Discrimination based on religion was targeted by the Radley family. According to To Kill A Mockingbird, “Foot-washers believe anything that’s pleasure is a sin… sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whiskey bottle in the hand of—oh, of your father.” (Lee 59). Miss Maudie explains to Scout through the comparison of an alcoholic to a religious extremist that Mrs. Radley takes the bible too literally and targets others for not following the same religious views as her. Miss Maudie describes her as a foot-washer Baptist because Mrs. Radley sees people that enjoy being outdoors and women being independent like Miss Maudie. Discrimination against the Radley’s is also present in the novel. The Radley’s don’t attend church on Sundays …show more content…
The theme that is being conveyed is the danger of prejudice due to how people like the Radley’s are viewed and the thoughts of foot-washing Baptists in Maycomb. This also develops the plotline of the novel and adds tension. The Radley’s faced discrimination from the community and discriminated against those that did not follow the same beliefs as them in Maycomb due to their religious beliefs and customs. Racism and reverse racism in Maycomb were depicted in To Kill A Mockingbird as well. According to To Kill A Mockingbird, “I wants to know why you bringin‘ white chillun to nigger church… You ain’t got no business bringin‘ white chillun here—they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church, ain’t it, Miss Cal?” (Lee 158). The Jim Crow laws and the racism that prevailed in Maycomb led to discrimination against African Americans. They were hurt and demanded equal rights. So, after Jem and Scout attended an African American …show more content…
As she learns about prejudice, she begins to make opinions on Maycomb and develops more maturity. The lessons she learned apply to all types of discrimination. Harper Lee included all these types of discrimination to provide the reader insight on what life during the 1930’s was and the many social injustices that occurred during this era. Lee is trying to let the reader see a new perspective on society and morality. She is trying to portray the message of tolerance and kindness towards
In the novel, ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee some characters suffer in the hands of justice and fairness more than others. Many characters in the novel are discriminated against such as Calpurnia, Dolphus Raymond, Helen Robinson, Burris Ewell and more. However I will be focusing on the discrimination against Tom Robinson for his race, Walter Cunningham for his low socioeconomic status and Boo Radley for the rumors and supposed mental instability he holds. I chose those three because they are the most prominent and I will discuss how the discrimination against the characters therefore leads to their injustice or unfairness.
Sometimes, people discriminate one thing, but strongly oppose the discrimination of another thing. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, this issue is very much expressed throughout the story. This thought-provoking story takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during a time when there’s a rape trial against a falsely accused African American named Tom Robinson. There is also a discrimination, of sorts, towards a man named Boo Radley, by three young children named Jeremy “Jem” Finch, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, and Charles “Dill” Baker Harris. Both Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are similar in their own ways through their inherent goodness.
The people who lack empathy for the Radley’s are the kids such as Scout, Jem, and Dill. On page 16, Jem describes Boo Radley as a monster with yellow and rotten teeth, eyes that popped, drooling, blood stained hands, and having a long jagged scar across his face. They also dare each other to get as close as possible and make mean plays about the Radley family. When Miss Muadie’s house burns down Boo gives Scout a blanket and she sees that he is not a monster. Later when Atticus is defending Tom Robbinson the town seems to turn their backs on Atticus and his family, becuase he is defending a black man which is looked down upon in the town. Tom Robbinson is innocent, but because he is a black man the town views him as guilty anyway. When the town comes to a conclusion that he is guilty, Jem comes to the conclusion that the outside world is unfair, because he knows Tom Robinson is innocent. This is a good coming of age moment for Jem, because he develops empathy for Tom Robbinson and changes his mindset. Scout throughout the story is forced to develop empathy towards other people by her farther, Calpurnia, and Jem. In chapter 3, when she is beating up Walter Cunningham, she is forced to stop by her older brother Jem, who later invites him to dinner. Then later in the house, Scout was being rude to Walter for the way he ate. Calpurnia scolds Scout by
Imagine a world where anyone who was born with brown hair got to give orders to anyone born with blonde hair. If you're born with brown hair, you could have better careers and the better education whereas the blondes wouldn’t even been given a fair court trial. If something like this happened overnight, there would be a huge uproar, but what if it happened over time and generations grew to accept it? Eventually, people would start to argue that brown haired people were naturally superior to blondes. If you were living in a tiny town in the Deep South, such as Maycomb, you’d have even less of a reason to question the status quo. Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird is trying to teach his kids, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view- until you climb in his skin and walk around in it.” Furthermore, the largest forms of discrimination in the novel are racism and classism.
Prejudice has a lot of control of what occurs throughout the novel. Scout depicts several situations when discrimination plays a major role in the outcome of certain events. Eventually, Scout learns "she must put herself in others' places before judging them" (Telgen 287). This narrow-mindedness is caused by racism, which was a key factor of life in the time period of this novel. Boo Radley suffered from others' bigotry. The unfair trial is another example of prejudice affecting society. According to Telgen's Novels For Students, "Scout's narrative relates how she and her elder brother Jem learn about fighting prejudice and upholding human dignity" (285). The innocent were corrupted largely in part to prejudice.
Scout perceives these prejudices and discriminations in different ways throughout the book. Scout’s views on the prejudices and discriminations in her society evolve in three stages: innocence, recognition, and understanding. For example, Scout showed some of the town’s prejudice in a child-like way when she viewed the Radleys with fear. The town discriminates against the Radleys because of Arthur Radley’s disappearance when he was a child.
Racism is wrought within the whole story. For example, even though Calpernia is a female, Aunt Alexandra overlooks her good work because of her race (p. 129). Blacks, because they are considered inferior, are expected to do everything for whites. People are so biased it doesn’t matter how well a job a black person does they are still frowned upon. Furthermore, the jury declares Tom Robinson guilty even though the evidence is clearly in his favor (p.211). A human being has more color pigment in their skin so it is assumed they are guilty without question; truth is never a factor. It is easy to associate the mockingbird symbol to Tom Robinson, a harmless man who becomes a victim of racial prejudice. The Maycomb community are trying to make a fool of them selves by believing they are model citizens and good Christians, even though a small number amongst them know that they are wrong to persecute and hate due to color.
When Scout and Jem get rifles for Christmas they learn why they should not kill a mockingbird. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (103). Mockingbirds represent happiness. They do not cause any harm to anyone or anything. Therefore, it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. Tom Robinson, a black man, is the man who was falsely accused of the rape of Mayella Ewell, a white woman. “He likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children” (275) Tom Robinson is one of the mockingbird symbols. He was convicted and was murdered for the rape of Mayella Ewell. He did not rape Mayella but he was blamed for it. Since this took place in the 1930s, they black people were not believed over white people. So when Tom was killed it was like killing a mockingbird. He did nothing but help people, but he was killed. He only brought joy and happiness, not hatred. Tom Robinson was not the only mockingbird symbol in the novel. Boo Radley was also a symbol of a mockingbird. Boo Radley saved Scout and Jem from Bob Ewell. He ended up killing Bob while trying to save the kids. Heck Tate, the town sheriff, could prove that Bob fell on his knife. He did this so Boo would not get in trouble. “Well it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird,
Discrimination and Prejudice in Killing A Mocking Bird Discrimination and prejudice were very common acts in the early and middle 1900's. Prejudice in this book is displayed by the acts of hate and misunderstanding because of someone's color. People of color were the majority that were treated unfairly. During this time in the southern states, black people had to use separate bathrooms, drinking fountains, sections in restaurants, churches, and even go to separate schools. Although much of the discrimination was directed towards blacks, there were plenty of accounts towards impoverished families by those that had money.
Racism is a recurring theme throughout the story and affects all of the main characters in several ways. Maycomb as a whole is affected because of racism, and many become outcasts, such as in Mrs. Dolphus Raymond's case.
The hatred that the citizens of Maycomb felt towards the black community extended to anyone who became involved with them, especially the Finch family because Atticus was appointed to defend Tom Robinson. Scout and Jem suffered the most from this hatred because their peers were children, who are nearly always less candid than adults. Most of the people who were unhappy with Atticus would just try to keep away from him, which was bad enough. The children however, verbally abused Scout and Jem. Scout responded to this with physical violence, even though it was discouraged by her father. The sad thing is that they were mistreated even by members of their family, like Scout’s cousin Francis.
The story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee portrays many different scenarios of racial discrimination. Discrimination occurs in the book and many people are affected by the racial slurs and other occurrences. In the story, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, Atticus Finch, and Tom Robinson are all people that are discriminated against or are affected by discrimination. Racial discrimination is a major part of To Kill a Mockingbird.
America has always been a country with different cultures, races, and people. Only, not everyone has been accepting of different kinds of people. A persons thoughts on another person can differ depending on a person's race, gender, or age. In Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, racial equality is nonexistent. The African Americans were treated like they weren’t people, and were totally isolated from the Maycomb, Alabama society. America will never achieve true racial and social equality because people are ignorant, have a history of being prejudiced, and are unjust.
In a desperate attempt to save his client, Tom Robinson, from death, Atticus Finch boldly declares, “To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white” (Lee 271). The gross amounts of lurid racial inequality in the early 20th century South is unfathomable to the everyday modern person. African-Americans received absolutely no equality anywhere, especially not in American court rooms. After reading accounts of the trials of nine young men accused of raping two white women, novelist Harper Lee took up her pen and wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, a blistering exposition of tragic inequalities suffered by African Americans told from the point of view of a young girl. Though there are a few trivial differences between the events of the Scottsboro trials and the trial of Tom Robinson portrayed in To Kill a Mockingbird, such as the accusers’ attitudes towards attention, the two cases share a superabundance of similarities. Among these are the preservation of idealist views regarding southern womanhood and excessive brutality utilized by police.
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.