Prejudice in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

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“There is one way in this country in which all men are created equal—there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of an Einstein, and the ignorant man the equal of any college president. That institution, gentlemen, is the court.”-Atticus Finch. (Lee page 190) To Kill a Mockingbird is a story told by a young girl named Scout. Throughout the novel you watch scout grow up and learn about the things around her. She is introduced to racism and stereotypes. Scout learns that not everything is what it seems because of these prejudicial thoughts. There is the unfair trial of Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell in Maycomb that opens her eyes to realize her little town is not as innocent as she believed it was. In the timeless classic To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee demonstrates the prejudicial thinking of the 1930’s through the trial of Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell.
Atticus, Scouts father, acts as a non-racist role model for he puts his morals before social standings. He defends Tom Robinson in court in spite of public opinion because it is the right thing to do. He tried to demonstrate that racism is immoral for his children. ‘“Scout," said Atticus, ‘“nigger-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."You aren't really a nigger-lover, then, are you?’ ‘I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody... I'm hard put, sometimes—baby, it's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you h...

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...thoughts and stereotypes, something everyone should know about. Its an eloquent appeal for understanding racism and prejudice. Without this book many, many people may still be unaware what life used to be like when equality was not enforced for everyone.

Works Cited

Lee, Harper. To KIll a Mockingbird. New York:Warner books, 1960.

Murray, Jennifer. “More than one way to (mis)Read a Mockingbird.”The Southern
Literary Journal.Spencer High School Library. 11 March 2014. go.galegroup.com. Keyword: To Kill a Mockingbird.

“Race in To Kill a Mockingbird.” Encyclopedia of Themes in Literature. Blooms.Spencer
High school library.11 March 2014.www.fofweb.com..Keyword: To Kill a Mockingbird

Saney, Isaac. “Racism in To Kill a Mockingbird.” New edition Blooms Guide. Blooms.
Spencer High school library. 11 March 2014. www.fofweb.com. Keyword: To Kill a Mockingbird

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