Examples Of Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

Racism, sexism, discrimination, and prejudice of many kinds are still a major dilemma even in modern culture and society. For example, salary differences between men, women, and people of all ethnic backgrounds vary drastically. Racism is also present, as well as frequent hate crimes we often hear about in the news. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, prejudice is ever present in Maycomb. Lee tells the story of a young girl, Scout, and how she sees the world through a child’s perspective. Scout witnesses prejudice in the trial of an innocent black man, the rumors spread about a man who hasn’t been seen in many years, and the harsh words spoken about racially mixed children. Scout, her brother, and their friends, however, cannot understand

why some people are treated different than others. Harper Lee’s characters, Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and society’s typical response to different races, prove that prejudice is not something that people are born with, but rather it is taught over time.
Throughout the novel, Tom Robinson’s trial was a clear example of the pure prejudice that exists in Maycomb. The jury, made up entirely of white males, based on prejudice alone, sentenced an innocent man to a life he did not deserve. The prosecuting attorney treats the defendant with such little human respect that in the midst of this, a child in the stands cries over how Tom has been treated, when no one else sees an issue with it. Dill, who has not yet been taught the prejudice ways of society, still gets upset when he sees people being treated unfairly, even if it is the social norm. “It was just him I couldn’t stand’...’That old Mr. Gilmer doin’ him thataway, talking so hateful to him--” (Lee 265). Dill’s response to Mr. Gilmer’s prejudice actions towards Tom Robinson in the trial show how differently people might have acted, had they not been brought up to be accustomed to prejudice. Injustice, under racist terms, would be eliminated. Equality could even be the social norm rather than judgment, racism, and overall discrimination. Dill continues on about how the racism and prejudice involved in this trial upsets him, and states that, “It ain’t right, somehow it ain’t right to do ‘em that way. Hasn’t anybody got any business talkin’ like that-- it just makes me sick” (Lee 266). Before they are taught, children often don’t even notice a difference between people with different races; they obviously see a color difference, it just doesn’t matter to them. They judge everyone based on character. If everyone was brought up to act in this way, there would be so much less hate in the world, and significantly less hate crimes. This idea has been proven in modern times as well. It is shown in Robinson’s trial, the immense impact prejudice can make, and the difference between people who were brought up with racist tendencies, and those who were taught that everyone is born equal.
Prejudice is not always based on race; sometimes it is just judging someone solely on rumors that have not been proven that can cause people to isolate others.

Actions against those who’ve been isolated are still taught just as racism is. In Maycomb, a man named Arthur “Boo” Radley is falling victim to rumors such as these. People claim he is dangerous, a murderer, and unfit for society, and force him to remain confined to his home for many years. Everyone fears him, but for unproven reasons. “Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained” (Lee 13). Everyone in Maycomb is under the preconception that Boo is some kind of monster. They isolate him from their community. That prejudice from adults passes down to children who now avoid the Radley house, and tell horror stories about him, even though Boo is just a normal human being whom everyone has turned against. There is no truth behind their reasoning for hating him. Towards the end of the book, Boo finally emerges from his house in order to rescue Scout and Jem from certain death. When Scout realizes who her rescuer is she is overcome with emotion. “His lips parted into a timid smile, and our neighbor’s image blurred with my sudden tears. ‘Hey boo,’ I said” (Lee 362). Scout does not treat Boo like he was different. She treats him like any other house guest, even though he has not been seen by anyone in years.

Because Scout is a child, she does not know of any other way to treat him, and she has not been taught how to hold prejudice opinions against him. For that, Boo seems extremely grateful. The reason he has stayed locked away for so long was not because he was a monster, but because he was afraid of society. Being treated like a normal person, was probably a relief. What Harper Lee is trying to tell the readers through this scene is that rumors are spread the same way racism is taught, and in the end, it all leads to exclusion and judgment not based on facts.
Children are taught that judgment is acceptable, usually from a young age.

Adolescents are always watching adults. They see how adults treat others and they learn from that. In Maycomb, mixed children have a hard time fitting in because they are told they do not belong anywhere. Kids see that and often grow up to have the same prejudice opinions as the adults they grew up around, and those affected by it, grow up believing that those opinions are true. Mixed children become outcasts because they are told that is what they are. “‘They don’t belong anywhere. Colored folks won’t have ‘em because they’re half white; white folks won’t have ‘em ‘cause they’re colored, so they’re just in betweens, don’t belong anywhere’” (Lee 215). Jem has this to say when Scout inquired what a mixed child was, referring to Dolphus Raymond’s children. The culture in Maycomb is not to accept everyone regardless of race, as it should be; rather, it is based on what one looks like and who one’s parents are. Kids grow up learning this from adults and this is what they believe. People often judge someone based on things that cannot be controlled, such as ancestors, or skin color. “‘Around here, once you have a drop of negro blood, that makes you all black’” (Lee 216). In Maycomb, if someone has any sort of negro background, people automatically feel a certain way about that person. These opinions are formed based entirely on preconceptions that they likely learned from someone else. The culture in this

area works in a way that even if someone appears white with one black ancestor, that person automatically does not belong; chances are, children will grow up believing the same, because that is what they are used to. A valuable lesson integrated into this story is to be careful how one portrays their action. Everything one says and does is being watched. The next generation of this world is learning from the actions of the adults in their lives. What those adults want to teach is up to them.
Throughout the entire plot of this story, Harper Lee continuously uses children compared to adults to show how prejudice is spread because it is a trait that is taught, rather than beliefs one is born with. Tom Robinson’s trial and Dill’s reactions paint a picture of how different the world could be if racism was eliminated from modern culture and society; furthermore, the direct exclusion of those described as racially mixed children as well as adults, supports this idea. Even today, there are constant reminders of racism and prejudice everywhere, that cause society to function on a lower level than what their potential could allow if everyone was treated equally. Racist crimes still flood the news, and women and people of certain ethnicities are still often paid less for the same job as others. We are all people regardless of the color of one’s skin. Regardless of one’s past. Regardless of the rumors people may have spread. We are all people. Teach love, not hate.