Theme Of Social Divide In To Kill A Mockingbird

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-- 'Sir?' --until you climb into his skin and walk around in it" (Lee, 39). To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, follows the story of Scout Finch, Jem Finch, and everyone in the town of Maycomb. They experience conflict, including a pivotal trial that changes their lives. To Kill A Mockingbird has many themes, often making the book easy to categorize into many genres. One of the many themes is that prejudice creates a social divide. Ignorance towards others can lead to conflict, misunderstanding one's intentions can lead to unfair judgement of the person, and racism and prejudice are caused by misunderstanding.

Ignorance towards others can lead to conflict. "Scout," said Atticus,

"N*****-lover is just one of those terms that don't mean anything—like snot-nose. It's hard to explain—ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody's favoring Negroes over and above themselves. It's slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label somebody" (Lee, 144).

Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they're people too" (Lee, 269). In To Kill A Mockingbird, racism plays a factor to the Tom Robinson trial. Though the facts about Tom being innocent were clearly stated, the jury decided he was guilty because he was different than them. The jury and judge in the trial were Caucasian men, that knew just about everybody in Maycomb. As stated before, they have called Atticus multiple insults, just because he believed Tom Robinson was not guilty. They treat the black community horribly because they never think they are humans too. Atticus has quoted Thomas Jefferson, saying that all men are created equal, but the people of Maycomb continue this hierarchy, where the black community is at the bottom and are not treated as