others because of the color of their skin. In this novel, prejudice and racism was dominantly pointed towards blacks. Acts of racism can be discreet to the point that you can easily miss them.

The lives of African-American women have been critically affected by racism, sexism and classism, which are systems of societal and psychological restriction. The racist, sexist and classist structure the American society compartmentalizes its its various ethnic groups, denigrates the colored as inferior and characterizes males and females as center and margin respectively. Just as black as groups are relegated to an underclass by virtue of their race, women are related to a separate caste by virtue of their sex. Black women are related to a separate caste by virtue of their sex.

Through her statement on the impairment that internalized racism can do to the most vulnerable member of a community— Pecola; a young girl, Morrison jumps out of the tradition of African-American literature that “Portrays racism as a definite evil” (Eichelberger, 1999, p.59). Whiteness within this novel is said to be the symbol of goodness and innocence. The blacks in the novel are unhappy that they are not part of the dominant race. The main characters in this novel are marginalized people. Their status in the society causes them to feel subjugated.

. . that tradition that is based on the monumental myth of black motherhood, a myth based on the true stories of sacrifice black mothers performed for their children .. . is ...restrictive, for it imposes a stereotype of Black women, a stereotype of strength that denies them choice and hardly admits of the many who were destroyed. (89) Things are worse for Meridian even from the beginning. Meridian thinks that her association with Eddie, his boy friend, will protect her from the lustful black men and save her from responding to the vulgar signals of her peers.

A behavior, of which, presents itself heavily while either talking, and or mentioning, the topics of religions, racism and classism. Given the time period is during the 1930’s, and that Maycomb County is located in the deep south, it is no wonder of why prejudice appears as a cultural norm. The Great Depression was going on at the time, and so, everyone is taking the chance in trying to look better off, in the terms of finance and living standards. In looking at the main family of the book, the Finches, they are part of the high standing class. And, as according to Aunt Alexandra, they, as a family, are above everyone.

This huge reveal shows that Armand himself has African American ancestry! This truly had to of turned his world upside down. Everything he had believed in and thought about himself was a lie. Armand may be seen as hypocritical here because “ He has treated his slaves with violence and cruelty based on the color of their skin, and now he must face the fact that he is part African American himself” (“Irony in Desiree’s Baby”…1). This plot twist is somewhat beautiful in a tragic way because it leaves the readers in shock and the antagonist is in complete dismay.

As Paul C. Taylor declares, “the most prominent type of racialized ranking represents blackness as a condition to be despised, and most tokens of this type extend this attitude to cover the physical features that are central to the description of black identity” (16). Such attitudes are found in the words of black women themselves, when they talk about Pecola’s baby, saying that it “ought to be a law: two ugly people doubling up like that to make more ugly. Be better off in the ground” (188). Without any support from her community or even family, Pecola is a character who is

To kill a mockingbird is a book that is filled with clearly visible prejudice. The effect of prejudice in Maycomb is one that creates classes in the community that people will stick to. The three forms of prejudice that are evident in The town of maycomb are racial prejudice, social prejudice and fear of the unknown. Racial prejudice is common in Maycomb and some examples are the black church, Tom Robinson case and Calpurnia.

The research will further highlight how black females are segregated within the society. Qualitative and quantitative methods will be applied in finding out the disparity between whites and black females. The study expects to reveal more black females being affected by the racial disparities. Background

Atticus became not only a role model for Scout and Jem but a role model for the whole town. He taught you not to be so quick to judge everything. From Boo Radley to Walter Cunningham, he shows how to accept people for who they are and to get know them before you judge them. “Because that is they only way he can pay me, he has no money” (Lee 21). When Scout saw the Cunninghams paying in different things like Hickory nuts and Stovewood, she was quick to question the payment.

“Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible” (Maya Angelou). The famous American author and civil rights activist Maya Angelou tells the world that prejudice prevents people from treating each other as equals. Angelou’s words hold true in the Pre-Civil Rights South, where people are heavily prejudiced towards black people. Harper Lee’s literary classic To Kill a Mockingbird illustrates the grave consequences of prejudice, and its effect on the relationships between the residents of Maycomb, Alabama. In the Pre-Civil Rights South, relationships are structured based on a social hierarchy that is skewed in favor of whites, illustrating that one’s prejudice leads to intolerance of others.

The KKK was based off of racial discrimination, but over time they also adopted anti-semitic qualities along with strong political prejudices as well. According to historylearningsite, “A sinister group was established which was designed to spread fear throughout the Black population that still lived in the southern states. This was the KKK. Only WASP’s could belong to it — White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. It is a common myth that the KKK targeted only the Blacks – also hated were the Jews, Catholics, liberals etc but most hatred was directed against the poor black families in the south who were very vulnerable to attack.”