Stereotypes In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Recommended: Racism and literature

Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird has remained a classic since its publication in 1960. Compelled by her encounters with gender stereotypes because she grew up a tomboy, Lee recalls her experiences through Scout Finch, a six-year old who witnesses the unjust consequences of prejudice and hate. Set during the early 1930s in a rural town in Maycomb, Alabama, Lee addresses racial prejudice and its prevalence in the society. The idea that society can influence and shape individuals is illustrated through the characters Scout Finch, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson in the novel.
Following the result of Tom Robinson’s trials, Scout begins to gain a deeper understanding of the prevalent racial prejudice members of Maycomb held against colored men. After witnessing Robinson unjustly convicted of rape, Scout realizes that although “Atticus had used every tool available… to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the …show more content…

During that period of time, Boo Radley was subjected to rumors and made out to be nothing short of a monster. Believed to be “about six and a half feet tall… [with] a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten” (lee 00), he was blamed of any criminal activities that happened in the neighborhood. After the Tom Robinson trials and witnessing the racial prejudice against him, Jem reaches a deeper understanding and sympathizes with Boo Radley. He “begins to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut in the house all this time… it’s because he wants to stay inside” (Lee 304). The discrimination that society holds against him has a stronger effect than his father’s influence. Even after his father’s death, Boo chooses to isolate himself from the people of Maycomb rather than face the prejudice and false

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