In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee argues that prejudice can affect people's decisions. She uses people like the Cunninghams, Ewells, Aunt Alexandra and Tom Robinson to develop her argument.
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. A behavior, of which, presents itself heavily while either talking, and or mentioning, the topics of religions, racism and classism.
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. Yet alongside those, there are conspicuous demonstrations of racism that would never happen in today's society. Lee illustrates many of these behaviors in her novel.
In To Kill a Mockingbird prejudice in Maycomb is terrible. There are two major people in To Kill A Mockingbird that are prejudged severely. Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are the two main people who are prejudged. There is also one other man who prejudged, Atticus Finch. All three of these men are mockingbirds. Mockingbirds never bring harm to anybody. Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Atticus Finch resemble mockingbirds because they never bring harm to anybody.
Part of the human nature consists of racial judgment towards others. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, presents themes of gender bias, justice, and social class. But one of the main focuses in the book is racism. Most of the people in Maycomb County show racial judgments, opinions, and comments against African American people, as well as white people. Jem and Scout learn the power of racism and what it does to people, as they experience certain situations. Through the stories of Tom Robinson's trial, Jem and Scouts journey to Calpurnia's church, and Mrs. Dubose's commentary to Jem, the theme of racism remains.
How did prejudice happen in this world that God made? Prejudice is an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason. In this world, there are a lot of prejudice. Prejudice doesn´t happen suddenly but it happens from a root. Everything happens from a root and that causes to be or do something. For example, hatred comes from your feeling. Everything comes from a root and it is not possible to fix unless somebody takes an action in this world. In order to fight against prejudice, one needs to first see that the root of the problem is superiority, fear, and hatred, then work against it by staying positive, getting out of denial, and serving others.
One example of prejudice Harper Lee uses in To Kill a Mockingbird is Tom Robinson. In the small town of Maycomb almost everyone assumes Tom is guilty of raping Mayella Ewell even though there is no evidence or reasoning. Most of the citizens of the town are blaming him because of his race. “Atticus, are we going to win it?” “No,honey” “Then why-” “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.” In this quote Atticus is explaining to Scout
Social prejudice is shown throughout Harper Lee’s award winning book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee powerfully analyses the theme social prejudice, and its effect on people. Such as how the
Who are the blue jays and mockingbirds of To Kill A Mockingbird? Set in the early 1930’s of America, Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird is a coming-of-age book that tells the story of an innocent, naive child becoming an adult through the experience and intake of racism, discrimination, and social injustice throughout the book. Harper Lee’s development, usage and characterization of her characters throughout To Kill A Mockingbird help establish two of her most important themes of the book, which are the presence of social injustice and the coexistence of good and evil.
From getting to know someone more on a personal level instead of hearing judgements from other people. An individual is able to neutralize prejudice by understanding how a person lives and feeling empathy for them. Author, Harper Lee has demonstrated this through her Pulitzer Prize winning novel: To kill a mockingbird. Since its first publication in 1960 it has sold over 40 million copies world-wide. Harper Lee wrote this book during marches regarding the civil rights movement for racial equality between black people and white people in the United States. She wrote this as a statement to the 1960’s civil rights movement, although it as set in the 1930’s, this novel has a lot to say about fair treatment of all people no matter what social class or race.
Harper Lee touches upon many social issues in To Kill a Mockingbird. Among these issues is the matter of racism in America during the 1930s. This novel focused on the issue of racism through the case of Tom Robinson which conveyed the strong hostility towards African-Americans in Maycomb, Alabama. Other various occasions in the novel exhibit racism’s potential and influence in this country including Aunt Alexandra's disapproval of Calpurnia, and Mr. Dolphus Raymond’s hidden life. Through the results of these instances, Harper Lee shed a new light on racism and how it will always persist in America.
Thesis Statement/opening paragraph: In the story To Kill A Mockingbird, discrimination and the act of being prejudice is common among the main characters, on both the receiving and serving end. Certain characters, like Scout and Jeremy Finch, Bob Ewell, and the town folk truly create the main problem and set the theme of the story. For example, when Bob Ewell accuses Atticus Finch of being an african-american lover, because he is defending Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson was accused of raping Mayella Ewell, according to Bob. Boo Radley is accused of being dead by Scout, Jem and Dill. In this essay, I will tell you the biggest people affected by discrimination and the act of prejudice.
On a rainy day, a man at the bus stop asks for change. The two choices are walking past him avoiding eye contact, or giving him the change with a smile. Before even talking to this man, one may have already made the assumption that he is homeless or a drug addict wanting to buy his next high. But assumptions cannot accurately explain who he is or why he needs money. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee explores this idea of judging others before looking at the world from their perspective. Scout and Jem, although raised in a prejudice town, learn from their father Atticus that who a person is racially, does not define them as a person. Although the children make up stories about Arthur “Boo” Radley to pass the time in part one of the novel, in part two the Tom Robinson situation widens their eyes to the biased ways of their town. In the end, Jem and Scout are rescued by Boo Radley, the very person they feared during their childhood. Mockingbirds are used as a symbol in the novel to portray the fact that innocent and caring people are sometimes the most abused. The theme of presumptions and the dangers of judging others are explored through the childhood fable of Boo, the story of Atticus, and the trial of Tom Robinson; the mockingbirds.
Although, without any shred of proof, Tom Robinson goes on trial for the rape of Mayella Ewell. This pre-determined bias is exhibited clearly through the actions and words that the people of Maycomb ensue, all because of his skin colour. Tom Robinson is ridiculed, name called, and dehumanised by the citizens of Maycomb and is left to face an unfair trial. From the beginning, Tom Robinson does not have a fair chance to defend himself as the jury is highly biased against people of colour. Also, Atticus Finch explains why Tom Robinson has zero chance of winning the trial, “There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads-they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts where it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life.” (To Kill a Mockingbird 295). What the statement boils down to is that the men in that jury have a bias against black people and that a black man could never beat a white man in court. Based on what Atticus said, there is just something about race that makes white people go crazy and not be able to think straight. The quote illustrates the main struggle that Tom Robinson must overcome, biases and prejudice that the men in that court have against him. The people of Maycomb that are not directly involved in the court case are also a problem, with the racist comments and
In To Kill A Mockingbird there are many example of individuals being prejudice. People being prejudice has been around for centuries and has not exactly went away. In this essay i will being showing you examples of people being prejudiced in To Kill A Mockingbird. There are many examples but i’m only going to go over a few of them.