Discrimination is common nowadays, and barely anyone considers or realizes the effect it provides. In this story, the answer of what effect discrimination delivers is displayed. From discrimination in the novel, “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee the effect given is injustice being done towards another. This unjustness is demonstrated in the book towards Walter Cunningham, Helen Robinson and Tom Robinson.
Primarily, prejudice is shown towards Walter Cunningham. To illustrate, Walter was not allowed to appear at the Finches’ house to play. As Aunt Alexandra stated, “The thing is, you can scrub Walter Cunningham till he shines you can put him in shoes and a new suit, but he’ll never be like Jem… Because-he-is-trash that’s why you can’t play with him.” (Lee 300-301) Presenting, unfairness to Scout
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For instance, Helen is bullied by Bob Ewell. “It was hard on Helen, because she had to walk nearly a mile out of her way to avoid the Ewells, who according to Helen ‘chunked’ at her the first time she tried to use the public road.” (Lee 333) Since Helen is black Mr.Ewell believes he has the right to trouble her. Plus, another discrimination is barely anyone in Maycomb offering Helen a job. “To tell you the truth, Miss Jean Louise, Helen’s finding it hard to get work these days… Well if everybody in Maycomb knows what kind of folks Ewells are they’d be glad to hire Helen.” (Lee 164-165) Seeing that, Helen is black and a wife of a rapist, everyone presumes Mr.Ewell is right because he is white so no one is offering Helen a job. Also, nobody in Maycomb is assisting Helen in looking after her kids. Helen is having difficulty in finding someone to look after her children, while she’s working. Probably, because everyone believes Helen’s children are kids of a rapist, hence, nobody desires to help children of a rapist. As a result, this was the unjustness committed by most of the town of Maycomb towards
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.
Growing up in a prejudiced environment can cause individuals to develop biased views in regard to both gender and class. This is true in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, where such prejudices are prevalent in the way of life of 1930s Maycomb, Alabama. The novel is centered around the trial of a black man who is accused of raping a white woman. The narrator, a young girl named Scout, is able to get a close up view of the trial because her father is defending Tom Robinson, the defendant. The aura of the town divided by the trial reveals certain people’s prejudices to Scout, giving her a better perspective of her world.
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.
Prejudice is a real life problem in the world. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee describes the prejudices found in a small American town in the 1930's. Race, social class, and gender are examples of prejudice.
To Discriminate a Mockingbird Discrimination, it’s been part of human nature for a long time; it’s been an especially relevant subject in literature such as To Kill a Mockingbird. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the main character of Scout Finch is exposed to different types of discrimination as she grows up. Discrimination affects the lives of characters in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mocking Bird because of society’s prejudicial views of race, gender, and class.
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.
The Various Forms of Discrimination in the Novel To Kill a Mockingbird In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, we see several forms of discrimination. For most people, when they hear the word discrimination, they think of racism, ageism, or something else similar. These are all some of the most common forms of discrimination, but they are not the only forms of it that exist. The types of discrimination I will mostly be talking about are sexism, racism, and classism. The first form of discrimination I will talk about is how people tell Scout that she has to wear dresses all of the time, and that she has to have perfect manners.
By writing this event into the story, Harper Lee shows how racial discrimination can affect anyone of any race. “The society that imprisons Tom Robinson is the same one that imprisons Scout…” (Durst Johnson 301). Although their reasons for being confined are different, the same society caused it.
For many year humans have been trying to fight against discrimination in their communities, but it's an uphill battle that doesn’t seem like it’s been fully wiped out yet in our society. Discrimination and Prejudice has been a key issue that has affected many people around the world. In the movie that we saw in class, “My Cousin Vinny” (1992) it focused on these key issues of prejudice, discrimination, stereotypes and even eye witness testimonies. In the movie it focuses on these key issues while bringing a little humor to the viewers. In this paper I will be going into more detail of how this movie really brought to light these key issues.
Discrimination played a big role in the 1930s and throughout the development of the novel, and still is not completely diminished in the 21st century. Sexism, classicism, and racism all typified the many relationships in To Kill A Mockingbird, from Aunt Alexandra wanting Scout to become a lady, to Tom Robinson's unfair court trial. Prejudices are formed because of the level of ignorance people have when they believe everything they hear from their peers without bothering to be fertilized with education, leading to a division within communities, physically and mentally.
Imagine there are two eggs; one is white, and one is brown. They have the same inside, but their shells are different colors. Discrimination is the equivalent of choosing the white egg over the brown egg, just because it’s appearance. During the time of the Great Depression, African-Americans were treated inadequately based on their skin color, even though the treatment was unethical. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, marginalized characters demonstrate heroic traits effectively despite discrimination of race and social class. Even without major voices, marginalized characters are unlikely heroes that change society’s views by being caring and helpful towards others.
One subtle example of discrimination the reader sees is the treatment of Calpurnia, a black woman, the housekeeper/nanny for the Finch family. Although she is treated fairly, it is obvious that she is considered to be on a lower social level than the Finches. She calls Scout ma'am and Jem sir, although these are titles usually reserved for elders.
Racism presents itself in many ways in the town of Maycomb. Some are blatant and open, but others are more insidious. One obvious way that racism presents itself is in the result of Tom Robinson’s trial. Another apparent example is the bullying Jem and Scout had to endure as a result of Atticus’s appointment as Tom Robinson’s defense attorney. A less easily discernible case is the persecution of Mr. Dolphus Raymond, who chose to live his life in close relation with the colored community.
Growing up in Maycomb, Southern Alabama in the 1930s was not an easy thing. Amid a town of prejudice and racism, stood a lone house where equality and respect for all gleamed like a shining star amid an empty space. The house of Atticus Finch was that shining star. Jean Louise Finch, also known as “Scout”, is given the opportunity of being raised in this house by her father, Atticus. I stole this essay from the net. As she grows, Atticus passes down his values of equality and righteousness to Scout and her brother Jeremy Atticus Finch, also known as “Jem”. In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, by Harper Lee, we see Scout learns many lessons about dealing with prejudice by observing the behavior of other characters in the story.
There were many different forms of discrimination in To Kill a Mockingbird.People were judged based on their race, social status, and even gender. There were many times where people was not treated like regular people . The book was set in the south during the early to mid 1930’s. Life for black people, women, and lower level people was clearly depicted as challenging & difficult.