To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is widely celebrated due to the novel’s contemporary commentary on racism. Although the novel obviously discusses racist attitudes, it is really about stereotyping. While racism is one the the main focuses, many groups of people in the novel face harsh, inaccurate stereotypes. Women are expected to be “proper” and “ladylike”, African Americans are seen as deceitful and untrustworthy and the mentally handicapped are portrayed as freaks and monsters by the town’s people. Harper Lee not only addresses racism in her novel and the focus may seem to be only about the trial of Tom Robinson, but Lee portrays a deeper understanding of stereotyping as a whole throughout the entire novel. Because To Kill a Mockingbird …show more content…
Calpurnia is comparable to a surrogate mother to Scout and Jem as their mother died shortly after Scout was born. Calpurnia assumed the role of the “caretaker” in place of Jem and Scout’s mother. Calpurnia’s role in the novel exhibits the stereotypical behavior of all women during the early nineteen-hundreds, she cooks, cleans, and minds the children during the day. The stress Calpurnia places on Scout to “act like a lady” further fortifies the strict stereotype that women were pigeonholed into. Lee exhibited the cliche that all women were expected to conform to, the idea that women were meant to be the caretaker of the household, have incomparable manners, and to be polite and refined no matter the situation. Because Scout is so young, she questions why she must adhere to this cliche that society values so strongly. Her inexperience in the real world allows her to question the stereotypes that are forced upon entire groups of people. Aunt Alexandra furthers Lee’s exhibit of the ignorance of stereotypes by demanding that Scout to act like a lady, forcing her to have tea with women from the neighborhood and prohibiting her to do anything that would cause the towns people to see her as anything other than respectable. Lee criticises the stereotype of the housewife using Scout’s …show more content…
Some readers believe that it is the focal point of the novel, however it is just another way that Lee criticises the act of stereotyping. Racism is the belief that an entire race has certain characteristics that makes it either inferior or superior to other races, it is an oversimplified image of a certain group of people. In other words, racism is a form of stereotyping. The black people in the novel are perceived as untrustworthy by the townspeople, they face the harsh stereotype that all blacks are deceitful and unsafe. African Americans were often treated as though they were of lesser value than whites. As a result, Tom Robinson was made a scapegoat only because he was an African American man that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Although Tom was not conforming to the prejudice standards society set for African Americans because he was being kind by helping Mayella Ewell with household chores, he was still accused of raping her because the town could not accept the fact that a black person was doing something selfless. Despite the amount of evidence that proves Tom’s innocence and Atticus’s plea to the jury to disregard Tom’s skin color when making their decisions, they still ruled that he was guilty only because he was black. The stereotype of black people being untrustworthy and immoral is so imbedded into the citizens’ heads that they chose to ignore evidence that proves Tom’s
The theme of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mocking Bird is the existence of racism and prejudice in the 1930 – 40's. Harper Lee succeeds in presenting the topic in a manner that is not overly simplistic and thus achieves the task of allowing the reader to fully appreciate the complex nature of unjust discrimination. Harper Lee's inclusion of characters such as Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Dolphus Raymond and many others, aid the reader to grasp the concept of racism and its central role in the town of Maycomb.
The characters of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird are all different in their own way. Sometimes they can seem like the most infuriating people in the world, but then again they can be helpful, loving, and caring. The citizens of Maycomb County are stereotyped a lot throughout the book. They are labeled as many different things, but some of the stereotypes made aren’t entirely correct. A lot of people in To Kill a Mockingbird stereotype others by the way they look or talk based on what society considers normal. Two of the main characters in the book are stereotyped; Scout and Atticus Finch.
There 's a point in everyone 's life when people are forced to wear a mask to hide their true selves. People want to fit into what they think is normal. Most of the time, the individual behind the mask is very different from what they are being perceived as. They can be evil and wicked, or they can be smart, loving, and caring. Characters in the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee live through the Great Depression and Segregation. They all have qualities that make them unique in their own ways. In the town of Maycomb, Alabama, citizens are put under stereotypes all throughout the novel. Characters get assigned labels that aren 't entirely correct. Dolphus Raymond, Mayella Ewell, and Boo Radley are all products of what it looks
To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee sheds light upon the controversy of racism and justice in his classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. The notion of equality in accordance with the law and the pursuit of justice are hindered by racial discrimination. The essence of human nature is pondered. Are we inclined to be good or in the wrath of evil? The novel reflects on the contrasting nature of appearance versus reality.
The story, To Kill a Mockingbird is a very fine novel which exemplifies the life in the south and the human rights and values given to everybody. The book especially took the case of prejudice to a serious extreme. From the title, a mockingbird through the eyes of Harper Lee, is a person who has fallen victim to vicious stereotypes. The title To Kill a Mockingbird explains itself quite clearly in the end of the novel when Tom Robinson, one of the mockingbirds, is killed due to the stereotypes dumped upon him. Often, the use of stereotypes just breaks down the real truth of a person.
It is a dark and beautiful night in downtown New York City. A young couple are strolling around town minding their own business. Suddenly, they feel tiny drops of water drizzling from the sky. It starts to rain. They make their way to an alley since it would be a much faster route. They come to a halt as they see three homeless black males sitting against the brick walls- right in their path. Their faces show anger and despair. The couple hesitate- not knowing what to do. Should they go back? Or should they go through? It’s as if their fear is instinctive as they stumble a bit, then freeze… Everyday, in the world, there are many times where situations like the one above occur. They affect all people and is a social part of life- stereotypes. In the situation above, it brings up controversial ideas that are very real in our society. They deal with racism, prejudice, discrimination, and with the most relevant being stereotypes. According to Merriam-Webster, stereotypes are “...conforming to a fixed pattern...an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgement” (Merriam-Webster, Stereotype). They make people hold in mixed feelings when interacting with specific types of people since it all depends on the person. This causes people to have narrow minds, have negative attitudes, and hurt others. Why do we have these mindsets? Will they change? No one really knows. What we do know is that times have certainly changed than say the 1930s. In the book, “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, the topic of racism and stereotypes is greatly explored through the eyes of young Scout Finch, the protagonist, who is oblivious to the cruel world she lives in. Throughout the book, we can see that stereotypes are destructive to s...
The novel To Kill A MockingBird is primarily based on the problems associated with prejudice and cultural bias during the 30’s. These themes that are explored by Harper Lee allow’s a greater approach to referencing belonging and most of
In 1960, a novel was written to outline injustices and racism against those who were innocent, though unfairly judged because of social expectations and prejudiced beliefs. This novel not only presented these issues, but is also considered a revolutionary piece of literature, still being read by many people today, more than 50 years later. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, has caused some controversy about the intents of the book and the way certain people or groups are presented. Whether To Kill a Mockingbird as a narrative outshines the issue it presents is a debatable argument. However, I believe that the narrative of the novel supports the concerns exhibited for numerous reasons. In what follows, some of these are presented: the historical
Have you ever felt like the people around you judge you, even if they don’t know you at all? The citizens of Maycomb County stereotype the people in their community based off the rumors they hear around town. They may believe that a man none of them have ever seen is a monster and that a black man that has committed a appalling crime. Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are examples of mockingbirds in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
The community of Maycomb in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has stereotypes that young girls and women do not have the capacity to make up their own mind and choose their own path in life. These stereotypes have formed the societal expectations for the roles of young women. In Maycomb County, the expectations are formed by society's need to have uniformity. Many people in Maycomb have narrow minds, therefore anything different creates disorder in their community. As Scout defies the stereotype that girls do not have the capacity to chose what they want in life, some of the citizens of Maycomb take it into their own hands to show her what is socially acceptable. Role models in Scout’s life help shape how she views the expectations of women.
Today, racism is a problematic situation that can break nation apart. Discrimination on one’s personal characteristics can sway a community's opinion greatly. Harper Lee was indulged in numerous racist encounters in her life, many of which transpire into her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. In the novel, one is seen as an animal when enduring the venom of racism. Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, racism leads to the dehumanization of both the victims and the infectors.
With a world of people entitled to a variety of beliefs and coming from diverse backgrounds, acceptance emerges as people hurt and build up people. By nature, humans are judgemental, they all have first impressions of others without any realistic evidence. Thus, for the good of our society and the progression of it, they learn to acknowledge each other’s flaws and uniqueness. However, a line must be drawn when personal beliefs become capable of hurting those who blindly embraced the differences as well as others in their surroundings and becoming a detriment to the welfare of a community. When accepting the differences of others, people need to adopt an open mindset to the extent when harm is directed towards a community or individuals’ welfares.
Nearly the whole last half of the book is about racism. The attitude of the whole town is that Tom Robinson, because he is black and,"…all Negroes lie,…all Negroes are basically immoral beings,…all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women…"(Lee 207), will be found guilty regardless of how good a case Atticus makes for him. There was substantial amount of evidence that suggests his innocence. Even the prosecution's two witnesses' stories contradicted each other. The jury did not give a guilty verdict it gave a racist verdict. Not a verdict based on fact, but a verdict based on the color of a man's skin. This is important because the author was not making this racism up; it was what it was like in those times. She is trying to show how ignorant and blind people can be just because of differences between them, as well as how society treats racial minorities.
The novel TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee has numerous accounts of racism and prejudice throughout the entire piece. The novel is set in the 1930's, a time when racism was very prevalent. Although bigotry and segregation were pointed in majority towards blacks, other accounts towards whites were also heard of, though not as commonly. There are acts that are so discreet that you almost don't catch them, but along with those, there are blatant acts of bigotry that would never occur in our time. Lee addresses many of these feelings in her novel.
To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee's only novel, is a fictional story of racial oppression, set in Maycomb, A.L. in 1925 to 1935, loosely based on the events of the Scottsboro trials. Unlike the story however, the racial discrimination and oppression in the novel very accurately portrays what it was like in the 1920's and 1930's in the south. Tom Robinson, the black man accused of raping a poor low class white girl of 19, never stood a chance of getting a fair trial. This can be supported by giving examples of racially discriminatory and oppressive events that actually took place in the south during the time period in which the novel is based. In addition to actual historical events, events and examples from the book that clearly illustrate the overpoweringly high levels of prejudice that were intertwined in the everyday thinking of the majority of the characters in the book supports the fact that Tom Robinson never stood a chance of getting a fair trial.