Examples Of Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

683 Words2 Pages

Prejudice victims are affected by unjustified or incorrect judgment that directly impacts their lives. Billy Graham, a promoter of peace, argues that, "Racial prejudice, anti-Semitism, or hatred of anyone with different beliefs has no place in the human mind or heart" (Billy Graham). As Billy Graham said, prejudice is a common and alarming problem in the twentieth century that should not have a place in society. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, prejudice is the result of ignorance, as seen through Arthur Radley and Tom Robinson.
To begin, Arthur is a victim of prejudice. He is the object of several rumors, and is not accepted in Maycomb’s society. For instance: "People said he went out at night when the moon was down, and peeped …show more content…

In fact, in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson also suffers of racial prejudice and segregation existing in the 1930s. This is proven as Mr. Underwood explains: "Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts, Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed" (Lee 323). Tom Robinson is judged to be a cruel person and associated with violence, hatred and thuggery. Indeed, he is unfairly treated simply due to his skin colour. Furthermore, Mr. Gilmer is very disrespectful, using the term "niggers" to describe the black society throughout Robinson’s trial by saying, “I knowed who it was, all right, lived down yonder in that nigger-nest, passed the house every day” (Lee 234). Therefore, according to Maycomb’s folks, the black society is inferior to the white people, allowing them to denigrate the black society in a very insolent way. Likewise, as shown in Tom’s case, the words of a white man always win against those of a black man. During the trial, Tom is dishonestly treated due to the prejudice related to black people. Consequently, Tom is a victim of prejudice since he was accused of raping Mayella, despite the circumstantial evidence towards Bob Ewell. Overall, the fact that Tom was brought to trial was a major illustration of prejudice in the

Open Document