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To Kill A Mockingbird
In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows how prejudice in the south affects men, women, children, blacks, and whites through the thoughts of racism, social class, and sexism. She makes it possible to understand what prejudice was like and how harmful it can be, but also that despite all the tensions in the south that there are always people who are willing to help when others are in need. There are many examples of prejudice throughout the book and it is still happening in real life.
The tensions between southerners and blacks have made life difficult because of the racism in the south. Racism was and still is a huge problem in the south that will never go away. The main cause of the racism in the south
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was started when slavery was around. Blacks were abused and mistreated from southerners and it has so many big roles in how the society acts towards blacks.
Just the fact of being black got you convicted of any crime. Nobody trusted blacks and would rather listen to the terrible lies of a white man than the truth of a black man.This cause the black population to be scared to even go out in public. They even segregated churches even though they had the same religion. Blacks were so used to not having whites in their church that when they saw them in their church they went crazy, “I wants to know why you bringin’ white chillun to nigger church”(Lee 135). Blacks were so scared of the whites they got scared of the children of the whites and praised them so they would not get in trouble and out in jail. When the blacks are accused of a crime the whites go crazy and start talking bad about them more and more. Teachers would teach the students about how evil Hitler was for what he was doing to the jews. In the book Scout asked Jem “...It’s time somebody taught ‘em a lesson,they were gettin’ way above themselves, an’ the next thing they can do is marry us. Jem how can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be …show more content…
ugly about folks right at home-”(Lee 283). She was astonished by the statements her teacher said on school to what she said walking out of the court house. How can you talk so badly about people who live in your own country and own city that you know but feel sorry for people halfway around the world. Racism has not only affected the south but has affect the hearts and minds of the people living there and in other parts of the world. A lot of harm can come as a result of being racist towards a certain group or race of people. Social class has marginalized people in ways where people view them differently and it causes them to break down and lose control of their emotions from all the tormenting and disrespect.
In the book Harper Lee points out how the Finches are considered to be in the higher class in Maycomb county. The constant reminders of “ Son, you know you’re a Finch, don’t you?”(Lee 151). Jem never forgets he is a Finch from his father. Being subjected because of what your social status is can cause many problems with having friends and keeping friends.Another thing is keeping a good name for the family and living up to your name is very important to higher social classes. Atticus claims that, “ Your aunt has asked me to try and impress upon you and Jean Louise that you are not a run-of-the-mill people, that you are the product of several generations’ of gentle breeding…” “Gentle breeding...and that you should try to live up to your name”( Lee 151) towards Scout and Jem because she thinks that they aren’t being raised correctly for the social class they are born
into. Sexism has out “targets” on the women’s backs because if they do not act like women and more like men they are looked down on. Jem argues that “ Scout, I’m tellin’ you for the last time, shut your trap or go home- I declare to the Lord you’re gettin’ more like a girl every day!” (Lee 58). He was so upset because she wouldn't be quite. Jem and Dill liked how Scout acted more like a boy then a girl because then they could play more games. Most people like down on the fact that she acts like a boy and not a girl because women don't have as big of a role in society at that time. Scout’s cousin Francis believes that “ Boys don’t cook.”... “Grandma says all men should learn how to cook, that men oughta be careful with their wives and wait on ‘em when they don’t feel good” (Lee 93) and therefore she laughed at the image of Jem in an apron. Scout laughed at the fact that guys rely on women to do all three cooking all the time. But she thinks her grandma is right about how guys should learn to cook for the women in their lives for when they are ill. Women aren't the only ones who should be able to do cleaning, cooking and any other work that women. Not only should men be able to do the work that women do they should learn how to take care of the woman in their life. Men and women are equal and it should've been that way from the start. Sexism was a huge problem for the women back then that women didn't have a voice in a lot of things in the society and in important matters like convicting a black man of a crime. Harper Lee did a great job of showing the problems in the South in her book To Kill a Mockingbird, she showed how it caused death, dangerous environments for men, women, and children. She made it understandable for the readers to realize how things should change. Racism, sexism, and social class have made huge impacts on the lives of men, women, and children for centuries.
There 's a point in everyone 's life when people are forced to wear a mask to hide their true selves. People want to fit into what they think is normal. Most of the time, the individual behind the mask is very different from what they are being perceived as. They can be evil and wicked, or they can be smart, loving, and caring. Characters in the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee live through the Great Depression and Segregation. They all have qualities that make them unique in their own ways. In the town of Maycomb, Alabama, citizens are put under stereotypes all throughout the novel. Characters get assigned labels that aren 't entirely correct. Dolphus Raymond, Mayella Ewell, and Boo Radley are all products of what it looks
Harper Lee wrote a story to express the different kinds of prejudice in the 1930’s in Maycomb County, Alabama. The thesis has been explained by using actual quotes from To Kill a Mockingbird, and then gave logical explanation on how it was relevant. Prejudices affect the world even today and still they are something that is a horrible thing.
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.
America is the proud author of many timeless novels. Fitzegerald’s The Great Gatsby, Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, and Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men all reveal a glimpse into previously unseen worlds to their audiences. But few of them has so profound an impact as Nelle “Harper” Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. This captivating novel enthralled the country and made it reexamine its preexisting perceptions about childhood, bravery, and morality. In spite of the importance of these concepts, the most far-reaching theme is how prejudice and education coincide, or, more accurately, how prejudice and a lack of education coincide (Theme 1). In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee explores how a normally rational person’s ability to reason can be tainted by prejudice, even subconsciously. Rarely do the characters in Lee’s novel make an effort to be cruel, but in the 1930s South, prejudice was less about an active effort to hurt others, but instead was an affliction brought about by an unconscious combination of upbringing, culture, and social or economic status.
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
In the world people are always preconceived based on who they are or what they look like. Even though it isn’t as big of a problem in some areas as in others, we need to fight it. If we don’t then it will continue to get more serious and at times lead to death. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Alexandra tells her niece that she can’t play with a schoolmate simply because of his class. “‘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.’” (224). This prejudiced state of mind is the foundation for the plot events of the novel. By way of experiences, a young girl, Scout Finch, must learn about the part prejudice plays in the everyday life of Maycomb County. Through settlement patterns, justice, and social stratification Harper Lee reveals the ways of prejudice.
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.
Prejudice, a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason nor actual experience, is an exceptionally large dilemma in society today. It is an every day reminder of how uncharitable we, as a human race, can be. Even in the early 1900s, as Harper Lee illustrates in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, prejudiced assumptions have always been causing predicaments. To Kill a Mockingbird, an award winning novel written by Harper Lee, tells the story of how Scout and Jem Finch grows up in a small Southern town suffering through the Great Depression. In To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee expresses the theme of prejudice throughout the majority of her characters. Not only does she have many themes in her novel, but she is also able to incorporate them in many of her characters at once. The theme of prejudice is seen through Atticus Finch and Tom Robinson.
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 as defined by the Merriam Webster’s Dictionary is, “a feeling of like or dislike for someone or something especially when it is not reasonable or logical.”prejudice is prevalent through many of the characters in the book. Scout, is the book’s narrator and is 7 at the beginning of the book. Her father, Atticus is a lawyer in the town of Maycomb, where the story takes place. Tom Robinson, a black character, is also very important throughout the plot of the book. Tom was accused of raping a white girl, Mayella and was sentenced to a trial which the book centers around. Throughout Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, she implies that prejudice, whether it be social
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.
Racism. racism is the prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race, based on the belief that one's own race is superior. This belief has been around for many years, ever since the beginning of humanity. Many experts say that racism started in the colonial era and is know starting to diminish. Nonetheless there are still people who believe in the supremacy of their race and think someone's ethnicity makes up their personality. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee the people of Maycomb treat African Americans like they're second class citizens. In this Novel, Lee expresses one’s appearance doesn't change people of other ethnicities character and opinions. In which Lee means your appearance can’t change
Prejudice is a strong word. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, a black man, Tom Robinson, was accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell, and was brought to trial. There were distinct views concerning Tom Robinson's innocence – views influenced by prejudice. The townspeople of Maycomb believed in Tom's guilt while Atticus and the children believed in Tom's innocence.