There are some things in this world that have been around throughout history, cause an unfair, negative effect on others, and are easy to give into but difficult to pull out of. Prejudice is one of those things. It is a disease that people naturally succumb to without thinking, and it leads to isolation and bias against the prejudiced. Racial prejudice has been prominent through American history, typically towards African Americans, and although people are now trying to extinguish it, prejudice can never be truly eradicated. In the 1900s, Jim Crow laws and other discrimination against people of color caused those people to not have a fair chance of life, and be separated from the society of white people. Another common victim group for prejudice …show more content…
“[Mr. Raymond] likes [people of color] better’n he likes us… Lives by himself way down near the county line. He’s got a colored woman and all sorts of mixed chillun” (Lee 183). The day of the court trial, “The Negroes sat quietly in the sun… Mr Dolphus Raymond sat with them…drinking out of a sack” (Lee 182). Mr. Raymond’s unusual preferences are assumed by most people in the town to be the effects of him being drunk, as he is usually seen drinking from the paper sack. However, the sack is secretly full of “nothing but Coca-Cola” (Lee 227), and he is only pretending to drink alcohol. When asked by Scout why he does this, Mr. Raymond responds, “Why do I pretend? Well, it’s very simple. Some folks don’t like the way I live. Now I could say the hell with ‘em, I don’t care if they don’t like it. I do say I don’t care if they don’t like it, right though- but I don’t say the hell with em, see?” (Lee 228) Basically, the prejudiced, racist town can never be able to accept Mr. Raymond for preferring the company of people of color, so although he is aware of and disapproves of the prejudice and racism, he knows he cannot change anything and will only make the situation worse if he exposes his true nature. Mr. Raymond then further establishes this fact: “It ain’t honest but it’s mighty helpful to folks. Secretly, Miss Finch, I’m not much of a drinker, but you see they could never, never understand that I live like I do because that’s the way I want to live” (Lee 228). Finally, he comments on the extreme racism of the town: “You haven’t even seen this town, but all you gotta do is step back inside the courthouse” (Lee
This image shows how the people in Maycomb based their beliefs, about Thomas Robinson, by his skin color. Most whites who were at the trial, didn’t want to hear anything that Mr. Robinson has to say, because he was black. Since he was black, the whites automatically assumed Mr. Robinson was guilty. Mr. Robinson says he didn’t mean any harm toward Miss. Mayella. “Mr. Finch, I tried.
“This gossip created so much tension, every Negro man in Centreville became afraid to walk the streets.” The fear they faced was understandable, because although a white man
Prejudice can control the minds of people and turn them into something they are
folks can say Dolphus Raymond’s in the clutches of whiskey- thats why he won’t change his ways.” He makes it seem like he learns to understand others by making them think he’s a drunk but he’s just disgusted of the white society. On the other hand he makes it seem like he doesn't learn how to understand others because he’s doing all of this so people won’t bother him by asking
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”(Lee 30). These are the words of Atticus Finch, the wisest character in the famous novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. He is a fictional man that embodies human traits that all people should strive to emulate. In the novel; narrated by Atticus’ daughter Jean Louise Finch, more often referred to as Scout; Atticus defends a black man, Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping a white female, Mayella Ewell. The main message of the text is the prominence of racial injustice, specifically in the 1930’s, the era the novel takes place in.
The White townspeople do not appreciate him because he has biracial children. In the story, he speaks to Scout and Dill about racism in Maycomb. He says, "Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they’re people, too”(205). Dolphus Raymond attempts to get Scout and Dill to understand why they are more likely to not be upset by these injustices in the world. This quote also proves that prejudiced opinions are taught by the experiences someone has since children are not born with malicious thoughts.
After watching her father fight hard for a case he was bound to loose, hearing all the mean names her family and Tom was called and hearing the news of Tom’s death she began to understand the reality of racism. “Just what I said. Grandma says it's bad enough he lets you all run wild, but now he's turned out a nigger-lover we'll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb agin. He's ruinin' the family, that's what he's doin'.” (Lee, 110)
When we say prejudice it is most commonly known to be relating to race. In my experiences at school, there were cases of prejudice based on academic performance. Whenever a teacher would assign a group assignment students with higher averages would join together leaving those with lower averages to group with each other. This usually negatively affects many friendships since one may care more about their marks than their friends. This affected my relationships with my peers that I always worked with positively, but the relationship with those who I never or rarely worked with did not go so well.
Over the years there have been ethnic prejudiced between white and blacks, gender, and sexual orientation. An example of prejudice that is used many of times over again is when someone sees a Muslim person on an airplane. Some people automatically go straight into thinking that the Muslim person on the plane is a terrorist and are afraid of them. They do this without getting to know the person and you never know that the Muslim could be the nicest person.
Years may have passed since this was written, but the hostile attitudes towards people of a different race still exist. Think about what it must feel like to have someone of a different race treating you as an invaluable human being. The fact of the matter is that people do feel this way, a lot of people. To get to the core of why racism still exist in America, we can refer back to “Brownies” and where racism is found frequently. First, we can take a look at schools.
okay. He pretends to be a drunk man to give the town of Maycomb justification as to why he does what he does, “Mr. Dolphus Raymond lurched by on his thoroughbred. “‘Don’t see how he stays in the saddle,”’ murmured Jem. “‘How c’n you stand to get drunk ‘fore eight in the morning?’”(Lee 160). The people in Maycomb just assumed that he was a drunk and
Prejudice is the cause of immeasurable amounts of emotional pain and suffering. Prejudice is the cause of everyday stigmas and stereotypes that endlessly pile up and torment innocent people. Prejudice is responsible for every murder, for all of the sadness, for all of the pain, and for all of the suffering in the world. With every portion of sadness,
In this society, many judgements are made about people from different backgrounds. This causes many problems between people of other races. Racism can be shown in multiple ways such as by using overt and covert racism. In the two stories “The Stolen Party” by Liliana Hecker and “So What Are You, Anyway?” by Lawrence Hill, there are many examples of racist stereotypes.
The testimonies reveal how deep-rooted the racism within Maycomb runs, as it is present even in court rulings and how casually present it is. The court is taking place, and the order of prosecutor’s witnesses who are: Mr. Heck Tate, the sheriff; Mr. Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father; and Mayella Ewell, the one who is accusing Tom Robinson of raping her. When it’s Mr. Ewell’s turn to speak, he does so with many racial slurs and slang embedded in his accusations. When relaying what he saw to the jury, he points at Tom and yells “―I seen that black n*gger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella!” Mr. Ewell, who, although, has never been a part of a court case or viewed one, doesn’t truly care, or notice, that so far into the formal case, not one person has used racial slang to talk about Tom, and uses the term n*gger quite casually.
The story represents the culmination of Wright’s passionate desire to observe and reflect upon the racist world around him. Racism is so insidious that it prevents Richard from interacting normally, even with the whites who do treat him with a semblance of respect or with fellow blacks. For Richard, the true problem of racism is not simply that it exists, but that its roots in American culture are so deep it is doubtful whether these roots can be destroyed without destroying the culture itself. “It might have been that my tardiness in learning to sense white people as "white" people came from the fact that many of my relatives were "white"-looking people. My grandmother, who was white as any "white" person, had never looked "white" to me” (Wright 23).