Prejudice. The preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. Is the reason for the prevalence of prejudice in today’s society due to prejudice being hardwired into the human brain? Racism, a form of prejudice, may not be as discernable today as it was in the civil rights era, but it is very much prevalent. Despite the taboo nature of racism these days, it has manifested into different, sometimes discrete, forms and still plagues society. From the transition of the civil rights era, which has been portrayed in many novels throughout history, to the modern era, racism has evidently changed forms. Harper Lee’s 1960s novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” highlighted the outright racism present in society. Comparing the damaged …show more content…
society Lee constructed to our own in the present day, we observe the presence of racism in both. Despite the effects of many individuals, society has resisted change. Instead of abolishing racism, society has found different ways to cling onto their old traditions. Besides race, in the modern times there has been an increase in prejudice towards queer individuals. In the next 100 years, will prejudice be eliminated, or merely change forms once again? The portrayal of Maycomb as a microcosm of flawed American attitudes allows the reader to interpret the racial issues that America suffered from in the 1960s.
Maycomb clings onto traditions and social norms to justify their racist behaviour. Racism was highly common among the society, the African Americans were suppressed members of society, repeatedly slandered with derogatory terms such as ‘niggers’. Many of them possessed good qualities but these were often overlooked. The first indication of racism we observe is through Scout’s family dynamic. Calpurnia, who is self-educated, can only find employment as a servant for the Finches family who are white. This demonstrates the racial divide that exists within Maycomb. Most individuals address the blacks as ‘niggers’ throughout the novel. The continued use of this derogatory term reflects on Maycomb’s views on black people. They are unable to accept them as human beings and were often treated like trash. The most prominent example of the racial divide in Maycomb is Tom Robinson’s wrongful conviction who was charged for rape due to the false words of a white man. This conviction leads to a pre-ordained. Even though Atticus proved Tom Robinson’s innocence with copious amounts of evidence, Tom Robinson was still announced guilty. Some individuals accepted Tom Robinson’s innocence. However, they lacked the necessary bravery to come forward and accept their mistake. Society forced them to suppress their views. This demonstrates the dysfunctionality of Maycomb. Atticus was looked down upon by Maycomb solely due to his decision to defend an African-American man. Mrs Dubose commented negatively on his decision when she told Scout and Jem that their “father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!”. Even the act of defending a black man was considered to be going against Maycomb’s values where people thought life was simple as “black and white”. The mentality of the people is extremely narrow, correlating directly
to the views upheld by most Southern Towns in America. Maycomb was an accurate representation of Southern America in the 1960s, it was an era of great conflict. Ignorance negatively impacted the African Americans who were constantly mistreated by their white counterparts. They lived in fear, lived in terror solely due to the colour of their skin. Some became aware of their mistakes and began to change their behaviour. However the majority of the white Southerns opposed this change, afraid to lose their power. To intimidate and assert their rights, more than 100 Southern congressmen resorted to defend segregation by signing the Southern Manifesto. This example evidently shows how damaged Southern America was in the 1960s. Even though most of Maycomb is unwilling to waver from their beliefs, few individuals are exposed to the corruption in their society. Atticus is one individual that understands this and thus puts great effort to prove Tom Robinson’s innocence. He follows his morals and accepts the challenge despite the difficult. He does not see the court case between black and white, but rather sees it between innocence and guilt. Even though, Atticus is “Maycomb’s born and bred”, he follows his own set of beliefs, which we know that not everyone has the courage to do so. Regarding the court case, Miss Maudie states “And I thought to myself, well, we’re making - it’s just a baby-step, but its a step.”. Baby steps is what Maycomb requires. These characters, despite the influence of Maycomb, illuminate the truth and are a symbol of hope. Although, the court case ultimately ended in the favour of the Ewells. It triggered a change among the individuals and inspired them to re-think their values. This small court case would have a relatively larger impact in the long term, improving Maycomb as a society. Similarly to Atticus and Miss Maudie in “To Kill a Mockingbird”, individuals spoke out against inequality and injustice, inspiring the revolutionary Civil Rights Movement. The goals of this movement were to end racial segregation which was achieved by challenging white supremacy. Martin Luther King Jr was an activist and a leading spokesperson hugely responsible for advances in civil rights. He triggered change among America by leading nonviolent protests. His famous ‘I have a dream’ speech inspired thousands to stop senseless prejudice and continues to inspire many more today. He lead the African American civil rights movement which aimed to abolish racism, especially in areas of public transport, employment, voting and education. Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist, whose actions triggered a citywide boycott and assisted to end segregation concerning public facilities. After she was arrested, due to refusing to surrender her seat to a white passenger, the Montgomery bus boycott occurred. This was a pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement which achieved the results we see today. Due to the great efforts of many individuals, America has vastly improved. They have become more accepting and racism has rapidly declined. There are many statistics to support this. The percentage of black women employed as domestic servants has decreased from 60% to 2.2% from 1940, and today 60% of black women have white-collar jobs. Not only have the laws changed to favour African Americans, the attitudes have significantly advanced. In 1958, 44% of white people said they would move if a black family became their neighbour, and today only 1% have the same views. Additionally, in 1964, the year the Civil Rights Act was passed, 18% of whites claimed to have a black friend, and now it has risen to 86%. This demonstrates how far America has come. Despite these changed views, we understand that it is impossible to eradicate racism completely. This was seen by recent events such as… This has been fueled by the recent change in presidency. As Donald Trump has been outspoken on his negative attitudes towards non-Americans, it has allowed individuals who suppressed their controversial racist views to come forward and act upon them. Humans are highly social beings as it increases our chances of survival. To our ancestors, people outside of their inner social network posed a threat. To minimise this, we developed physiological tendencies to disregard people outside of our ‘group’. Even though, these individuals may no longer pose harm, we are still hardwired to distrust them. This causes us to react negatively. Diminishing our prejudicial tendencies, can be highly beneficial for us as it increases the amount of thoughts and ideas. There are many ways in which we can improve our relationships such as familiarising ourselves with individuals of different backgrounds. This enables us to broaden our views and helps to improve our attitudes. Public figures and laws can also influence how we feel for certain individuals. For example, Barack Obama is the first African American president of USA. Viewing such an individual with power has the ability to change the mind of individuals and allows them to be more receptive of change. However it is the interaction between our primitive natures and our social relationships, that determines society’s behaviour. Therefore, I believe that there is hope for prejudice to decline but ultimately impossible to eliminate it completely due to our basic human instinct. Our society is not oblivious to prejudice and the implications that arise from it. Whether it be race, gender, sexual orientation or religion society feels inclined to categorise individuals. This is due to our resistance to change and our biological tendencies. We are able to observe prejudice all throughout history, even though the shape and form of it has changed. Racism has clearly declined through generations, but is still experienced by many individuals today. In addition, individuals are segregated upon other qualities.
Scout's perception of prejudice is evolved through countless experiences in Harper Lee's, To Kill a Mockingbird. Written in the nineteen thirties, To Kill a Mockingbird promotes the understanding of self-discovery through Scout, an intelligent and outspoken child living with respectable family in Maycomb County, Alabama. Throughout various encounters in the novel, Harper Lee causes Scout's perspective to change and develop from innocence to awareness and eventually towards understanding.
Three students kicked out of a high school for threatening to bring a gun to school. Why would they? Because people were prejudice against them because other students thought they were “losers”. Moral: You shouldn’t not like a person because they aren’t like you. Prejudice was far much worse in the time period of To Kill A Mockingbird. But, Prejudice is the reason for much social injustice. Three characters named Nathan Radley, Atticus Finch, and Aunt Alexandria show us this in the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird.
How would you like it if someone walked up to you and berated you based on the color of your skin? A characteristic like that isn’t even something you can control, so an insult of that nature can leave one furious and oppressed. Discrimination is inevitable in any culture, throughout history, in modern times, and even in ancient times. For example, the oppression and murder of 6 million Jewish people during the Holocaust, the African Slave Trade which occurred for multiple centuries, and more recently, the “ethnic cleansing” of Rohingya people in Myanmar, brought on by the government of the Asian nation, all of which are tragedies doomed to happen when history repeats itself and people do not learn
racism in the society is not as strong as it used to be but it is
A small city nestled in the state of Alabama, Maycomb has got its faults, just like any other place in the world, but one of its main faults or (pg.88) “Maycomb's usual disease,” as Atticus calls it in the book is prejudice. Jem and Scout learn a lot about prejudice when a black man named Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell and their father, Atticus, is called on to be his lawyer. They realize the hate that people have buried deep within their heart when they see a black man accused of doing something only because of his color. On pg.241, Scout starts understanding this and thinks, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” As the case continues, up until the death of Tom Robinson, Jem and Scout learn more and more about prejudice and how the hate that people have towards others causes them to take wrong actions. They also see how unfair it is that a white man can get treated better and think of himself better than a black man only because he was born white. This prejudice and the trial cause Jem and Scout to get in argum...
Prejudice is arguably the most prominent theme of the novel. It is directed towards groups and individuals in the Maycomb community. Prejudice is linked with ideas of fear superstition and injustice.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, many different themes come into view. One major theme that played a big role in the character’s lives is racial prejudice. Racism is an unending problem throughout the book. The song “Message from a Black Man” by The Temptations has many similarities to the theme of racial discrimination. Therefore, both the novel and the song prove that racism was a great obstacle for some people at a point.
Prejudice is a preconceived feeling or opinion that is not based on reason or actual experienced. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee one of the main themes was prejudice. Prejudice is based on ignorance and that is shown in the novel. Many characters were unwilling to understand others which displayed their ignorance. Harper Lee explored different types of prejudice throughout the novel with character interaction.
The Maycomb society reflects the prejudiced assumption that a man like Tom Robinson would never willingly help Mayella. Mr. Gilmer’s words reveal his biased mindset. While he is questioning Tom, he only questions Tom’s motives based on his race. Tom’s character challenges the stereotype of being an awful black person by demonstrating his genuine compassion and willingness to help others, despite the racial discrimination around him. Tom’s character serves as another powerful critique of prejudice and stereotypes that plague the Maycomb
Many of the people in Maycomb have some bit of racism coursing through their veins at any given time. Contributing factors to this epidemic are the ongoing rumors and assumptions of African Americans during this time period, but the main factor is the mindset of the people raised in Maycomb. Aunt Alexandra is one of the many people plagued by this fault in society. Despite her respected status in Maycomb she struggles with character flaws involving racial and social prejudice.
’To Kill A Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee covers the period in the lives of a sister, Jean-Louise(Scout) and her older brother,Jem, as they mature while they learn about the prejudice in their community and developing empathy with people who appear different. Scout learns to respect Walter Cunningham how to act like a lady while Jem realizes the injustice in the justice system.
“Prejudice is a learned trait. You're not born prejudiced; you're taught it.” -Charles R. Swindoll. The novel To Kill A Mockingbird is set in the time period of the 1930’s, in Maycomb County, an imaginary district in southern Alabama. Due to the fact that this novel is set in the 1930’s, the characters are extremely judgemental and prejudiced. Throughout the novel, there are various cases where the characters say or do things that would be severely frowned upon in modern times. The novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee demonstrates the theme of prejudice. The three main types of prejudice shown in the novel are gender prejudice, class prejudice, and racial prejudice.
“In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins” (Lee, 295). This statement from Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, exemplifies the theme of racial prejudice that Lee weaves into her story. Racism, defined by the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language as “discrimination or prejudice based on race”, has been a major social issue throughout American history, especially in the Deep South. There, for many years, white men and women wrongly regarded blacks as inferior, unintelligent, and sub-human. Harper Lee, a descendant of General Robert E. Lee, experienced first-hand racial tension and bias, while growing up in the South.
The idea that one person is better than another has been passed down from trusting parents to credulous children since the beginning of time. This inconsideration for human rights and emotion start a cycle of hate and deceit for a certain kind of person. The only way to stop this cycle is to bring knowledge and discernment to it; to help others realize the strong animosity around us, and breed a new generation who bring about a change. This change could help people realize that their need to judge others derives from their own problems. The novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee reveals that prejudice stems from fear.
“I’m simply defending a Negro—his name’s Tom Robinson”. With these words Atticus informs Scout of his life-altering task of standing up to the prejudice and racism that pervades the sleepy southern town that was Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. The effects of racism on Maycomb citizens such as Tom and Helen Robinson, Calpurnia, Scout, Jem, Dill, Mayella Ewell, and Dolphus Raymond. There are many examples where racism is shown throughout the book. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, racism is shown throughout the book, in Calpurnia’s church, in the case with Mayella and Tom Robinson, the term “nigger” that is used throughout the book.